Many of us are well aware of climate change, so we use LED light bulbs, plant trees, recycle, and lower our thermostats in the winter. As we do all this, however, we realize that fossil fuel companies are receiving billions of dollars in federal subsidies and that global warming and climate change continue to increase. Is there anything you can do that would have a significant impact on global warming? Yes, there is! You can contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and urge them to pass a revenue-neutral carbon tax. Climate scientists and economist agree ...

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Less than two years after going on a strict trash diet, University of Wisconsin-Stout has weighed in. The results are impressive: the university has cut tons of waste, is producing more compost than trash and has earned a state title. During the 2013-14 academic year, UW-Stout so far has reduced its total amount of waste going to the landfill by 43 tons — more than 86,000 pounds — compared to the previous year. That figure played a big part in the recently completed national Recyclemania contest. UW-Stout, for the first time, led all competing colleges in Wisconsin ...

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(This article was previously published in the Stevens Point Journal & Wausau Daily Herald) The U.S. military has its problems. It’s overfunded, wasteful and unnecessarily deployed in many cases. But I’m surprised, even shocked, with its contributions for solving climate change. You won’t find many climate change deniers in the military, especially in the U.S. Navy. They know climate change is occurring and they know what causes it — humans burning fossil fuels. Remember, the military developed steel, radar, GPS and microchips last century and these ...

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An excellent panel discussion on how climate change impacts Wisconsin fish and wildlife was held on April 1st.  The free event was attended by 114 people who came to Ben Franklin Junior High in Stevens Point to listen and participate in the discussion. Panelists included George Meyer, former Secretary of the WDNR and Executive Director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Wisconsin’s largest sporting organization; Dr. Mike Notaro, Associate Director of the Center for Climatic Research at the UW-Madison; Dr. Matt Mitro, a cold-water fisheries scientist with the WDNR; ...

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Citizens for a Clean, Green & Welcoming Community (aka the Clean-Green group) is beginning its 7th year of working on projects that focus on sustainability and reducing our impact on the environment.  2013 was a very successful year, and we will continue our efforts in 2014 with some on-going and some new projects. Among our success stories in 2013 was earning the Bird City designation for Wisconsin Rapids with this award being presented to the city at the Grand Affair on September 8.  We also adopted a stretch of highway for clean-up so our group can walk the ...

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The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) are both taking action on climate change. The DOD just issued their 64-page 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, in which they clearly describe steps they’re taking to respond to global climate change. In the introduction, they say, “Climate change poses [a] significant challenge for the United States and the world at large. As greenhouse gas emissions increase, sea levels are rising, average global temperatures are increasing, and severe weather patterns are accele...

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“Why don’t people remember?” my old friend asked. We talked of how we learned about global warming through our grade school Weekly Reader in the 1950’s. We remembered global warming being discussed in our Sunday school classes because we all wanted to help God save his living creations on earth. Over 55 years ago global warming was taught in our schools. Real data was used, with the application of scientific methods, to predict what could happen. We looked at different scenarios if actions weren’t taken, like heating or cooling from the “greenhouse effect....

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