Eco-Minute

Wisconsin’s summers are getting smokier. According to a new analysis from Clean Wisconsin, the number of days that we breathe air polluted by wildfire smoke has risen over the past 15 years from one day per year to nine days. Exposure to wildfire smoke now accounts for an estimated 250 premature deaths in Wisconsin every year. You can blame our warming planet. Earlier melting of snow, decreasing rainfall, warmer nighttime temperatures all contribute to more fires.

Good news for black-necked stilts. They are migratory shore-birds, with you guessed it, long legs and black necks. With some help from the DNR, the protected birds have begun nesting in Horicon Marsh. The Wisconsin wetland now contains one of the largest breeding populations of black-necked stilts anywhere east of the Mississippi, and that number has doubled since 2022.

Right now on The Defender podcast, do data centers hurt your health? Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Lawsuits starting to emerge over AI data centers in Wisconsin. Legal nonprofit Midwest Environmental Advocates is suing the Department of Natural Resources saying the agency skipped the required environmental review for Port Washington’s AI data center amid pressure from its developers. And in an effort to protect strict new financial requirements for data center owners and operators, Clean Wisconsin is intervening in Oracle’s lawsuit against the state. The tech giant is suing to relax those new requirements.

It’s hot in Wisconsin, and while we’re not breaking any record highs for now, we are breaking record lows. Experts say climate change is causing a steep rise in the number of very warm nights. And that’s not great for your health. Higher nighttime temperatures mean your body can’t cool down and recover overnight.

Right now on the Defender Podcast, how to take control of all that plastic at the grocery store. Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Happy Plastic Free July! The global movement meant to help people reduce their plastic waste is starting to catch on in Wisconsin. The challenge – to go a whole month without single-use plastics. A few things you can do—buy laundry detergent in a box, carry a reusable water bottle, and keep a couple reusable grocery bags in your car. And it might help protect your health. Micro- and nanoplastics have been found throughout the human body, including in the human nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems.

Canadian oil giant Enbridge ordered to remove a port-o-potty it placed on a Wisconsin wetland. The company is trenching and blasting its away across forests in the Northwoods to lay sections of its new Line 5 oil pipeline as a lawsuit against the line is ongoing. The order came from DNR officials in May. Last week the company had to clean up a drilling fluid spill in a separate wetland.

For a deep dive into Wisconsin’s most pressing environmental issues, check out the Defender Podcast at CleanWisconsin.org.

Bad news for Lake Superior. Another invasive species is getting a foothold in our largest, most pristine Great Lake. Bloody Red Shrimp – tiny crustaceans that travel in swarms that look like reddish clouds in the water – have been found in the Duluth-Superior harbor. The shrimp multiply quickly and feed on zooplankton, disrupting the food chain and leaving less food available for native fish.

Health and environmental groups are calling on Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission to reject a proposal for a massive new gas plant in Kenosha County… just down the road from Microsoft’s new AI data center in Mt. Pleasant. The plant is being proposed by We Energies as data centers drive up energy demand in our state. If approved, it would be the second largest gas-burning plant in Wisconsin and cause more than $1 billion in health damages over its lifetime.

Right now on the Defender Podcast, what is the push to keep coal burning in Wisconsin doing to our water? Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Time is running out for Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson stewardship program, the long-running conservation effort that has helped preserve more than 750,000 acres across all of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Funding for the program ends on June 30th. This year, Wisconsin’s legislature declined to renew funding for Knowles-Nelson after 37 years of protecting Wisconsin’s treasured natural areas.

New cleanup data is revealing some sources of plastic pollution in and along our Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup initiative has been collecting, sorting, and identifying pieces of plastic from water and shorelines to figure out how to stem the flow of plastic pollution into our Great Lakes. The biggest number of identifiable plastics in 2025 were cigarette butts and other smoking related items. Next biggest category: food bags, wrappers and cups.

Right now on the Defender podcast, who’s behind the avalanche of AI data center moratoriums in Wisconsin? Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Wisconsin’s largest power company, We Energies is joining forces with tech companies behind the Port Washington AI data center to challenge a recent order from the Public Service Commission. In April the Commission told We Energies that its new AI data center customers must meet strict credit and collateral requirements to ensure they can cover the cost of all the new power plants and other infrastructure being built to meet data center energy demand. The companies claim the requirements could “narrow the pool of investors” for AI data center projects in Wisconsin. We Energies currently has five new gas plants either proposed or under construction.

The longest days of the year are upon us. Believe it or not, what happens now has a big influence on all those beautiful colors we see in the fall! Warm weather after the summer solstice means the colors will last longer. Cool weather – well that means the leaves will finish changing colors earlier.

Right now on the Defender Podcast – have we been sold a bill of goods about the benefits of ethanol? Listen cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Some Federal Funding could be coming to Wisconsin – to keep an old coal plant running. The 1970s-era Columbia Coal Plant was supposed to be shut back in 2022, but Alliant Energy never followed through. Now the plant is part of a $425 million dollar emergency order by the Trump Administration to keep coal burning. Coal plants release a long list of toxins into the air and water, including mercury and lead. According to the Midwest grid operator, there is no energy emergency in Wisconsin.

It’s invasive species month, a great time to think about how we can all help stop the spread of non-native organisms. Experts with the DNR say when you fish, clean all your gear, and drain and dry water from your boat before you head to the next lake or river. When you hike, stay on trails and remove dirt, mud and seeds from your shoes and gear. And follow Wisconsin’s firewood rules.

Right now on The Defender podcast, there’s something in our rain and snow.. and you’re not gonna like it. Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Trump Administration’s new budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—or NOAA—could spell disaster for our Great Lakes. Funding for research programs that work on everything from water quality to maritime safety and weather observations are zeroed out in the budget. The $1.3 billion in cuts to NOAA still must be approved by Congress.

June is pollinator month! A time to recognize and protect Wisconsin’s critical creatures that are key to more than $55 million a year in crop production in our state. What can you do to celebrate? Plant a pollinator garden, and make sure the plants haven’t been treated with pesticides, especially types called neonics, which have devastated bee populations in areas near corn and soybean fields.

Right now on The Defender podcast, a look at what’s standing in the way of a new oil pipeline in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Happy 75th birthday to Wisconsin’s State Natural Areas Program created in 1951—the first program of its kind in the country and the largest. There are nearly 700 natural sites cared for and protected through the program. Our very first state natural area was Parfrey’s Glen in the Baraboo Hills.

How often do you think about the Mississippi River? Unless you live near the river, maybe not as much as you should, considering more than half of Wisconsin is in the River’s watershed. But now, it’s getting its very own day. June 2nd is National Mississippi River Day, a moment to pause and celebrate, protect, and connect with our nation’s most iconic waterway! The Mighty Mississippi and its wetlands provide critical habitat for countless species, and the Upper Mississippi brings $24 billion in tourism to our region.

For a deep dive into Wisconsin’s most pressing environmental issues, check out the Defender podcast at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The EPA says it wants to toss out a rule that keeps coal power plants from releasing hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic metals into nearby waterways. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said the rule is so hard to comply with that it could cause coal plants to shut down, and that would deprive AI data centers of the electricity they need. Zeldin called the rule “burdensome” in the face of the coming “AI data center revolution.”

Work can continue on the controversial Line 5 oil pipeline under construction across pristine areas of Wisconsin’s Northwoods, but not everywhere. A circuit court judge has ruled that right now, Canadian oil giant Enbridge cannot build some sections of the pipeline that cross waterways –because its permits may not be legally valid. The judge will make a decision about those permits at a later date.

For a deep dive into Wisconsin’s most pressing environmental issues, check out my Defender podcast at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.