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It's about that time of year where you'll begin to see people burning leaves, wood, and plant debris where it's allowed in the community. It creates both air and water pollution and impacts the health of our waterways. Add in the issue of fertilizer and phosphorous runoff, and the environmental and ecological impacts add up. WEMU's David Fair discussed the significance of the problem and what's being done about it with Lauren Koloski from the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner.

We're entering film festival season, and we've got the early scoop. WEMU's David Fair and Michigan Theater Foundation executive director, Russ Collins, rundown the Toronto International Film Festival buzz as well as new flicks and special screenings for you.

The Ypsilanti District Library will soon open a new branch to serve Superior Township and the Willow Run area, and it's being constructed with the environment in mind. The new facility will contain a 46-kilowatt solar array, and all the glass on the outside of the building will be bird-friendly. Ypsilanti District Library executive director, Lisa Hoenig, joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss those measures and the grand opening plans.

Volunteers are the energy behind many nonprofit organizations. A great volunteer never overstays their welcome. The Ann Arbor Summer Festival knows Steve Guttman is a great volunteer. He’s been with them for decades! Join Deb Polich on this edition of "creative:impact" to meet Steve and hear why he’s at the Top of the Park year after year.

Laura Earle is a multimedia artist and uses her skill set to highlight social injustice in ways that create thoughtful paths to change. She is one of four artists featured in an exhibit at the 22 North Gallery in Ypsilanti through June 24th. It's called "Human/Nature." Laura joins WEMU's David Fair to discuss her artistic process in relation to her activism and what the exhibit aspirations are for inspiring individual and systemic changes within the sustainability movement.

June is Pride Month, and the effort to advance equity and equality for the LGBTQ community has a long way to go. There are also areas of foundational progress to celebrate, even while some are under attack. On "Washtenaw United," WEMU's David Fair covers all of that with the deputy director of Movement Advancement Project, Naomi Goldberg. Naomi also serves as LGBTQ Liaison to the Mayor of Ann Arbor.

For some, Memorial Day is a day away from work in which, maybe a little time is spent reflecting upon those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. For family, friends and fellow soldiers, it is much more. On a Memorial Day edition of "Washtenaw United," WEMU’s David Fair explored the very personal nature of honoring the fallen with a man who has lived it. Today, Derrick Miller helps Washtenaw County through his work as executive director of the Ann Arbor-based non-profit, Community Action Network. He is also a former Marine who brutally lost some of his fellow soldiers in Iraq. Yet, he recently jumped back into the war-torn fray and traveled to Ukraine to help with its refugee crisis. We pay tribute to his story on this Memorial Day.

We are a society becoming increasingly dependent on disposable consumer products and it has a devastating impact on our environment. On "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair discusses the upcoming Zero Waste Challenge in Ann Arbor, with Live Zero Waste executive director Samuel McMullen. Find out what we can learn and how to make a difference.

Summer blockbusters, summer classics, and maybe some jazz tunes as well. That what's the movies are all about right now. WEMU's David Fair talks about what's coming to the big screen this weekend with Michigan Theater Foundation executive director Russ Collins.

More than 230 environmental organizations and public interest groups have signed on to a petition asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the utility industry for harming the public by putting up barriers to rooftop solar and renewable energy expansion. WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak, took a deeper dive into the effort to reign in the power of America’s utility industry with Matt Kasper. Matt is deputy director at the Energy and Policy Institute.