Keepers Videos

Author: DannyKevin13 Keywords: Oath Keepers Illegal Orders Matrix Red Pill alex jones Pauls Joseph Watson Unlawful Barack Obama Alex Jones Infowars.com Prisonplanet.tv Endgame Fall of The Republic Added: October 31, 2009

Author: nxn8690 Keywords: Oath Keepers Speak Out at Inaugural Conference Added: October 25, 2009

NWO shill Chris Matthews and parasite Mark Potok attempt to ridicule and brainwash the viewers against Oath Keepers. Chris Matthews' logic : WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY & IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Here they are. Clear as the morning sun. Your enemy has made the grave mistake of popping out of the shadows. It isn't a conspiracy theory... it isn't a mad raving... They're here, and they go by the name American Police Force. This is probably one of multiple different names that mercenary contractors coming into the US are going by, but that doesn't matter. We know this one now. We know where they are. We know who they are. We know the seal they wear. We know that they, as mercenaries, only have loyalty to the almighty dollar. You are not surrounded, my fellow Americans. Your lines are already broken, and the battle hasn't even begun yet. The ball is still in your court today. It WILL NOT remain much longer. Washington State mercury ban lift - http://www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2009_news/09-154.htm American Police Force - http://www.americanpolicegroup.com/ Serbian Art - http://serb-art.com/serbart.html Mike Hollingsworth's youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/jsteele7707 (give him a look, he's the real deal, not some f### stain talking head.) Connection to Dyncorp? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJZIKrpQKBo

www.monroescoop.com. Saving money in Union County, NC. Finders Keepers in Monroe, NC is helping thousands of Union County families.

An 85-year-old woman got arrested for keeping a football that a neighborhood kid threw onto her property. Ohio police said that there was an ongoing feud in the area regarding children tossing sports balls into the woman s yard. If convicted, she reportedly could face 6-months in jail and a 1-thousand-dollar fine. President Bush announced he plans to host an economic summit with the world s top leaders. He wants to discuss the current international financial crisis and said it s essential that the government preserves the foundations of democratic capitalism. Researchers discovered a field full of dinosaur tracks more than 1-thousand to put it in perspective and one scientist called the site a dinosaur dance floor. The dino footprints were found along the Arizona-Utah border. Also reportedly included in the southwest wilderness area are 2.4-inch-wide tail drag marks that are up to 24-feet long and only a dozen or so sites worldwide include tail prints. From everyone at GetTheDaily.com, thanks for watching. I m Dana Ward and we ll see you next time for more news updates. Distributed by Tubemogul.

We R Memory Keepers Foil Glitter Flock Rub Ons Video Demo

One New Covenant Man is what we should be in Messiah, not two, or denominations! By reading these scriptures at the end of the show, it should put down a multitude of popular doctrines which are flying around at the moment.. enjoy, and Shalom in our living Messiah, the salvation of YHWH and of our souls. Here are the scriptures: (James) Humble yourselves in the sight of Yahweh, and he shall exalt you. Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the Torah, and judgeth the Torah: but if thou judgest the Torah, thou art not a doer of the Torah, but a judge. One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If Yahweh will, we shall both live, and do this or that. But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. MOSSIACH BEN YOSEPH (From Exodus and the New Covenant Witness of Moshiach Yahshua) Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh, my master, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my master's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. And behold, Yahshua met them, saying, All hail (May Yahweh save you). And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel: So now it was not you that sent me hither, but Elohim: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and master of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Yahshua came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. And Elohim sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. Even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. (Romans to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of Yahweh from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. Put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him: where there cannot be Gentile and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but let Mashiyach be all, and in all! (NO DENOMINATIONS) (Jeremiah and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people: Thus saith Yahweh, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Yahweh of hosts is his name: Also the foreigners that join themselves to Yahweh, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Yahweh, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my covenant; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

EPA Provides Major Funding to Earth Keeper Initiative The highly successful Earth Keeper Initiative would not be possible without funding. Major grants and other contributions have been provided by a wide range of people who believe in saving the planet - from grassroots donors to a government agency. Major funding has come from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - a non-profit company that provides financial services for all faiths. In an upcoming story - we'll look at Thrivent Financial and it's contributions to the projects including helping to create the student arm of the Earth Keeper Initiative at Northern Michigan University. In part 2 of our series volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson looks at the EPA's contributions and reaction to the annual Earth Day clean sweeps: The Earth Keeper Initiative is one federally funded project that truly makes a huge difference - getting big things done on a tight budget By any measure, the Earth keeper Clean Sweeps - pound for pound - are one of the most successful grassroots environmental projects ever funded by the U.S. Government. The project has mobilized tens of thousands of people to protect the environment despite being located in one of the remotest areas of the country - Michigan's pristine Upper Peninsula. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has provided grants for the Earth Keeper Initiative. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of tons of toxic waste has been removed from the environment thanks to the Earth Day clean sweeps - and the project is only three years old. The third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep in April 2007 saw about 2,000 northern Michigan residents bring in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Many also brought in drugs from family, friends and neighbors. On Earth Day 2006 - the second Earth Keeper Clean sweep brought in over 320 tons of electronic waste including old computers and cell phones. About 10,000 residents participated in the three-hour events at two dozens collection sites across the Upper peninsula of Michigan. including Mackinac Island where motor vehicles are not allowed - and old fashioned horses pulling drays were used to haul away modern day computers that were no longer useful. The first clean sweep in April 2005 netted about 45 tons of household hazardous waste including poisons like insecticides, herbicides, drain clean, oil-based paint, and hundreds of vehicle batteries. Residents even turned over two pounds of raw liquid mercury. All items collected during the three cleans sweeps were either recycled or properly disposed. The projects are sponsored by the Superior Watershed Partnership, the Cedar Tree Institute, 9 faith traditions with 140 participating churches and temples, and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. None of this would have been possible without a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In fact organizers Carl Lindquist and Rev. Jon Magnuson got the Earth Keeper Initiative off the ground thanks to an EPA environmental justice grant. The first "clean sweep" project was funded by portion of a $15,000 Environmental Justice Grant. The Environmental Protection Agency grant was awarded to the Cedar Tree Institute and the Central Lake Superior Watershed partnership. In fact, all three clean sweeps has been funded in part by an EPA grant. Carl Linquist is director of the Superior Watershed Partnership and Rev. Jon Magnuson is director of the Cedar Tree Institute. After securing the EPA, grant Lindquist starting working on the vast logistics of the clean sweeps - while Rev. Magnuson visited the bishops or faith leaders of all 9 faith traditions. They are: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, and Zen Buddhist EPA official John Perrecone of the Midwest region office located in Chicago - visited several collections sites during the Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep. Perrecone was impressed with the 400 volunteers - many of whom were mobilized thru the power of the pulpit as religious leaders across northern Michigan strongly encouraged their congregations to volunteer or participate in the clean sweeps. Perrecone said the EPA believes hazardous waste collections are an important tool in protecting the environment. The U.S. EPA is vital to the success of the Earth Keeper Initiative. In part three - we'll look at another major donor - Thrivent Financial - a not-for-profit financial services membership organization and fraternal benefit society. This is Greg Peterson and you are watching Earth Keeper TV. For more information contact the Superior Watershed Partnership at 906-228-6095 and Greg at 906-475-5068, or email: earthkeeper@charter.net Earth Keeper TV: http://earthkeepers.blip.tv/ Earth Keeper related website addresses are: The Superior Watershed Partnership: http://www.superiorwatersheds.org The Cedar Tree Institute: http://www.cedartreeinstitute.com/ The Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network: http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com/ Ecumenical Good News Site - long version of release: http://www.goodnewsdaily.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4853 Short version of story with photos of 100-year-old medicines: http://www.prweb.com//releases/2007/4/prweb522589.htm Marquette, MI paper - Day After Event story: http://www.miningjournal.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=14005 Marquette paper - AP story: http://www.miningjournal.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=14185 Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network - Cedar Tree Institute: http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com/cleansweep2007.html Environment News Service - story line up - scroll down: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2007/2007-05-07-09.asp#anchor6 Good News Network: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/content/view/1981/248/ Great News Network: http://www.greatnewsnetwork.org/index.php/news/article/over_a_ton_of_drugs_500000_in_narcotics_collected_in_2007_earth_keeper_phar

Narcotics Have Estimated Street Value of $500,000Third Annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep Targeted All MedicinesEarth Day: 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep(Marquette, Michigan) - Northern Michigan residents honored Earth Day by turning in tens of thousands of pills plus narcotics with an estimated street value of half a million dollars during the third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep.The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep targeted out-of-date and unwanted medications of all kinds, according to Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership.Earth Keeper TV will soon have an updated videos and stories about the pharmaceutical collection.Lindquist estimated that over one ton of pharmaceuticals and personal care products were turned in by the public.The "controlled substances" turned in have an estimated street value of $500,000 including narcotics in pill and liquid form, clean sweep organizers said.Several police officers estimated that each one of the narcotics and other controlled drugs had a street value ranging from $5 to $25 per pill. We had a great public turnout, a lot of people showed up with old medications, said Lindquist said. We are again breaking records for the Great Lakes and maybe the nation. Lindquist said the exact number of controlled substances turned in was still being tallied.About 2,000 people turned in items but the many had also collected pharmaceuticals from other family and friends, organizers said.The 2007 clean sweep went off without a hitch thanks to the U.P. chapter of the Michigan Pharmacists Association, and numerous law enforcement agencies including the DEA and Michigan Sheriff's Association, organizers said. Pharmacists and law enforcement officers were present at all collection sites to ensure security and proper collection of the pharmaceuticals, Lindquist said.The third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep was coordinated by the Superior Watershed Partnership and the Cedar Tree Institute, both Marquette-based non-profit environmental groups.The clean sweep was again sponsored by nine U.P. faith communities with 130,000 members (60 percent of U.P. residents), the Superior Watershed Partnership, the Cedar Tree Institute, and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.The project involves the congregations of over 140 churches and temples representing nine faith communities (Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, and Zen Buddhist).The clean sweep had over 400 volunteers including 150 members of Thrivent Financial and 40 Northern Michigan University (NMU) students.Financial sponsors again this year include the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and $15,000 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a not-for-profit financial services membership organization and fraternal benefit society.Rev. Jon Magnuson, Earth Keeper Initiative founder, said "one of the gifts that the faith community brings to the environmental movement is that the external damage done in the environment is a reflection of what is going on in the human condition, in the human heart - so as we heal and cleanse the Earth, we are also healing the human heart. We are in trouble with the way we live with the Earth, we have lost our balance" but projects like the clean sweeps are one example of humans correcting man-made problems, said Rev. Magnuson, co-organizer of the clean sweeps and the head of Lutheran Campus Ministry at NMU.Lindquist said the pharmaceuticals will be taken to an EPA-licensed incinerator at Veolia Environmental Services near St. Louis, Missouri.The EPA is funding the collection of pharmaceuticals and personal care products because trace amounts of chemicals from those substances are turning up in America s drinking water.EPA official John Perrecone from Chicago visited several of the collection sites and praised the Superior Watershed Partnership and the Earth Keeper team for its organization and success pulling off the largest geographical pharmaceutical collection in U.S. history. From the EPA s prospective this is an ideal approach for grassroots community members and the faith-based community to work with the federal government, American Indians and others to achieve environmental gain, said Perrecone, Ecosystem Projects Manager at the Midwestern Region office of EPA located in Chicago.The 19 Earth Keeper sites collect the whole gamut of over-the-counter and prescription medications including a wide range of narcotic pain killers, sleeping pills, syringes/needles, and antibiotics.The public also turned in a wide range of personal care products like shampoo, lotions and soaps.Although an environmental project, the pharmaceutical collection had several great side-effects like removing drugs that could be accidentally consumed by children thinking the pills were candy, and preventing diversion of controlled substances such as narcotics by people addicted to prescription medications.Some of the medication was over 100 years old, including 18 large dust-covered antique bottles filled with liquids and powders that Lutheran Mary Sloan Armstrong of Harvey brought to the Messiah Lutheran Church collection site in Marquette.Armstrong said the medicines - some with Latin labels - belonged to her late father J.K. Sloan, who ran Sloan s Pharmacy in Galva, Illinois for decades prior to his death. These are drug bottles that were in the basement of my dad s pharmacy, said Armstrong. We ve had them for about 30 years (since her father s death) and haven t done anything with them. We thought this would be a good chance to get rid of the contents. Pharmacists gathered around Armstrong s car to get a look at the century old drugs that had a variety of deteriorating cork-like lids. This stuff goes back about one hundred years, said Marquette pharmacist Dave Campana, while lifting several of the bottles out of an old wooden crate. These are really old powders that they used to make up medications - you don t find these in pharmacies anymore because they don t have a need for it. But they used it years ago, Campana said. These powders and liquids are considered hazardous waste but they are drugs. A member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Harvey, Armstrong said some of the bottles have pre-civil war patents and her family plans to search her late father s basement for more bottles after learning the importance of proper disposal of medicines through the clean sweep.Meanwhile at the St. Peter Catholic Cathedral collection site in Marquette, one person dropped off a turn-of-the century black folding case containing eight small bottles filled with powders. This is what would have been a doctor s traveling pharmacy, said Marquette pharmacist Kent Jenema, while showing the leather zippered case to an EPA observer. This has a lot of old patent type medications from mostly natural sources that predates some of the pharmacy that we know today. The third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep was praised by America s Drug Czar, law enforcement officers and prosecutors."Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem across the Nation, increasingly affecting families who have been untouched by illegal drug use," said U.S. Drug Czar John Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and a member of the President's CabinetWalters cited the 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean sweep across northern Michigan as an example of community engagement in properly disposing of pharmaceuticals (that) will help us stop and prevent prescription drug abuse, and the harm it can cause. Remote areas like Michigan s Upper Peninsula are not immune to prescription drug abuse.About 14 percent of students in Alger and Marquette counties admit using prescription medication to get high, according to a 2006 survey by the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development."And in our own community here in the U.P., it's an under-reported problem and a lot of times prescription drugs that are suitable for abuse can be stolen from people for whom they are prescribed, said Paul Olson, a licensed social worker who works for the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development in Marquette.Katherine Geier removed all the narcotics from her home, delivering OxyContin and other medication to the collection site at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Ishpeming. My mother had become addicted to prescription pain killers and sleeping pills, so I ended up hiding them from her, Geier said. So I had all these narcotics and I did not know what to do with them. I did not want to flush them down the toilet, Geier said. So I finally found a proper was to dispose of them. Drug addicts and burglars will break into people s homes and steal these narcotic drugs for their own personal gain - they will either use it themselves or sell it on the streets, said Ishpeming Police Officer Robert Sibley, one of dozens of law enforcement officers stationed at the 19 collection sites. This is a big problem and we are working on it all the time. Police were pleased the clean sweep prevented lots of controlled drugs from possible diversion to the street. This is great, said Marquette Police officer Brandon Boesl, while transferring counted narcotics to a special holding container during the collection at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette. Some of the most abuse things in the area are prescription drugs and a lot of people after they get their prescription refilled don t use them - and other family members or children can get a hold of them - and this is a great way to get rid of them, officer Boesl said.Marquette General Hospital Pharmacist Bob Hodges said these are controlled drugs and we are inventorying them so that we will have a better record of the drugs that are being collected - it s required by law. After counting pills from a dusty bottle filled with narcotics, Ishpeming pharmacist Steve Lyford said to dispose of these medicines in a safe way is a real good idea. Over 100 people dropped off pharmaceuticals at the First Presbyterian Church in Escanaba, MI. Including over 3,700 (controlled substance) pills.Some participants held medications "for many years after the death of a relative because they did not know what to do with it," said Jill Wiese Martin, site manager and a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Escanaba, MI."Most people were relieved to be able to bring this material in without any hassles and many were very aware that this material should not be just flushed," said Wiese Martin, adding many participants were frustrated that left over medicine goes to waste when it is replaced by new treatment."We need a systematic way to routinely and safely dispose of unused and unwanted medications," said Wiese Martin, an environmental scientist. "An organized means for collection and disposal just does not exist."Removing pharmaceuticals and personal care products is important to protect the many rivers in the Escanaba area, and on Lake Michigan bays that are world renown walleye fisheries."Little Bay de Noc is a very rich ecosystem, one of the richest due to it's complex geology, geography and the many surface water streams that discharge in to it," Wiese Martin said.In addition to being an environment professional, Wiese Martin says protecting the water is important part of her Presbyterian faith."We need to protect and preserve God's creation for all, even to the extent that future adverse outcomes can be avoided and minimized," Wiese Martin said. "It provides an another mission opportunity in God's world and hope to our children that we care about the world we are leaving them."The city of Escanaba, Bay de Noc Community College and public school educators are "actively promoting a number of issues" including "the importance of wetlands to the entire bay ecosystem," creating "a walkable community" and reducing the "human/consumer waste stream," Wiese Martin said.At the First Lutheran Church in Gladstone, about 75 people dropped off medicines and security was provided by Michigan State Police and Gladstone Public Safety Officers, including some in plain clothes."This was a wonderful event - a perfect marriage of two concerns - care of the environment and the need to remove drugs that might otherwise be abused from the community," said Pastor Jonathan Schmidt.Delta County Prosecutor Steve Parks visited the Gladstone clean sweep location and told the site manager he was pleased to see narcotics and other prescriptions drugs removed from his community.Northern Michigan University student Miranda Revere said while volunteering at the First Lutheran Church in Gladstone she learned how severe the prescription drug abuse problem is from the Delta County prosecutor and the pastor. Delta County has a problem with teens abusing prescription drugs, so finding people to help at the pharmaceutical collection was not difficult at all, said Revere, a 21-year-old business management major from Clio, MI. The county prosecuting attorney discussed the committee that has been put together to help this problem, said Revere, who has attended NMU for three years.For the year in a row, 10-year-old Eve McCowen volunteered at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette and was assigned the task of taking bags full of personal care products and non-prescription medications and dumping them into large holding containers. We came here to collect the vitamins, pills and any other medicines - so they won t pollute the earth anymore, said McCowen, a fourth grader, who volunteered with her parents and other members of the Marquette Baha'i Spiritual Assembly. There has been a lot of stuff and I have been dumping them into this barrel, said McCowen with a huge grin.The Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper (NMU EK) Student Team sent volunteers literally hundreds of miles to all 19 collections sites.NMU EK project director Jennifer Simula said the students really enjoy doing their part to protect the environment. They are wearing green T-shirts and they all have smiles on their faces, said Simula as three students each emptied several large shopping bags full of medicines and person care products. The students are greeting everybody as they come in, providing hospitality and letting everyone know what s going on and that they are involved in a great project, said Simula, who is a student leader in Lutheran Campus Ministry at NMU.The students have many projects and are working on setting up chapters at three other U.P. universities while still keeping up with classroom assignments. The pharmacists brought knowledge of all the things we collect, the law officers praised us for getting these drugs in a secure place and out of the potential of being abused, said Michael Rotter, a senior majoring in botany. The amazing thing about the clean sweep, is me being a 21-year-old Buddhist college kid can sit down and talk to a 30 year old pharmacist father and we can both relate to the 50-year-old Methodist pastor, Rotter said.The Earth Keepers had people from the community drop off pharmaceuticals for friends and family members adding it was such a beautiful day many walked to their collection site, said NMU EK Student Team member Ashley Ormson of Negaunee, a sophomore with a double major in International Relations and French. I was very happy that everything went smoothly for the three hours, and we didn't encounter any complications, said Ormson, a member of Messiah Lutheran Church and student leader with Lutheran Campus Ministry at NMU.NMU EK Student Team member Matt Nordine, who volunteered at the UMC church in St. Ignace, did not mind the four-hour round trip drive because it was good to actively participate in Earth Day. NMU EK team member Lauren Murphy said it is easy to mix her studies and getting good grades with several environmental projects because we keep a good balance - on the weekends we go to our projects and help out and during the week we go to the Earth Keeper meetings after class. We collected a lot of medicines, old suntan lotions, eye drops, cosmetics and other stuff like that, said NMU EK team member Kristy Knutson, while going thru bags of items dropped off by Marquette residents. Lots of controlled substances came through that won't get sold or end up in the water, said Rev. Tari Stage-Harvey, pastor of the Zion Lutheran Church in St. Ignace and Trinity Lutheran Church in Brevort (combined 100 parishioners).Rev. Jim Balfour, pastor of United Methodist of St. Ignace, said he was happy to see people from so many churches help with the clean sweep."It is wonderful to work in a community where the churches come together easily to address the threats to God's world," Pastor Balfour said.Pastor Balfour thanked Earth Keepers for the clean sweeps and literature that was passed out to the public because it helps "people understand how many of the common items of our daily lives can be a threat to the environment when they have out lived their usefulness."Presbyterian Earth Keeper team member Sue Piasini of Sagola said she "saw a flock of geese when I was going to the clean sweep and I thought we are going to take care of the water for you' and it was such a nice sunny day."Three pharmacists from two retail stores "never stopped counting pills during the entire three hours," said Piasini, who volunteered at the Salvation Army Bread of Life Center in Iron Mountain."One plastic bag had over 2,000 pills and they had to sort them all out," said Piasini, a member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sagola, MI.Members of several faith communities were among the volunteers and everyone was in a great mood "joking and having a fun time," said Piasini.Earth Keeper surveys were filled out by all 94 people, mostly senior citizens, who dropped off pharmaceuticals and many brought in drugs collected from family and friends, Piasini said."One person brought a full duffel bag" of pharmaceuticals, said Piasini, who has two grandchildren and is the mother of four grown children.Bishop Alexander K. Sample, Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, said he is thrilled with the results and was especially happy about the large youth involvement in protecting the environment and taking prescription drugs off the streets. It is wonderful to see that the younger generation is at the heart of this Earth Keepers effort, said Bishop Sample, who oversees 97 U.P. parishes and missions with 65,400 members. They understand better than many, the connection between faith and care for creation, God's gift to us. We have to be concerned about our young people and the world we will hand on to them, Bishop Sample said. It is a way for us, as people of faith, to show our concern for the world that our Creator has entrusted to our care and stewardship, Bishop Sample said.Catholic Earth Keeper team member Kyra Fillmore, a 29-year-old mother of two small children, said people were unloading medicines from deceased relatives or from past illness. "This collection was a quieter, more personal event," said Fillmore, a member of St. Louis the King Catholic Church in Harvey. I'm grateful that Earth Keepers could provide a comfortable place for people to - in a sense - release past pains and help keep our water clean as well. Catholic Earth Keeper Linda of Marquette, who drove five hours round trip to volunteer at the Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, MI, called the clean sweep "a most spiritual event for cleansing the soul of medicinal toxins."O'Brien believes participants "shed the reminder of pain from loved ones or oneself physical medicinal needs.""Residents were able to make their home environment safer by disposing of unused or unwanted medicines and old health care products in an ethical way," O'Brien said. "They responded knowing that they are also contributing to the health and safety beyond their own doorstep."Retired steelworker Don Flint of Ironwood said his wife, Betty, cleaned out their medicine cabinets "to get rid of medications that we don't want any more" because "we've become more aware that it's not the right thing to do to flush pharmaceuticals down the toilet."A Lutheran, Flint, 64, dropped off old antibiotics, arthritis pain medicine, aspirin, Tylenol and lotions at the Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church collection site in Ironwood.The Flints are members of the (ELCA) Salem Lutheran Church in Ironwood, which recently formed the Christ Lutheran Parish with 3 other ELCA churches in Ironwood.Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan (EDNM) Bishop James Kelsey, who brought several old medications to a Catholic collection site, said he hopes that others will follow the example of the Earth Keeper team and that the clean sweeps are a catalyst for a movement much bigger than our demographics in remote northern Michigan with a population of about 260,000 people spread across hundreds of square miles. Care for the environment is an expression of love for God and one another," said Kelsey, who serves as Bishop for 27 Episcopal congregations with 2,500 members in the U.P.Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS), who volunteered at the Fortune Lake Lutheran Bible Camp in Crystal Falls, said the public was happy to participate and had an eagerness about being a part of the solution. It was a morning of solutions to difficult problems and I am proud of my church," said Bishop Skrenes, the head of 91 U.P. Lutheran congregations with 40,000 members.The NGLS also includes Finlandia University in Hancock and the Northland Lutheran Retirement Community in Marinette, WI.Jewish Earth Keeper Jacob Silver of Negaunee Township said future health of the planet will depend on how youth are motivated by adults - and protecting nature is clear in the annual teachings and observations of Tikkun Olam and Passover. It is important that adults and parents are seen by youth to be carrying out the moral obligation for Tikkun Olam, said Silver, one of 70 members of Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming, MI. This creates a reality for the youth - thus, it spreads the message to care for the environment across generations. Silver said for Jews, the Earth is all we have. There is no mention, thus no concept, of existence after death in the five books of Moses, our Torah, Silver said. So, the welfare of the planet is always a prime commitment for Jews. There is nowhere else, and if we foul the Earth, we can be left ultimately homeless, Silver said.Silver added that the welfare of the Earth, and its parts, is a primary commitment for Jews. The Earth Keepers provide, not only an opportunity to help heal the Earth, but also collaboration with members of faith communities in the area - it is a wonderful organization, Silver said.For the third year in a row, northern Michigan Zen Buddhists volunteered at the Grace United Methodist Church in Marquette, and the head priest said it is "the beginning of a tradition and it felt good to be back there on Earth Day" with UMC Rev. Charlie West and "his hospitable crew doing something for the earth and raising consciousness about yet another hazard that is degrading and poisoning our environment.""Each year during the Clean Sweeps, I see wider involvement and more publicity, and each year I see more evidence of young people participating, which is absolutely a necessity over the long haul," said Reverend Tesshin Paul Lehmberg, leader of the Lake Superior Zendo - a Marquette Zen Buddhist temple.Rev. Lehmberg said his 15-year-old daughter, Freya, and Rev. West s 13-year-old son, Christopher, were excited to volunteer."We're passing along our enthusiasms, and our worry" over the environmental condition of the earth and that youth concern for nature and involvement is essential to the future of the planet, Rev. Lehmberg said.Dr. Rodney Clarken, chair of the Marquette Baha'i spiritual assembly who volunteered at a Lutheran church, said "the interfaith aspect of this project has given it a unique energy and power - when you see the results over the past three years" adding that he hopes people will see the connection between protecting the Earth and their spiritual beliefs."The environmental crisis is foundationally a spiritual crisis, and until you address those spiritual issues you will not have significant impact on the environment. ," said Clarken, NMU interim associate dean of Teacher Education and director of School of Education, adding there are about 40 members of Baha'i in Marquette (about 100 in Upper Peninsula) , and 144,000 in the United States (about 6 million world wide)."In our world of rapid and accelerating change, protecting our environment, both physically and spiritually, is increasingly critical and challenging," Clarken said. "Baha'is believe that only in seeking spiritual solutions to our material problems will we be able to sustain and advance civilization."Clarken said that Baha'ullah - the Prophet-Founder of Baha'i - wrote: "The earth is but one county, and mankind its citizens."United Methodist Church (UMC) Marquette District Superintendent (DS) Grant R. Lobb said the words "cleaner water" kept popping into his mind as he stood in "the warm parking lot watching a number of individuals and couples bringing in their outdated pills, tablets and syringes" into the basement of the Grace United Methodist Church in Marquette.The clean sweep means "cleaner water for all of us," said Lobb, DS of the Marquette District of the Detroit Annual Conference UMC, which has 8,372 parishioners and 60 northern Michigan congregations.Supt. Lobb said he is "impressed by the participation of our senior citizens, who not only took the time to look through their cupboards and cabinets for outdated medicines, but also made the effort to drive to the collection sites in order to turn in their items."Catholic Earth Keeper team member Kelly Mathews of Big Bay, and her husband, Chris Mathews, 45, brought numerous medicines bottles to the collection including 18-year-old prescription sinus medication they found while recently cleaning out their medicine cabinet.Mathews said she could not believe the amount of unused medication adding America s medical system needs to find a way to prevent the waste of these drugs. Some people brought in bottles with 50 to 80 more pills, said Mathews, a 36-year-old mother of two who says her family switched to natural remedies years ago because they believe those medications are usually safer than prescription medicines. I found the financial waste was totally unnecessary; those drugs were paid by someone - who would have thought that there would be so much going to waste, Mathews said. Many people commented on how much the drugs had cost and that they never actually used them. I wonder, why the excess? Marquette Unitarian Universalist Congregation (MUUC) Earth Keeper team member Gail Griffith of Marquette agreed with Mathews that the waste of medicine in America is sad. The pharmacist at Grace United Methodist told me that a drug I turned in, with an expiration date in 1992, was worth over $600, Griffith said. It had been prescribed but not completely used. It's too bad that so much money is used to buy pharmaceuticals that end up as trash, but we need to insure that trash doesn't end up harming our waters, Griffith said.Presbyterian Earth Keeper team member Lynnea Kuzak, who volunteered at the First United Methodist Church in Manistique, said she was thanked by a resident who lost her husband to cancer last September and wished that all his medication had been properly disposed."Another person told me I didn't like putting them down the toilet, " said Kuzak, 28, the director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church in Marquette.Presbyterian Pastor Dave Anderson of Iron Mountain is thankful for the interfaith clean sweeps because I worry about the legacy our generation will leave for future ones, but it is good to know that we are doing something about it through opportunities like this. Rev. Anderson, who serves as the chaplain for the Dickinson County Health Care System, added that we all need to realize that the pick up and disposal of polluting waste like electronic equipment and outdated pharmaceuticals is making a big difference now and for future generations. "As God's children, we feel like we are provided a concrete, tangible way to make a difference in our environment, said Rev. Anderson, who is pastor of the Grace Presbyterian Church in Sagola. Lutheran Joy Ibsen said on the Sunday morning following the clean sweep her Lutheran congregation sang We Gather at the River-- the beautiful, the beautiful river. I couldn't help but think how perfectly that song was for us on Earth Day, Ibsen said. "To me, there is a special symbolism in this year's Clean Sweep--preventing pharmaceuticals from entering our water systems. Ibsen said she was struck by how many prescriptions were thrown away because of serious side effects despite advances in medical care. So many of our environmental problems come from the side effects of our advanced society - and every prescription has side effects, said Ibsen, the organist at Trinity Lutheran Church in Trout Creek, MI. One woman told me she had paid $140 for a certain prescriptions which gave her nothing but welts - she could not take it because of her allergic reaction, said Ibsen, lay minister, vice president of the church council at Trinity Lutheran.Ibsen said, like people, the earth and water is allergic to many powerful prescriptions and chemicals. Mary Klups of Ontonagon County brought in several types of pain and blood pressure medication, including two bottles of morphine, leftover from her late husband s cancer treatment. I had several drugs I have kept, waiting to dispose of in the right way, said Klups, while dropping off pharmaceuticals at the White Pine Community United Methodist Church. I also have several of my own medications including some very expensive medicine that did not work out because I had an allergic reaction to it, Klups said. I really appreciate having a way to get rid of all this. White Pine pharmacist Chuck Blezek said for years we told people to flush old prescriptions down the toilet - it is only lately that we have found out that it is the wrong thing to do. This is a very worthwhile thing Earth Keepers is doing, Blezek said.Wayne Sparks of White Pine said he dropped off drugs because I don t have any other good way of disposing of these medications. UMC Earth Keeper team member Rev. Charlie West said that church members felt really good about providing this service for the community. These chemicals should not be loose in the creation - we're glad they will be disposed of carefully," said Rev. West, pastor of the Grace UMC in Marquette and project director of the first clean sweep. "We had some over the counter medicine from 20 years ago - and we saw a lot of the same people we have seen over the past two years at the previous clean sweeps.Two weeks after a lengthy blizzard that dumped over five feet of snow, those participating enjoyed sun with temperatures in the 70's, that Rev. West described as a good day to be disposing of chemicals carefully - so the creation will continue to be healthy and wholesome. Messiah Lutheran Church Pastor Nancy Amacher praised the police for standing watch, pharmacists who utilized their knowledge and expertise, NMU students that helped wherever needed and others for helping out on a sunny Saturday morning when they could have been sleeping in or doing their own thing. As people of faith we believe the earth is God's created gift and part of our stewardship is to care for ourselves as well as the forests, waterways, and their inhabitants, said Rev. Amacher.Munising United Methodist Church site coordinator Phil Hansen said many participants collected from family and friends and almost all people brought in large quantities of items filling plastic grocery bags. We had more controlled substances turned in than we expected, said Hansen., adding security was provided by Munising Police Chief Steven Swanberg and Lt. Mike Nettleton. People were happy that a pharmacist was on duty and their privacy was protected. Hansen said many people were previously unaware that throwing away medicine or flushing it was harmful and they will not do that in the future. Gee Petruske collected items from his community in remote Grand Marais and made an hour-long special trip to Munising to deliver the items. Background:The EPA and Lindquist said the clean sweep targeted medicines because trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are turning up in America's rivers, lakes, and drinking water.The EPA says most treatment plants are not designed to filter out these medications.When pills or liquid medicines are poured down the sink or flushed down the toilet they remain diluted in the water supply after treatment and these trace amounts are suspected of causing a range of health problems, according to the EPA.As leftover and waste pharmaceuticals get flushed down drains, research is showing that they are increasingly being detected in our lakes and rivers at levels that could be causing harm to the environment and ecosystem," said Elizabeth LaPlante, senior manager for the EPA Great Lakes National Programs Office in Chicago, Ill"Specifically, reproductive and development problems in aquatic species, hormonal disruption and antibiotic resistance are some concerns associated with pharmaceuticals in our wastewater," LaPlante said."The Earth Keeper Pharmaceutical Collection event, therefore, is an excellent opportunity to prevent the introduction of these chemicals into Lake Superior and other water bodies," LaPlante said.Lindquist said that recent national studies have documented that over 80 percent of the rivers sampled "tested positive for a range of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, birth control hormones, antidepressants, veterinary drugs and other medications."Lindquist said some urban centers have even detected "traces of pharmaceuticals in their tap water."Pharmaceuticals in some rivers have also been linked to behavioral and sexual mutations in species of fish, amphibians and birds, according to EPA studies.Pharmaceutical compounds known as endocrine disruptors have even been linked to neurological problems in children and increased incidence of some cancers, Lindquist said.There were 19 drop off sites across a 400 mile area (and in all 15 counties) of Michigan's Upper Peninsula that open Saturday, April 21, 2007 from 9 a.m. to noon local time on Earth Day eve.In 2006, over 320 tons of electronic waste (old/broken computers, cell phones etc.) were dropped off in just three hours by an estimated 10,000 U.P. residents. It took 9 semi trucks to haul the e-waste to an EPA approved recycling centers in the Lower Peninsula.In 2005, the first clean sweep collected 45 tons of household poisons and vehicle batteries. The hazardous waste, including over two pounds of mercury, were properly disposed of in various ways according to EPA and state guidelines.Both previous clean sweeps broke EPA collection records for the Great Lakes, organizers said.Thrivent Financial for Lutherans donated $5,000 for the 2006 clean sweep.Thrivent Financial also awarded a $75,000 Youth Leadership Initiative grant to Northern Michigan University s Lutheran Campus Ministry in 2006 for development of an on-going program for college students to become involved in the ecological stewardship of the environment. Three other universities are also involved in the program, including Michigan Tech, Finlandia University and Lake Superior State University.Partners who helped make the clean sweep a success include U.S. Senator Carl Levin's Office, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, the NMU Environmental Science Program and many others.Last fall, the Earth Keeper Initiative and its partners were honored with three international awards.The Earth Keeper Initiative received several prestigious awards in 2006 including an international Environmental Stewardship award from the Lake Superior Binational Program and the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) Award.The Earth Keeper Clean Sweep was named one of the 15 hardest working non-profit projects in America in 2006 by World Magazine, an international religious publication.The NMU EK team was created last April as the student wing of the Earth Keeper Intiative. The In addition to assisting in the annual clean sweeps, the NMU EK Student Team has numerous projects including (Adopt-A-Watershed) cleaning, testing, and developing a plan for six tributaries to three of the Great Lakes, recruiting students for chapters at three other U.P. universities, plus youth and adult outreach on practical everyday ways people can reduce human impact on the environment.The Superior Watershed Partnership has on-going programs that including Adopt-Your-Watershed, public environmental education, summer youth programs, land conservation, habitat restoration, energy conservation and numerous opportunities for volunteers to get "hands-on experience" in their communities, national parks, national forests and their local watershed, Lindquist said.For more information on the clean sweep (or the other projects) contact the Superior Watershed Partnership at 906-228-6095 and Greg at 906-475-5068, or email: earthkeeper@charter.netEarth Keeper TV: http://earthkeepers.blip.tv/Earth Keeper related website addresses are:The Superior Watershed Partnership http://www.superiorwatersheds.orgThe Cedar Tree Institute: http://www.cedartreeinstitute.com/The Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network: http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com/

I am Willow the Earth Keeper Cat.The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean sweep is only days away!The third annual Earth Keeper Clean sweep is Earth Day eve - Saturday April 21 from 9 a.m. until 12 noon local time at free collection sites across Michigan s pristine Upper Peninsula.The Earth Keeper Team is collecting old and unwanted pharmaceuticals of all kinds at dozens of drop off sites across a 400 mile area of northern Michigan.I have been thinking a lot lately.Wow what a big task.Can we do it.Should we do it.It seems unsurmountable - but the Earth Keepers are diverse, dedicated and hardworking - every team member brings something to the effort and each Earth Keeper gives their all.On Earth Day 2006, we collected 320 tons of old computers and cell phones in only three hours and all were recycled. We even had old fashioned horses pulling loads of the modern computers that were now out-of date.That was pretty ironic modern computers turned to junk being pulled away by old fashioned horses.But sometimes I want to just crawl under my blankets.And escape from all the world s problems.You know that feeling.The worlds problems are just too big for me to fix.Pollution, global warming, and all that stuff.It is very scary.But then I look in the mirror and remember one person - or in my case one cat - can make a difference.So I have been collecting all my old and unwanted pharmaceuticals to drop off at one of the Earth Keeper collections sites on Saturday April 21, 2007 from 9 am until high noon across northern Michigan..Anytime you feel you need to hide under your covers.Remember Willow the Earth Keeper Cat says you can make a difference.The world is at stake.I am Willow the Earth Keeper Cat.Recycle!Earth Keeper related website addresses are:The Cedar Tree Institute:http://www.cedartreeinstitute.com/The Superior Watershed Partnershiphttp://www.superiorwatersheds.orgThe Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network:http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com/

Hello, I am Willow the Earth Keeper Cat making my second appearance along the internet super highway. If you like me, I may be back one more time. Anyway, here I go: I am back. I am Willow the Earth Keeper Cat I am reaching out to you because I'm concerned about the environment. I want you to pause or in my case paws and think about the future of our planet. Do you every feel like you're just hanging on. Well that is the way I feel about Planet Earth. Earth is my home and besides I would not want to live on Mars or Jupiter, so please help keep our environment clean and recycle. I want all residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula to participate in the third annual Earth keeper Clean Sweep to be held on Earth Day 2007. That is on Saturday April 21 The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean sweep is targeting out-of date and unwanted prescription medications. The pharmaceutical clean sweep also includes over the counter medicines that you don't want. The reasons for the pharmaceutical clean sweep is because traces amounts of these medicines are turning up in your drinking water. I prefer milk but everyone needs water, water without medicine in it. Water treatment plants are not designed to take out these drugs and the problem is getting worse. We want to nip it in the bud or in my case catnip it in the bud.. I have been busy running around my neighborhood spreading the word that free collection sites will be open at a church near you and just like the first two clean sweeps the sites are all across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My medicine cabinet used to be full of old prescriptions and I will bet your medicine cabinet has a bunch of old pills that have been sitting around for years. Look at all the medications I have collected in their original container. I plan to take all of these pharmaceuticals to the 2007 Earth Keeper Clean Sweep. Another good reason to collect out of date prescriptions is to ensure people you love are not taking medicines that are no longer effective The 2007 Earth Keeper Clean Sweep is Saturday April 21, 2007 from 9 in the morning until 12 noon at a site near you across Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I am Willow the Earth Keeper Cat. Recycle! Earth Keeper related website addresses are: The Cedar Tree Institute: http://www.cedartreeinstitute.com/ The Superior Watershed Partnership www.superiorwatersheds.org The Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network: http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com/

2007 U.P. PHARMACEUTICAL CLEAN SWEEP When: 9 a.m. to noon. Saturday April 21 (Earth Day) Items to be accepted: Unused and outdated prescriptions and medications Location: Across the Upper Peninsula at a church parking lot near you. Collection sites will be announced in April. This effort is being sponsored by leaders of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, United Methodist, Buddhist, Baha'i, Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal communities of Northern Michigan in cooperation with the Superior Watershed Partnership and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. For more information call the Superior Watershed Partnership at 906-228-6095. Earth Keepers: Pharmaceuticals In Our WatersWith the help of the Superior Watershed Partnership residents of the Upper Peninsula are poised to break yet another national record. It all started on a Saturday morning in April 2005 when people from across the UP turned in over 45 tons of household hazardous waste in just three hours! Then on Earth Day 2006 they broke another record by bringing in over 320 tons of electronic waste. Again, in just three hours. That equals about 3,500 pounds of obsolete electronics turned in per minute! These events insure that any toxic materials are properly disposed of to help protect our groundwater, our rivers, our drinking water and our Great Lakes. Now, with Earth Day 2007 fast approaching the people of the Upper Peninsula are getting ready to address yet another emerging environmental issue. On Saturday April 21st at sites in all fifteen UP counties, the Superior Watershed Partnership will be coordinating a pharmaceutical collection of unwanted and expired prescription and over-the-counter medications. Why? Because recent national studies have documented that over 80% of the rivers sampled tested positive for a range of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, birth control hormones, antidepressants, veterinary drugs and other medications. Some urban centers have even detected traces of pharmaceuticals in their tap water. Pharmaceuticals in some rivers have also been linked to behavioral and sexual mutations in species of fish, amphibians and birds. Pharmaceutical compounds known as endocrine disruptors have even been linked to neurological problems in children and increased incidence of some cancers.Is there some good news? Yes, once again the Upper Peninsula is ahead of the national curve when it comes to preventing pollution and protecting water quality. The upcoming Earth Day event will be the largest one-day pharmaceutical collection of its kind in the country. How can this be? In two words; Earth Keepers. For three years now the Superior Watershed Partnership has worked closely with the Cedar Tree Institute and over 135 Earth Keeper congregations to assure an incredible public turnout for these free pollution prevention events. Through Earth Keepers the Superior Watershed Partnership has been able to effectively educate the public about a wide range of environmental issues. For instance, people are learning that it is not acceptable to dump unwanted medications down the toilet or down the drain. But Earth Keepers is far more than just spring collection events. The Watershed Partnership also has on-going programs that include; Adopt-Your-Watershed, public environmental education, summer youth programs, land conservation, habitat restoration, energy conservation and numerous opportunities for volunteers to get hands-on experience in their communities, national parks, national forests or the watershed they live in.We need your help! Obviously the Earth Keeper Pharmaceutical Collection has numerous community benefits besides protecting water quality so communities are being asked to pitch in and help. The following Upper Peninsula communities will have at least one Earth Keeper collection site; Marquette, Munising, Escanaba, Gladstone, Houghton, Iron Mountain, Newberry, St. Ignace, Sault St. Marie, Menominee, Manistique, Lanse, Crystal Falls, Ironwood and White Pine. Local municipalities (cities, counties, townships) are being asked to help finance this important community service. Local police and sheriff departments are being asked to provide one law enforcement official for each collection site. Pharmacists are being asked to volunteer their expertise at a collection site in their community. Local corporations, businesses and individuals are being asked for their financial or technical support. Many communities have already provided police officers, pharmacists, funding and numerous Earth Keeper volunteers. Don t be the last community to get on board!For more information on how you can help support the April Pharmaceutical Collection or other watershed protection projects please contact the Superior Watershed Partnership at 906-228-6095.For a complete list of participating communities and Earth Keeper collection sites please visit; www.superiorwatersheds.org and click on Earth Keepers. It takes many partners to coordinate a 15-county event such as this. Thanks to the Mining Journal, Senator Levin s Office, the Environmental Protection Agency, Thrivent Financial, the UP Sheriffs Association, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the NMU Environmental Science Program and the thousands of Earth Keepers from across the Upper Peninsula.Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles by the Rev. Jon Magnuson and Carl Lindquist on the topic of the Earth Keeper Covenant Initiative, a multi-denominational commitment to protecting and preserving the environment and landscape of the Upper Peninsula.

This video is a summary of the new university student arm of the three-year-old Earth Keeper Initiative in northern Michigan that has brought an extremely diverse group of people together to undertake large environmental projects under the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute. The Earth Keeper Initiative includes annual Earth Day clean sweeps that have already collected nearly 400 tons of hazardous waste for recycling, student adopt-a-watershed project involves cleaning, testing and monitoring of six Great Lakes tributaries, and the Manoomin (Wild Rice) Project that involves at-risk teens planting wild rice in remote rivers and lakes.. Earth Day 2007 - Out-of-Date prescription medications will be collected at two sites across a 400 square mile area to prevent medicines from ending up in drinking water supply - a big problem according to EPA Earth Day 2006 - 320 tons of electronic waste (old/broken computers, cell phones, etc.) collected for recycling in only 3 hours Earth Day 2005 - 45 tons of household poisons/car batteries collected for recycling in 3 hours. The students team is part of the initiative that includes 9 faith communities (120 churches and temples), two environmental groups, and several American Indian tribes. A movie could be done on how Cedar Tree Institute director Rev. Jon Magnuson and Superior Watershed Partnership Ex. Dir. Carl Lindquist have put together this large coalition of concerned citizens. The extensive media coverage of the Earth Keeper Initiative has caused ozens of communities to call requesting information on how to start similar Earth Keeper coalitions across the world. It shows that people can make a concrete difference using shoestring budgets by setting asider difference and working toward a common goal. The NMU students are currently recruiting 1,500 members at three other universities across northern Michigan People can find out more about the hands-on volunteer Earth Keeper Initiative and our related projects by visiting the following websites - as we are funded by donations/grants that are becoming fewer. The World Magazine articles honoring two projects: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12177 Earth Keeper related website addresses are: The Cedar Tree Institute: http://www.cedartreeinstitute.com/ The Central Lake Superior Watershed Partnership www.superiorwatersheds.org The Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network: http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com/