Climate Change & Environment
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
Human Rights March
Sunday, November 24, 2024 on the sidewalk around the 400 block was the place where everyone came together and let the world know we WON'T BE SILENT! About 50 people were in attendance.
It was a place to fight for women's rights, BIPOC rights, reproductive rights, LQBTQIA+ rights, disability rights, protecting our earth, immigrant rights, education, equality and equity. It was place to fight against Project 2025 and place to fight for human rights!
Where Have all the Monarchs Gone?
I just enjoy sitting on my patio, surrounded by the beautiful native plants that grow all along the patio. It is a wonder to me to watch the bees, moths and butterflies along with the birds that visit the plants. If I am quiet enough and don’t move, it is very common to have a goldfinch or other birds that are hungry and want to eat, fly and land on a stalk from the flower that is no more than 6 feet away from me. The birds will stay there as long as I don’t make any quick motions, or my dog doesn’t disturb them. There is nothing better than to see all this ...
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS FAMILY FARMS
Monsoon like rainfall flooding fields delaying planting. Or summer drought causing crop failure.
Or extended periods of extreme heat. Or winters without sufficient snow cover to protect your alfalfa crop.
More farms needing to switch from a dairy economy to “who knows what”, we may soon no longer be the “Dairy State”.
Yes. Climate change/global warming is real, and it will greatly impact our agricultural community.
While Republicans sit with their heads in the sand hoping it will all just go away. And it won’t!
Who is trying to ameliorate that ...
Vote for the Climate and Against Ignorance
This month, the Southeast has faced two devastating hurricanes. Not only are families forced into shelters, but entire communities have been wiped from the map. And the road to recovery will be long, arduous, and uncertain. Our hearts should go out to all the victims.
Yet the science is clear, that human-caused climate change is making these storms more severe. We experience stronger, longer, and deadlier weather phenomena than ever before, even here in Wisconsin with more extreme flooding, drought, wildfire smoke, and inconsistent snowfall. This has a bona fide ...
When Someone Shows You Who They Are, Believe Them (and Vote Accordingly)
Are we suffering from amnesia? Our climate is rapidly getting more perilous. Just look at last winter, when local economies had to grapple with lower-than-ever snowfall and higher-than-ever temperatures. And yet, Wisconsin is a dead heat in this year’s presidential election.
We need to remember. During his first year in office, then-President Trump withdrew America from the Paris Climate Agreement, joining Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only countries to not ratify it. Two years later, Trump approved the Keystone XL Pipeline and approved rollbacks of offshore drilling ...