The Costs of Convenience
Climate change is caused by all of us. We all make choices that contribute to the problem. As individuals and as a nation we are not willing to sacrifice even smallest of conveniences to help mitigate the problems.
In her song “Is It for Freedom” singer-songwriter Sara Thomsen asks, “Who pays the cost for the convenience we demand?” Her song is about war, but the question can apply to environmental issues. The answer is all humanity and the biosphere are paying the cost.
Climate change is just one manifestation of our selfishness. Our wastefulness is another ...
Tipping Points
“Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species – man – acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.” Rachel Carson author of Silent Spring writing during the 20th century.
“...the unifying theme of collapsed civilizations is collective blindness to the depletion of natural resources.” Sara Wheeler in Magnetic North
Humans are the only species that significantly impacts the earth. All species use the earth's natural resources. But humans are busy overusing nature's abundance and destroying nature's ...
Leave Rib Mountain Alone
In 2018, 5,000 signatures were collected to oppose the proposed Granite Peak ski hill expansion on Rib Mountain State Park. Did someone not hear the voice of the people?
Fast-forward to now, 2022, the DNR released the Rib Mountain State Park Master Plan Revision, allowing an additional 100 acres for the ski hill expansion.
Rib Mountain, without a doubt, is one of Wisconsin’s most precious resources. It is a gem – a wonder – and it is right in our backyard. Rather than preserving and protecting the very fragile natural environment that exists on this ...
Happy 10-Year Anniversary Middle Wisconsin
As we move toward the end of another year, I find myself reflecting…..
I received the greatest phone call one night. It was my activist buddy Matt. I hadn’t heard from him in a year or so. Times and causes change, people change interests, people move. This was a flood of memories for both of us from Act 10 to the early days of Middle Wisconsin. Matt, his wife, Jen, and I go way back. There was a trip to the Penokees once with nothing but a bag of honey crisp apples. To this day, those were without a doubt the best apples I ever ate. We talked about everything ...
The Joys of Conscious Consumption
It probably started with gardening, this evolution from mindless consumption to making shopping choices with an eye towards who and what we are supporting when we open our wallet at the cash register. Admittedly, I'm not very good at it yet, but I have discovered a few things about conscious consumption worth passing along.
This spring's Sierra Club Magazine highlighted the crash and burn impact of large-scale farming. The focus was on Iowa in general, and the enormous challenge of providing safe water to families in Des Moines in particular. Between nitrates in ...
Say No to 1849
Who may I ask are you, a fifty something year old white male, who walks into a polling place with your MAGA hat on, smiling like you own the world, making decisions that impact women. I find myself studying you. Somehow you don’t ‘look’ particularly intelligent enough to make decisions for me or any other woman. You put our futures and the lives of all women at risk with your ignorance. I am angry at your self-righteousness.
I am a mom. I am a mom by choice. I am a mom for choice. I firmly center my belief that women should decide what is best for ourselves, for ...
Aquarian Revolution: Back to the Land
Aquarian Revolution: Back to the Land reveals the guts, glory, and grief of 1960s social upheaval and documents the real accomplishments wrought when dreams are forged into reality. In turn funny, heart-rending, and inspiring, these thirty-two interviews reflect not only the flavor of those times but also the continuing ethic so deeply embedded in the generation’s consciousness.
More than four decades have passed since hippies heralded the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, a New Age promising peace, love, and personal fulfillment. In the intervening decades, ...
A Race to the Top
We all know the importance of green energy. We cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels, and it only makes sense to use the sun and the wind. Have we looked at the transition? How will it work if big money controls fossil fuels? The United States is one of the top three oil countries. While natural gas costs surge in our country, we know we could get more money exporting it. What will we do to obtain minerals we need to build a green economy?
We talk about supply chain issues and National Defense being in the forefront for our problems. I often contemplate the race to ...
Bartelme Votes to Amend the U.S. Constitution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: George Penn, 608-244-6436, georgepenn51@gmail.com
Bartelme Votes to Amend the U.S. Constitution
Madison, WI (November 9, 2022) – In the November election, Wisconsin residents in the town of Bartelme in Shawano County voted to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that only human beings should have inalienable human rights and money is not the same thing as free speech.
The referendum passed with an overwhelming majority (88%).
That brings the total to 168 Wisconsin communities that have called for an amendment. In total, ...