Competing proposals would protect “innocent landowners” — those who didn’t knowingly cause pollution — from liability.
Category: Environment
Posted inEnvironment
‘Chaotic’ USDA funding freeze stalls rural renewable projects
Thousands of farmers and a dozen rural electric cooperatives wait for news about billions in funds under Trump administration “review.”
Posted inEnvironment
Bogs hold a climate solution through carbon capture, but many have been drained
Peat bogs sequester a massive amount of the Earth’s carbon dioxide. But even as scientists work to better understand bogs’ sequestration, the wetlands are under threat.
Posted inBudget Bites, Environment
Wisconsin is still sitting on $125 million for PFAS cleanup
Gov. Tony Evers is proposing more funding to clean up toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, while offering farmers more protections.
Posted inEnvironment
Opting for coexistence: Some Wisconsin landowners learn to live with beavers
Beavers can cause property damage, but research shows they positively impact the environment. Some landowners are ditching traps and dynamite to peacefully manage the nuisance.
Posted inBill Watch, Environment
Republican bill seeks more local control over wind, solar farms
A bill that would empower Wisconsin municipalities to block the construction of solar and wind farms in their backyards has been introduced a second time.
Posted inEnvironment
Study finds winter days on the Great Lakes growing shorter due to climate change
A new study builds on previous research that shows winters on the Great Lakes are growing shorter due to climate change.
Posted inEnvironment
New federal law addresses climate extremes and flooding along Mississippi River
Flood control along the Mississippi River is a central piece of a newly passed federal law — work that advocates believe is critical as the river basin sees more frequent and severe extreme weather events due to climate change.
Posted inEnvironment
Coal was on its way out, but surging electricity demand is keeping it alive — costing people and the environment
Owners or operators of more than 30 U.S. coal plants, in states from Wisconsin to West Virginia, plan to delay their retirement — increasing utility bills and prolonging dangerous greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted inEnvironment
Volunteers collect and plant acorns along Mississippi River to save struggling forests
Trees that grow in the Mississippi River floodplain have been struggling. Government agencies and various nonprofits are trying to reverse the forestland decline by planting new trees, and volunteers are key.
Posted inEnvironment
An ecosystem engineer’s vision: mock beaver dams to restore Wisconsin wetlands
Beaver-inspired structures could limit flooding and benefit wildlife habitat, but state permitting is arduous.
Posted inEnvironment
In Michigan and Wisconsin, cities are finding rooftops alone may not achieve solar energy goals
Kalamazoo, Michigan, is tempering a vision for rooftop solar in favor of large, more distant solar projects built and owned by a utility. Milwaukee and other cities are taking a similar approach.