Eco-Minute

Baby bald eagles near the great lakes are testing positive for PFAS and other toxic chemicals. Researchers found that eagles living near the great lakes had six times more toxic chemicals in their blood streams than inland populations. Other chemicals found were DDT and PCBs which were banned decades ago. A small Wisconsin school district […]

Jul 29, 2025

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An unwelcome surprise for Wisconsin farmers looking to apply for the Federal Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP. The popular program helps rural small businesses and farmers invest in money saving energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy. But the application window that was supposed to open July 1st was abruptly closed by the USDA. […]

Jul 22, 2025

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We’re seeing all the smoke, but what exactly is causing all the fires in Canada? Turns out the 5,000-year-old forest stretching across the country doesn’t get as much snow cover in the spring as it used to and is experiencing warmer, drier summers because of climate change, making wildfire season much more severe. Canada’s boreal […]

Jul 15, 2025

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court hands a big win to the environment. The court ruled it is unconstitutional for a legislative committee to block rules created by state agencies. The decision means good environmental rules now face an easier path to getting to the finish line and becoming law. For years, “legislative vetoes” by a handful […]

Jul 8, 2025

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The website climate.gov is no more. The site that served as a trusted resource for federal research on climate change has been officially shut down a month after its staff was fired by the Trump Administration. When it was online, climate.gov received hundreds of thousands of visitors every month. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says […]

Jul 1, 2025

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Environmental groups say the Midwest grid operator, MISO, is pushing an emergency energy plan that discriminates against wind and solar, the two cheapest ways to produce energy in our state. The plan favors fast-tracking construction of gas-burning power plants at the expense of clean energy projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a similar plan […]

Jun 24, 2025

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The Trump Administration’s order to keep a Michigan coal plant running could mean higher energy bills in Wisconsin. Just days before the aging plant was set to retire, the Department of Energy ordered it to stay open, citing emergency wartime powers. Staff were already gone and there was no coal on site. The utility that […]

Jun 17, 2025

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Warm weather is finally here and so is wildfire smoke from Canada. Forecasters say we can expect air quality warnings to come and go and come again this month with no end in sight as fires blaze out of control across central and western Canada. Environmental advocates say the hazardous smoke blanketing our state—just when […]

Jun 10, 2025

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June is pollinator month, and some Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a package of bills to protect our bees, butterflies and other insects. The bills would prevent the DNR from using a class of pesticides of called neonicotinoids which are known to harm pollinators. They would also prevent retailers from labeling plants as pollinator-friendly if they’ve […]

Jun 3, 2025

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Dismantling the IRA and other federal clean energy incentives will add half a gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. That’s according to modeling from Princeton University. House Republicans passed aggressive cuts to clean energy incentives in their latest budget. Slowing down energy efficiency, electrification, and clean energy progresswill also cause higher energy costs for most families and […]

May 27, 2025

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