Nature in News

Gordon and Josh break down this week’s stories where nature and people collide, from a record pipeline leak in northern Wisconsin to 250-year-old cottonwoods falling for the border wall, plus some good news from Wisconsin’s whooping cranes.

In this episode:
🛢️ Line 5 leak: A runaway truck ruptures Enbridge’s Line 5 during its reroute around the Bad River Reservation, releasing an estimated 1.3 million gallons of propane and butane. We also look at the company’s spill record and the Wisconsin DNR’s response.
🖥️ Data centers: Diesel backup generators, water use, and what living about five miles from Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant build is like.
🚨 The lighthouse vigilante: A lighthouse owner faces federal charges for wastewater discharge and allegedly posing as the Coast Guard.
🌳 Border wall vs. 250-year-old cottonwoods: The 71-day tree sit in Arizona, the cost of the wall, and how it cuts off wildlife migration through places like the Huachuca Mountains.
📉 Living Planet Report: Monitored wildlife populations are down 73% since 1970, and freshwater species are down 85%. We also cover the comebacks of green sea turtles, tigers, and Atlantic bluefin tuna.
💡 Peak lighting & light pollution: Why turning your outdoor lights off could bring back the fireflies.
🦩 Whooping cranes: From 15 birds in the 1940s to nearly 900 today. Wisconsin’s flock had four fledglings this year.
🦇 Bat Week (Oct 24–31): Bats as pollinators and mosquito eaters, white-nose syndrome in Wisconsin’s mines, and how you can get involved.
🦇 Bat Week: https://batweek.org
🦩 International Crane Foundation: https://savingcranes.org
🎥 Gordon Crum: https://www.youtube.com/@Gordoncrum
🎥 Josh: https://www.youtube.com/@FoxandFir

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