http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/category_rss/globalwarming Last week Rep. Frank Lasee announced his latest harebrained scheme, to drill for oil in the Great Lakes . There is nothing like handing over your most precious resource to an industry that can’t be trusted. And for what? For the remote chance that they will find (or spill) oil in 15 years and possibly save a few cents off gas prices? As if that is not enough for one month, now Lasee is cheering his Republican friends on the Natural Resources Committee who voted to block a reasonable rule to protect us from mercury contamination. Almost every Wisconsin lake is under warning for mercury pollution but Lasee and his friends on the committee would rather obey the corporate interests that pull their strings. The rule was proposed by the Department of Natural Resources as crafted by an independent group of experts. It would have required large coal-fired plants to reduce mercury by 90 percent by the beginning of 2015. Over 437,000 Wisconsinites are exposed to higher-than-safe levels of mercury and six percent of Wisconsin women of childbearing age have elevated levels of mercury. Health problems caused by mercury include neurological damage for babies and children, as well as hearing and vision loss and impaired coordination and speech for adults. Seniors are at risk from mercury for heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. Mercury is most commonly ingested by humans through fish consumption. The state has issued advisories about fish consumption due to mercury contamination for nearly every Wisconsin water body. Still Lasee cheers the status quo and its defenders in the Assembly. Apparently in the wacky world of Frank Lasee, poisoning your neighbors is not only praiseworthy but is the highest act of civic engagement. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBp http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBp/commentary#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:40:46 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBp Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBp/ From the legislator who brought the great state of Wisconsin a plan to arm teachers with guns in an effort to curb school violence (you all remember his hilarious appearance on the Daily Show about 2 years ago…), comes another idea worthy of all kinds of jokes and ridicule – lifting a ban on drilling for oil in the Great Lakes. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/theduke/CHBB http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/theduke/CHBB/commentary#comments Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:14:40 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/theduke/CHBB Robert http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/98373c53a0534c14fd_ppbmvypq9.jpg Robert 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBB/ Tomorrow, the Bush Legacy Tour bus is rolling in to Madison. Having spent my entire adult life under the Bush administration, I truly look forward to sealing the legacy of George W. Bush and the conservative ideology as disastrous for the economy, the environment, and American families. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHMJ http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHMJ/commentary#comments Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:36:37 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHMJ Cody O http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/29f658c77b84123210_r9wmvyqo2.jpg Cody O 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMJ/ Former Assembly Speaker John Gard has scheduled several town-hall meetings that he says will focus on gas prices. Unfortunately his positions on our addiction to oil is no different than the failed policies of the most unpopular president in history, George W. Bush. More specifically Gard is talking about giving Big Oil a free pass to dig up and take over wherever they think that they can find oil. Whether it is endangering pristine areas of wildlife or erecting Big Oil monuments right off our coasts, Gard’s folly is trying to drill our way out of this energy crisis. Even some of his fellow Republicans do not agree with this shortsighted gamble for what is sure to be a very limited gain. While Gard is busy promoting Big Oil’s self serving agenda, I wonder if he will take a moment to correct himself on a recent related claim. Talking Points memo reported  recently that Gard parroted a conservative talking point that had been completely debunked. The conservative claim that China and other nations were drilling off the coast of Florida was repeated in a Gard flyer even after Dick Cheney had to admit that it was not factual. When reporters for Talking Points Memo called the Gard operation to ask them about the misinformation, they were given several different false and conflicting answers. Perhaps it would be good for John Gard to take a moment during the town hall meetings to explain why he put out such inaccurate information for public consumption. Like his energy policy in general, the flyer demonstrates the length that he will go to in order to protect Big Oil and their narrow interests. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjt http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjt/commentary#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:10:09 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjt Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjt/ As ruthless as F. Jim Sensenbrenner ruled while the GOP ran Congress, it's hard not to take some satisfaction in his plummeting influence. But then he goes an does something that warrants mentioning, despite his eroding relevance to the national debate. The midwest has suffered greatly during the recent floods. Since late-May 24 deaths are blamed on the weather and 40,000 have been displaced from their homes. Yesterday, the Congress passed a modest $2.65 billion midwest flood relief plan. Twelve members showed utter indifference to the victims and those in need by voting against the bill. Sensenbrenner , you guessed it, was one of the 12. Unbelievable. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/scotross/CHGs http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/scotross/CHGs/commentary#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:48:17 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/scotross/CHGs Scot @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/b15bea43ee26199f1d_l7awmvb5t.jpg Scot @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGs/ Anyone that is watching television in the state of Wisconsin has probably seen the new John McCain ad on the environment. The ad over-reaches trying to put a happy face on John McCain’s record in the Senate. Although the ad tries to paint McCain as a “maverick” on the environment, reality shows that his departures from the Bush party line are rare at best. Conveniently, just after starting the current ad buy, McCain provided us with the latest example of why he is McSame as Bush on the environment. This week both Bush and McCain pushed an oil industry plan to end the federal ban on offshore drilling. The oil industry is hardly known for its protective policies over the environment. Actually in many ways the most serious environmental issues of our day can, in some way, be laid at their feet. Yet this same oil industry appears to be the policy guide for both Bush and McCain on offshore drilling. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGz http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGz/commentary#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:28:27 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGz Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGz/ Yesterday, the John McCain camp issued a press release in conjunction with a new ad touting Sen. McCain’s record on the environment. See the ad for yourself on the YouTube(s) . “Five years ago,” says the ad, “John McCain stood up to the President and sounded the alarm on global warming.” As proof of his maverickiness, the creators of the ad were able to scrape together just a single UPI article titled, “McCain climate views clash with GOP.” The article is actually less than a month old. The political director for the Sierra Club said Sen. McCain "is using the environment as a way to portray himself as being different from George Bush. But the reality is that he isn't." http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHGl http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHGl/commentary#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:47:55 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/codyoliphant/CHGl Cody O http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/29f658c77b84123210_r9wmvyqo2.jpg Cody O 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGl/ It was appalling to see Sen. John McCain in Louisiana to try and distance himself for the horrors of George W. Bush and the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Considering how McCain voted to shield Bush from accountability for this national disgrace, he might have thought twice. Consider McCain’s record protecting Bush and abandoning those in need when it comes to Katrina. McCain Twice Voted Against a Commission to Examine Government Response to Katrina. In 2005 and 2006, McCain voted against creating a congressional commission to examine the federal, state and local response to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region.  Both motions failed. [H.R. 2862, Vote #229, 9/14/2005; H.R. 4297, Vote #6, 2/2/2006]  http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/scotross/C27N http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/scotross/C27N/commentary#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:11:22 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/scotross/C27N Scot @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/b15bea43ee26199f1d_l7awmvb5t.jpg Scot @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C27N/ This week Senator John McCain is focusing on the environment and climate change. Although he has been vocal about the issue on the stump, his actual voting record is both inconsistent and severely lacking. In reaction to McCain’s speech Monday, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski commented that “he has not substantively improved his plan over the bill he introduced years ago – legislation that the science now shows is out of date.” John McCain’s lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters is a pathetic 24 percent. Despite his focus this week, he has managed to miss every major vote on the environment during the 110th Congress. That telling record gives him one big ZERO on the most recent LCV scorecard . Given McCain’s record on the environment, it is difficult to take anything that he says seriously. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C24v http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C24v/commentary#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 21:20:58 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C24v Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C24v/ Digging a little deeper on Sen. John McCain’s environmental record yields some scary remains indeed. Turns out he’s pretty much buried any previous attempts to work on environmental concerns, and any comments he makes on global warming, energy and the environmental are little more than double talk. According to the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), McCain’s lifetime LCV score comes in at a paltry 24 percent, showing what the organization calls “a wavering commitment to America’s environment." Want to help unearth the truth about McCain? http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/andrea/C24t http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/andrea/C24t/commentary#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 13:23:28 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/andrea/C24t Andrea @ One Wisconsin Now Andrea @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C24t/ Guess who is involved in yet another lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin ? Why it is Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce of course! They have filed a lawsuit, along with other business interests, against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Apparently they want the DNR to suspend rulemaking on new pollution limits for power plants. They claim that they are not challenging the merit of the proposed rule. Instead their feathers are ruffled over what sounds like a very technical issue. WMC claims that they were not given notice of the proposed rules before the start of the rulemaking process. Some might consider this to be using a legal “loophole” or a “technicality” just to undermine the new rule. Are they willing to rush off to court and sacrifice public health and the environment because of a “technicality”? That’s funny, for some reason I thought they were against legal “technicalities” and “loopholes”. In any case, someone should call WMC and tell them to stand up for the environment and public health - not technicalities! Heck, if someone had the cash, they could even run a scary ad about it. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C2P2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C2P2/commentary#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 11:27:49 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C2P2 Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2P2/ Former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson knew that if the environment was to be a priority on the national agenda, it would be the people, not the politicians, who put it there. So, in 1970, Senator Nelson announced a nationwide grassroots demonstration on the environment; he called it Earth Day. Thirty-eight years ago, the first Earth Day demonstration saw an overwhelming 20 million participants. The sheer numbers got the attention of Congress and led to the enactment of some of our most treasured environmental laws. But as I said in an Earth Day speech at Edgewood College, we are a far cry from realizing Nelson’s dream of a world where our waters are unpolluted, our air clean, and our planet preserved for future generations. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/tammybaldwin/C2PQ http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/tammybaldwin/C2PQ/commentary#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:36:38 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/tammybaldwin/C2PQ Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/588787f740711e4cc7_vh7ymv8zh.jpg Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2PQ/ The UW-Milwaukee Chapter of Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters. SHAC and University Housing are hosting a river and litter clean up this Saturday in River West. The events will take place at Sandburg and RiverView dorms at 10:30am. Afterward, join other community organizations and newly elected Alderman Nik Kovac for an Eco-Jam (live music) at the new RiverView dorm. For more information please contact Adrienne Roach at adrienne@conservationvoters.org To see a flier, visit the WLCV blog http://www.conservationvoters.org/blog/?p=58   http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/adrienneroach/C2PF http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/adrienneroach/C2PF/commentary#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:09:26 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/adrienneroach/C2PF User from Milwaukee, WI User from Milwaukee, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2PF/