Climate Change & Environment


Water is Life

You may have noticed in this issue we have several articles pertaining to mining. Perhaps a better way to address that is the need for clean water. Each of us comes from a different walk in life, yet we are here for the same goal. It is that simple. Water is Life The staff of Middle Wisconsin would like to recognize everyone out there that has been in the fight for the long haul. Thank you to each of you for making a difference in the fight against greed and the money that lines the pockets of politicians. “Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last ...

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Third Worlding Marathon County (and the Rest of Wisconsin)

Xiomara Castro, the first woman Honduran President, just banned open pit mining in her country because of it's toxic pollution and the consequent health impacts on wildlife and human life.  This marks a huge turning point in a country long exploited for it's natural resources at the expense of everything Hondurans hold dear – especially clean, safe water.  This remarkable turn around happened when the Honduran people got fed up enough to elect political leaders who actually cared more about them than big, usually foreign, mining corporations.  The quest for natural ...

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Public Should Question Proposed Mining in the Town of Easton

To protect its own interests, the public must pay attention to the proposal for mining in the town of Easton, near Dells of the Eau Claire County Park. The mining company, Greenlight Metals, Inc., will not protect the public’s interest. Whether the government will do so is far from clear. Greenlight has made a cost-benefit analysis that it has a reasonable chance of making money for its shareholders by mining just east of Wausau. We should have no illusions that, in its analysis, Green Light would alter its money-making plans if the mining would negatively ...

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Mining Jobs Mirage

Mining in northern Wisconsin  back in the news. A Canadian company wants to do exploratory drilling for copper and gold deposits in Marathon and Taylor counties. Advocates for mining claim it will be a boost for rural economies and create jobs. Other people dispute these claims. Too often the number of jobs promised don't pan out. The long term environmental damage can cost more than the economic gain. There are many studies that show mining does not improve local economies. There are better ways to create jobs and prosperity for northern Wisconsin. Mining, like ...

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Mining Plans Sound Harmful to the Environment

From 2016-2019, I called Wausau and Marathon County my home. One of the highlights of my time in the area was the pristine and stunning scenery of the north woods. The scenery is not the only benefit of the unmatched forests, lakes, rivers, and other natural features of Marathon County. These features are also essential to the health of everybody living there, the lifeline of many long-existing businesses, and truly a gift not to be squandered. This is why I found it disturbing that some company with no ties to Marathon County wants to come in and put all of these things ...

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To Citizens & Leaders of Marathon County:

It was an unfortunate day in 2017 when our state leaders, and I use that term leader loosely, thought it was a good idea to end the moratorium on metallic mining in Wisconsin.  Shame on those of you who did this.  To make things worse some members of our county leadership did not think anything of approving this flaw in common sense. At a time when wells are being shut down due to pollution, water quality should be first and foremost on the minds of everyone.  More than ever clean ground water for drinking and recreation needs to be protected. The Eau Claire ...

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Mining in Wisconsin

A Canadian mining company has an exploratory license and is moving ahead with plans to drill for gold and copper in north-central Wisconsin. Green Light Metals believes the Reef in eastern Marathon County and the Bend deposit in Taylor County have “economic interest” that warrant further exploration. The company says the Bend deposit, located within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest contains 4 million tons of copper and gold. They say the Reef deposit contains about  454,000 tons of gold reserves. This sounds impressive but it is misleading information. ...

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Bold Climate Action

We have a real opportunity in the City of Wausau to work together toward a positive change, and I am hoping that you will join us next week Wednesday at 6 pm, to find out more about how you can help. As the farming season becomes more unpredictable, and as severe weather becomes more frequent and destructive, we can see in our community and around the world that climate change is here and only getting worse. It is a daunting issue that can feel insurmountable when we face it alone. But we know that our individual climate conscious choices will no longer be enough. We ...

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We All Need Clean Water

As you may, or may not know, a Canadian company called Green Light Metals has applied for a drilling permit in eastern Marathon County. Water is one of the most important things in our lives. Plans were recently announced to commence a sulfuric acid mineral exploration drilling project to evaluate if an open-pit gold mine will be constructed. Citizens from the region are very concerned that groundwater will be placed in jeopardy of contamination. Without access to clean drinking water, many aspects of everyday life will become burdensome and unhealthy. Every ...

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Earth Day 2022

Sponsored by the local Citizen’s Climate Lobby Chapter and NAOMI of Wausau celebrated Earth Day by planting fifteen trees  on April 23rd at Memorial Park. In the spirit of Wausau’s Community for All Resolution those trees were planted by our sisters and brothers from our Indigenous, Hmong, African American, and Hispanic communities as well as Muslim, Jewish and Christian members of our Family. We were excited to have tree planting teams from the LGBTQ community and various local organizations like the YWCA, MOSAIC, Citizens for a Clean Wausau, Citizens Action ...

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