The Age of Plastics
“Welcome to the Plasticene. If you’re under age 70, it’s possible you’ve lived in the Plasticene for your entire life. It’s a new geologic age some scientists have proposed to mark the near-universal spread of plastic around Earth. Since the 1950s, researchers say, we’ve been living in the Age of Plastics.” Kristen Minogue, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
Geologists have divided the 4.5 billion years of earth's history into a geologic time scale. These divisions, or “geochronologic units,” include eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages. We ...
Rights of Nature Series
The Rights of Nature team will be hosting a 5-Week Zoom training about the Rights of Nature movement. The training will include: 1) Key principles of the Rights of Nature; 2) Global Perspectives; 3) Philosophical, Ethical and Religious Dimensions of Rights of Nature; 4) Practical Applications and Advocacy; 5) Personal, Group and Collective Action Plans.
This dynamic and interactive workshop is designed to engage participants in understanding the Rights of Nature concept. Through engaging activities, discussions, and expert insights, participants will delve ...
Peter Gruich is Wisconsin’s Northwoods Luigi Mangione
Subtitle: Right-wing disinformation is at the heart of political violence caused by mental illness.
*To read owner Kirks' weekly essay with all of the pics and source links, subscribe to our Substack. Kirk Bangstad, is the of Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC
You’ve probably heard of Luigi Mangione, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, and Matthew Alan Livelsberger, but have you heard of Peter Gruich?
The first three have made national news through acts of political violence over the last month.
Luigi Mangione ...
The Myth of Recycling Plastic
“The idea that recycling can solve the problem of plastic waste has always been a fraud, and it's always been a way for the industry to sell more plastic,” Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity.
As I wrote about recently, the use of plastic has increased enormously, creating a huge worldwide problem with plastic trash (“The age of plastics,” December 19, 2024). Much of this plastic is for single use products like packaging and shopping bags. Recycling is suppose to mitigate these problems. But for many reasons, recycling plastic simply ...
Investigate, Question Sources of Information
We thought that you could verify facts with two sources of information that said the same thing. Hearing something on the Walter Cronkite CBS Evening News and then reading it in the local newspaper was proof this was the truth.
Today it is far more difficult to distinguish the truth from lies. No matter how savvy we think we are, we can be tricked. Billionaires on the right have invested more heavily in media than their counterparts on the left. Fox News, I-Heart Radio and TV stations and newspapers owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group speak in one voice as they slant ...
RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARONS
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a
few, but we can’t have both.” - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
Born in 1856, Brandeis lived through the “Gilded Age” and the “Roaring 20’s.” He saw the unethical
practices, the exploitation of working people, and the corruption of politicians brought on by the
fabulously wealthy, the “Robber Barons” of that age. Brandeis saw how democracy was destroyed by
gross inequality, he saw how the rich were able to buy and sell “elected” officia...
November Marsh Marigolds
If not the very first to flower in the Central Wisconsin spring, the radiant yellow Marsh Marigold is by far the most exciting of the spring ephemerals. These perky bouquets love shallow seeps of water, poking their golden heads above a green nest of round edged leaves, and where conditions are favorable, they carpet the wet, leafless spring woods for several glorious weeks in April. My first picture this year is dated April 14th, about the time our Forsythia blooms. This early splash of color in the drab days not long after winter's end is joy incarnate. It ...
Support for Our Homeless
In a recent letter to a local paper, a writer objected to a recent proposal that will give our police department $400,000 in American Rescue Plan funding. This funding proposal, unanimously approved by the Wausau City Council, earmarks money, available until December 31, 2026, to expand services to our area’s homeless population. The police department currently employs just one full time experienced individual to do outreach to this population. There is no mandate as the writer suggests that ensuing ‘costs are sacred and will continue forever’ as a burden on city ...
PEOPLE’S MARCH January 18, 2025
WAUSAU HUMAN RIGHTS MARCH
The recent election can have far reaching consequences for our vulnerable communities.
For Immediate Release: Saturday, January 18, 11 AM, meeting at the Marathon Dems Office, 218 Sherman Street Wausau
Contact: Chair, Nancy Stencil, nstencil7983@gmail.com 715.581.7983
Come join Central Wisconsin's PEACEFUL PEOPLE’S MARCH. A place for us to all come together and let the world know WE WON'T BE SILENT!
“A place to fight for women's rights, BIPOC rights, reproductive rights, LQBTQIA+ rights, disability rights, ...
Now What? Tactics for Resistance
Since the election of our first fascist dictator I have been getting many emails about organizing for the "resistance." Most are exhorting us to not give up hope (and to send money to their organization). I won't criticize those with the energy to attempt continuing the struggle. But I doubt any amount of resisting, protesting, marching, sending online petitions, getting arrested or suing the bastards is going to accomplish anything.
Given that the fascists now control both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court traditional forms of protest and political action will be ...