4th of July Special: We celebrate these Americans, who love their country by standing up for clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. Here are some feel-good stories. If you know of others, please share!

Check out this story from North Omaha, Nebraska: residents won a change of heart from their public power district, resulting in an end to six decades of coal-fired power plant pollution, and a shift to energy efficient, renewable and non-polluting power sources. Go, North Omaha!

Also coming in as another win from the heartland: the permit to build the section of Keystone XL through South Dakota expired, and a small, grassroots group, the Cowboy and Indian Alliance celebrated. The win has symbolic meaning for the community there, and without the section in South Dakota, the pipeline is being stymied. Small parts add up. Read about the meaning of this victory on Grist.

[Photo by Redskynight on Flickr]