Environment
Bipartisan bill divides unions, environmentalists
Legislation that would make it a felony to trespass on pipeline and other energy sites is exposing some divisions among Democrats and making allies of business groups and labor unions. Critics, principally environmental advocates, contend the measure would stifle dissent against controversial projects. Proponents, including Democrats allied with labor, are defending it as a worker […]
Wisconsin DNR pledges to treat climate change as major issue
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources under Gov. Tony Evers has pledged to address climate change as a major state-wide issue. Secretary-designee Preston Cole called climate change, “one of the defining issues of our time,” and made it clear that his agency will back pro-climate policies. “The DNR is entrusted to protect the people’s resources, […]
Celebrate nature’s gifts this national Public Lands Day
The air we breathe. The water we drink. The land that nourishes us. All this and more is reason enough to celebrate National Public Lands Day. Celebrated this year on Saturday, Sept. 28th, National Public Lands Day is the largest single-day volunteer event on our public lands, where hundreds of thousands of volunteers come together […]
Teens lead Milwaukee’s hundreds-strong climate march
Several hundred people gathered at Milwaukee City Hall on Friday, Sept. 20, to take part in the global climate strike. They joined over 4 million people across 163 countries who marched for immediate action by world governments to cut carbon emissions and address the climate crisis. “I want my future children to live in a […]
Students prepare for climate strike
“It’s definitely been a little hectic,” 17-year-old Rufus King High School senior and climate activist Ayanna Lee told Wisconsin Examiner. As an executive director of the Youth Climate Action Team, it’s Lee’s responsibility to help organize strikes and marches for her home city of Milwaukee. On Friday, Sept. 20, students nationwide are joining the worldwide […]
Evers joins 14 governors pushing Congress to address PFAS in defense bill
Gov. Tony Evers joined a group of 14 other Democratic and Republican governors in sending a letter Wednesday to both the U.S. Senate and House Armed Services Committees backing provisions related to per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) in the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act. In August, Evers issued an executive order on PFAS chemicals, which […]
Potential mining disaster on the Menominee River?
Michigan and Wisconsin could face devastating environmental damage if an open-pit mine near Lake Michigan releases toxic waste into the two states’ waterways, Al Gedicks reports in Urban Milwaukee. The planned “Back Forty” metallic sulfide mine, owned by Aquila Resources, a Canadian exploration company, would cover 123 acres next to the Menominee River on the […]
Bad Chemistry
The Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality is tasked with this mission: “To protect a healthy and stable supply of water for residents and industry.” To that end it has gone around the state hearing testimony from a wide variety of invited groups and speakers–governmental, environmental, industry, farmers, academics and state agencies, among others. […]
DNR plans Marinette chemical contamination listening sessions
As worries persist about contamination from chemicals known as PFAS in and around Marinette and Peshtigo in northeastern Wisconsin, the state Department of Natural Resources will hold the first of six monthly listening sessions on the issue this Wednesday in Marinette. “People asked the DNR to give folks a forum to ask questions and receive […]
F-35 stirs strong reaction in Madison
The Air National Guard held a public forum on the plan to bring F-35 fighter jets to Madison’s Truax Field on Thursday night at the Exhibition Hall of the Alliant Energy Center. Public comments on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by the Air Force are open until Sept. 27. Worried residents of the […]
Special Memories Zoo sued over animal living conditions
For years, Tanya and Teagan, two endangered tigers, have drawn crowds to the Special Memories roadside zoo in Greenville, Wisconsin. People paid for tickets to gather around their cramped cages. Those same people took pity on the animals for their algae-choked watering holes, rotten food, and unchanged enclosure bedding. Now, the tigers might find a […]
Non-lethal pesticide to be used to deter sandhill cranes
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (WDATCP) is moving forward with a new, non-lethal pesticide. Avipel will be applied to corn seed in Wisconsin to discourage sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) from consuming and destroying crops. The news raised concerns for crane advocates who are worried about negative impacts the program may have […]