Environment/Energy
Next WI governor says yes to nuclear power
Submitted by Staff on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 3:38pm
Sad news! Both candidates for governor – Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (Democrat) and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (Republican) – said they would support lifting the ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants in the state. (This makes clear the need to educate officials about the hazards and high cost of nuclear reactors!) In good news, State Rep.
Germany says "nein, danke" to nuclear power
Submitted by Staff on Tue, 09/21/2010 - 3:29pm
Last Saturday, tens of thousands of Germans took part in the country's largest anti-nuclear protest since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. (More pictures and video of the protest are available online.)
"We've made it very clear today that a broad majority of the population is against this nuclear cult," protest organizer Jochen Stay told Reuters.
Madison Fruits & Nuts wins city approval
Submitted by Staff on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 10:19am
A plan to put "edible landscaping" in Madison city parks won the approval of the Madison city Parks Commission last week, over an earlier proposal to require volunteer groups planting fruit and nut trees to buy $1 million of liability insurance for each public park site where the trees would be planted. More than three dozen people came to the Parks Commission hearing to speak out in favor of fruit and nut trees in city parks, and in the end, all but one of the commissioners voted in favor of permitting the trees to be planted without the liability insurance requirement.
Weekend Gathering in the UP - “Protecting Our Water, Environment and Sacred Places”,
Submitted by Staff on Fri, 07/16/2010 - 4:17pm
WNPJ Board member, Al Gedicks, LaCrosse, is one of the presenters at the Third Annual Protect the Earth Community Gathering, Baraga, MI on Saturday, July 31. Al is part of a panel discussing Mining in the UP and resistance at Eagle Rock. Winona LaDuke is also presenting at this event, and there will be music and more. All welcome to this annual gathering, this year called: “Protecting Our Water, Environment and Sacred Places”, July 30– Aug. 1 at Baraga, MI To see the three-day schedule of event and to learn more about accomodations, go to "Read more" (car-pool options from Madison - contact: info@wnpj.org)
Badger Groundwater Contamination at All Time High
Submitted by Staff on Thu, 07/08/2010 - 9:41am
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger is pressing the Army and state regulators for a swift response to new laboratory test results showing that concentrations of explosives and other contaminants are rapidly increasing in groundwater at Badger Army Ammunition Plant and in surrounding rural neighborhoods. Since April 2008, testing by the U.S. Army has confirmed that levels of the carcinogenic explosive DNT in monitoring wells at Badger have increased from 13.7 micrograms per liter (ug/l) to a current level of 2,223.3 ug/l. This newest result from March 2010 is more than 44,000 times the Health Advisory Level of 0.05 ug/l set by state health officials for drinking water.Campaign opposes oil drillling in Great Lakes
Submitted by Staff on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 2:26pm
One Wisconsin Now, a WNPJ member organization, has launched an online petition campaign to ban oil drilling in the Great Lakes:
What would happen to Wisconsin if the BP oil spill in the Gulf happened in Lake Michigan instead? What if tar balls were washing up on beaches in Milwaukee, Sheboygan and Door County? Or if thousands of lake trout and salmon were found dead and instead of oil-coated pelicans it was eagles, ospreys, loons and ducks?
EPA says Kennecott doesn't need permit at Eagle Rock
Submitted by Staff on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 12:18pm
The New York Times: MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. doesn't need a federal permit to build a nickel and copper mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
The agency informed the company of its ruling in a letter made public Friday, on the start of a holiday weekend -- the preferred time to release news you're hoping to keep quiet.
Hands Across the Sands - and "NO" to offshore drilling
Submitted by Staff on Sun, 06/27/2010 - 10:41am
On June 26, thousands of people on beaches (and inland) across the nation and world joined hands against off-shore drilling, saying 'Yes!' to alternative energy sources. In Wisconsin, the Raging Grannies took part in the event in Madison, along the shores of Lake Monona, here...
