Eco-Minute

A legal challenge against the Line 5 oil pipeline is set to begin August 12 in Ashland. Canadian oil giant Enbridge wants to trench and blast across northern Wisconsin to make way for a new 41-mile section of the pipeline. Environmental groups and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are challenging permits and other approvals for the project issued by the DNR.

Environmental groups across Wisconsin are calling on the state’s congressional representatives not to support a bill that would weaken the Clean Water Act. The so-called PERMIT Act would, among other harms, allow polluters to release PFAS “forever chemicals” into waterways without telling state officials, allow massive amounts of pesticides to be released into waterways, and fast-track projects that destroy wetlands & streams.

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.

Baby bald eagles near the great lakes are testing positive for PFAS and other toxic chemicals. Researchers found that eagles living near the great lakes had six times more toxic chemicals in their blood streams than inland populations. Other chemicals found were DDT and PCBs which were banned decades ago.

A small Wisconsin school district just got some big clean energy bragging rights. The Eleva-Strum school district, in Trempealeau County, unveiled 184 ground mount solar panels that will deliver about 20% of the district’s energy needs – and will be a living classroom for solar energy and energy data. The installation cost $150,000, and will pay for itself through emergy bill savings in about 8 years.

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

An unwelcome surprise for Wisconsin farmers looking to apply for the Federal Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP. The popular program helps rural small businesses and farmers invest in money saving energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy. But the application window that was supposed to open July 1st was abruptly closed by the USDA. The agency says it is delaying the grant application window.

The EPA is awarding a $700,000 grant to help Kenosha County pay for final phase of restoration of the Pike River. Crews are restoring banks and habitat along the River and planting native pollinator-friendly plants. The project is aimed at improving the quality of water flowing into Lake Michigan.

For a deep dive into environmental issues impacting Wisconsin, check out my Defender Podcast at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

We’re seeing all the smoke, but what exactly is causing all the fires in Canada? Turns out the 5,000-year-old forest stretching across the country doesn’t get as much snow cover in the spring as it used to and is experiencing warmer, drier summers because of climate change, making wildfire season much more severe. Canada’s boreal forest is the largest intact forest in the world.

If you’re in the market for new insulation, energy efficient appliances, heating & cooling upgrades – now is definitely the time. The new Mega-budget signed into law earlier this month means federal incentives to help families save energy are about to go away. But Wisconsin’s program still has federal funding available. Head to focusonenergy.com and click on IRA Home Energy Rebates.

Knowledge is power. 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.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court hands a big win to the environment. The court ruled it is unconstitutional for a legislative committee to block rules created by state agencies. The decision means good environmental rules now face an easier path to getting to the finish line and becoming law. For years, “legislative vetoes” by a handful of legislators stymied a long list of environmental protections.

After more than 30 years the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is going unfunded. Money for the legacy program was stripped out of the budget by the Joint Committee on Finance. The program helps preserve our state’s wildlife areas and fisheries through land purchases and grants. Now that the budget has been signed, it is unclear how the vital program will continue, although there is talk of a standalone bill that would revive it.

Knowledge is power. 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.

The website climate.gov is no more. The site that served as a trusted resource for federal research on climate change has been officially shut down a month after its staff was fired by the Trump Administration. When it was online, climate.gov received hundreds of thousands of visitors every month. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says climate information will be housed elsewhere on its website.

$16 million in state funding could soon be on the way to help farmers improve water quality in rural Wisconsin. The Joint Committee on Finance recently committed the funding for a host of environmentally-minded farm programs after months of work from Clean Wisconsin and its partners. The funding still needs to be passed by the full legislature and signed into law by Governor Evers.

Knowledge is power. 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.

Environmental groups say the Midwest grid operator, MISO, is pushing an emergency energy plan that discriminates against wind and solar, the two cheapest ways to produce energy in our state. The plan favors fast-tracking construction of gas-burning power plants at the expense of clean energy projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a similar plan from MISO last month, but environmental groups say this one is even worse, with few guardrails to ensure fossil fuel projects are actually needed.

Once again Wisconsin had the biggest wild turkey season in North America. More than 50,000 wild turkeys were harvested in our state this this spring. After the last turkey disappeared from Wisconsin in 1881, the Department of Natural Resources reintroduced the birds into our ecosystem in 1976 and has been managing the hunt ever since.

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.

The Trump Administration’s order to keep a Michigan coal plant running could mean higher energy bills in Wisconsin. Just days before the aging plant was set to retire, the Department of Energy ordered it to stay open, citing emergency wartime powers. Staff were already gone and there was no coal on site. The utility that owns the plant wants to recoup the tens of millions of dollars it costs to bring it back online through price increases on customers throughout the Midwest grid, including Wisconsin.

Summer nights in Wisconsin are heating up… literally.  According to Wisconsin’s Initiative on Climate Change Impacts, our state is about 3 degrees warmer in the summertime than it was in the 1950s. And we’re feeling that heat mostly at night, with temperatures staying above 70 more and more often.

Knowledge is power. 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.

Warm weather is finally here and so is wildfire smoke from Canada. Forecasters say we can expect air quality warnings to come and go and come again this month with no end in sight as fires blaze out of control across central and western Canada. Environmental advocates say the hazardous smoke blanketing our state—just when we want to head outdoors—shows no community is safe from the impacts of climate change and should be a wakeup call for policymakers.

The EPA pushing to end its popular Energy Star program that has helped families identify energy efficient appliances and home energy upgrades for about 30 years. A group of US Senators, including Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, is calling on the EPA to reconsider, saying for every dollar spent on the program Americans get $350 dollars in savings.

Knowledge is power. 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.

June is pollinator month, and some Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a package of bills to protect our bees, butterflies and other insects. The bills would prevent the DNR from using a class of pesticides of called neonicotinoids which are known to harm pollinators. They would also prevent retailers from labeling plants as pollinator-friendly if they’ve been treated with high levels of pesticides.
Great Lakes fisheries could struggle under budget cuts.

President Trump is pushing Congress to eliminate the entire biological research program at U.S. Geological Survey. The Ecosystem Mission Area monitors and conducts research on fish and wildlife populations in the Great Lakes and beyond. If passed, federal wildlife and fisheries research centers across Wisconsin would be shuttered.

Knowledge is power. For a deep dive into environmental issues across Wisconsin, check out my Defender Podcast at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.