Environment
Baldwin spotlights infrastructure law, climate bill on visit to Madison factory
Fresh from a marathon weekend in which Senate Democrats moved long-awaited budget legislation to address climate change across the finish line, Sen. Tammy Baldwin paid a visit Tuesday to the place where the rubber meets the road. Or the electrons meet the vehicle. At Franklin Electric, a manufacturing plant on the far southeastern edge of […]
U.S. Senate passes major health, tax and climate bill in boost for Democrats
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation. The 755-page bill was passed after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the evenly […]
Contaminated Ashland soil along Enbridge Line 5 under investigation
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is assisting in the investigation of suspected oil-contaminated soil collected along Enbridge Line 5 south in Ashland. According to a DNR press release, an Enbridge contractor reported the soil to the DNR on the evening of Aug. 3. The soil was suspected to have been contaminated near Old Airport […]
We should all aspire to be peasants
Rising food prices — as the USDA has forecast for 2022 — may seem like a good thing for farmers. After all, who wouldn’t like to see some more cash? Farmers, like everyone else, have been through a lot lately. Years of stagnant or falling farm income in many ways paralleled the stagnant wages of […]
Neglected livestock siting rules frustrate farmers, local governments, environmental groups alike
The economics of modern agriculture are pushing farmers across Wisconsin to get bigger or die, yet the state’s rules guiding where large farms can be located haven’t been updated in more than 15 years and the board responsible for hearing appeals of those decisions has had a number of vacant seats for years. This status […]
DNR sets PFAS rules for drinking water, surface water, firefighting foam
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced new administrative rules for perfluroalkyl and polyfluroalkyl substances (PFAS). Called “forever chemicals,” PFAS and similar chemicals were used in man-made products from non-stick fast food wrappers to firefighting foam for decades. The bio-resistant chemicals don’t break down in nature nor within our bodies, and have been linked […]
Governor Evers’ Office of Environmental Justice is a boon to Wisconsin communities and businesses
Every year, Wisconsin is forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars rebuilding and repairing infrastructure damaged or destroyed due to extreme weather conditions. This is growing worse because of climate change and unfortunately, these impacts are felt first and worst by communities of color, tribal nations and low-income communities. On Earth Day, Gov. Tony […]
Manchin and U.S. Senate Democrats strike a deal on major health, climate, tax package
WASHINGTON — West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck an agreement Wednesday for a Democrats-only reconciliation package that would allow negotiations on some Medicare prescription drugs, end corporate tax loopholes and address climate change as well as invest in energy projects. President Joe Biden in a statement on […]
Federal grant aims to help the Oneida Nation move further toward renewable, resilient energy
The Oneida Nation has been awarded a federal grant to help the tribe take another step toward renewable energy. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the funding through a program within the American Rescue Plan. This $100 million Indigenous Communities program was intended to help tribal governments and indigenous communities carry out projects “they […]
Cause of Green Bay, Fox River fish die-off remains unclear
The cause of a large-scale fish die-off in the Fox River and lower Green Bay waters in June remains unknown. Reports of the die-off came in on June 18, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were monitoring the situation by June 20. Andrea Seldacek, public information officer for the DNR, told Wisconsin Examiner that […]
Biden lays out new funds for localities on climate, but no national emergency yet
With U.S. Senate negotiations over climate funding stalled, President Joe Biden on Wednesday directed additional spending to help states and cities manage climate disasters — resisting calls from many congressional Democrats to take more aggressive executive action like a declaration of a national climate emergency. Biden also announced steps executive agencies are taking to expand […]
Evers and Kaul file lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers
Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul have filed a lawsuit against three Wisconsin manufacturers and 15 other defendants accused of “wrongful, deceptive, and tortious conduct” which directly resulted in PFAS contamination in Wisconsin. The lawsuit, filed in Dane County, argues that the defendants either knew or should have known about the detrimental effects […]