Science
The Gift of Yellow Leaves
If there be wood sprites at play upon this land let them dress up in all the yellows of a late autumn day. Glorious October yellow stands of unruly tamarack, meandering branches that twist and turn like dervishes, sublime with ecstasy, begin our journey across the enchanted north woods. Poplar and birch, both paper and gray, rise up on sturdy, ballet toes, twirl exuberantly yellow beyond compare. Even the few not yet naked maples glint yellow amid a myriad of other colors. You would never call it an explosion of yellow, or accuse the lemon forest of being ablaze. ...
THE HUMAN JOURNEY
Historically, two of the strongest indicators that a dominant "empire" is irreversibly in decline, are the financialization of its economy (manipulating money to make money - effectively parasitism) and excessive militarism (to defend and spread its parasitism). The US now exhibits these indicators in spades. Our nation, the United States, follows the path of previous great powers exiting the stage.
But again, speaking historically, the equation is different this time around. Humanity, for the first time, faces two great threats to our actual ongoing presence on Earth ...
Tiffany Song and Dance
“I hope you are enjoying the summer heat.” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI).
This is the opening line in Tiffany's August 11 email newsletter. Wisconsin is suffering from unprecedented heat. Almost all of Wisconsin is experiencing drought. Parts or the state – including Tiffany's northwestern district – are in “extreme” drought with the south shore of Lake Superior having “exceptional” drought (the National Weather Service's highest category). Where I live in Douglas County is 6-9 inches below normal rainfall. Given these facts, Tiffany's statement is particularly ...
THE RIGHTS OF NATURE TWO
This year WISDOM brought together a core group of us, who together have worked on what is known as the Rights of Nature. Please click on the photos to enlarge. You can also check us out at: www.rightsofnaturewi.org. You can also find us on FaceBook.
A History of Mining Failures in Northern Wisconsin
Tom Tiffany’s mining fantasies have not been working out. He authored what may go down as one of the worst laws ever written, designed to create a low cost iron mine by removing the top of the Penokee Hills and filling in the headwaters of the Bad River, a major river feeding Lake Superior, with the mine wastes. It did not end well for Mr. Tiffany.
Then Senator Tiffany’s dream came true when he was able overturn the so-called “Mining Moratorium Law”, despite overwhelming opposition to his scheme. The law was never a moratorium on metallic mining in our ...
Nuclear Weapons and the Environment
January 22, 2023 marked the second anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. On January 22, 2021 nuclear weapons officially became illegal under international law. The world community declared the mass murder resulting from using nuclear weapons a crime against humanity. Currently 92 nations have signed and 68 have ratified the treaty and are bound by its provisions.
Unfortunately, none of the nine countries who have nuclear weapons have signed and ratified the treaty. Because they have not, the treaty does not apply to them. As a result, human ...
Wisconsin’s Fish Are in Hot Water
According to the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts our state has warmed by three degrees Fahrenheit since 1950, and as a result our waters are warming up too. From our ponds and lakes to our winding rivers and cold, clear, trout streams these warmer temperatures spell trouble for some of our favorite fish. To learn more about these impacts our local Citizen's Climate Lobby brings retired Senior Fisheries Biologist, Frank Pratt, to town for a discussion of his 45 years worth of research in Northern Wisconsin.
If you love fishing you will want to hear ...
Water Celebration Address
Welcome to the Second Annual Water Celebration. We have much to celebrate—there is no sulfide mine next to the Menominee River. If permitted, the proposed Back Forty sulfide mine would be a perpetual pollution machine discharging acid mine drainage to ground- and surface waters in perpetuity.1 So we have to continue with our opposition because the Gold Resource Corporation has taken over the permitting process after Aquila Resources was forced into bankruptcy.
The effort to protect the Menominee River has been going on for over 20 years. How did we get to this point? ...
Concerns about exploration drilling at the Wausau-Reef gold deposit in Marathon County
The long known gold deposit 10-miles east of Wausau is being considered for a 450-foot deep open-pit gold mine. Although gold is in abundance and already stored in vast quantities in bank vaults and jewelry collections around the world, advocates for the project are claiming that the world needs more for the new “green economy”. This is an unsupported claim as the manufacturers of smart phones and computers confirm there are only trace amounts of gold in their products and they are moving away from the mineral. However, even the small amount of gold contained in a ...