About 450 people attended rallies in Northampton and Brattleboro on May 21. The rallies were calling on politicians to guarantee women's right to safe, legal abortions. “We had a great turnout,” Debby Pastrich-Klemer told the Valley Post. She was the MC at the Northampton rally. About 300 people were there, Pastrich-Klemer said.

According to the Facebook page for the Northampton rally, “Across the country, we are seeing a new wave of extreme bans on abortion, stripping away reproductive freedom and representing an all-out assault on abortion access.... Women of color and low-income women are most affected by these bans.... Politicians shouldn't be making decisions best left to women, their families, and their doctors.”

A list of groups that organized the Northampton rally is at:

www.facebook.com/events/613751422473698

One of the goals of the Brattleboro rally was to get Vermont's governor to allow an abortion rights bill to become law. That goal was achieved. About 150 people were at the rally, Michael Szostak told the Valley Post. His bio is at:

http://buhs.wsesu.org/restorative-justice.html

More information about the Brattleboro abortion rights rally is at:

www.facebook.com/events/188188842058297

The world's population is increasing by 228,000 people every day. That's according to www.census.gov.

On average, one person in the USA uses as many natural resources as 53 people in China. That's according to:

www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-consumption-habits

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On May 24 in Brattleboro, there will be a march to call on politicians to deal with climate change. Lucy Congleton, a student at the Brattleboro high school, told the Valley Post the march will start at 4:15 p.m. at Pliny Park at the corner of Main and High streets.