Obama, Still New Office, Has Veteran's Command

Isn't it refreshing to watch a US President - - this would be Mr. Obama - - speak, take questions from media in a news conference and at an unscripted Indiana event, and otherwise handle the ongoing economic crisis as national CEO - - while with an thinking on his feet and speaking in coherent sentences?

Paragraphs, even.

It's also refreshing to read that his advisers and cabinet officers are continuing to hammer out plans, including a public-private partnership to leverage the second half of the banking bailout, that bespeak a certain pragmatic, flowing creativity that was absent in the White House as the economy flamed out in the last year of the Bush presidency.

I get the feeling that the real grownups are now in charge.

The last group was a buncha fakes.

Big Green Transmission Line Raises Questions

There's a plan to construct a giant transmission line to connect regional wind turbine farms across the Midwest.

Like all new ideas, it may not fly. May not be practical. Who knows. But it deserves fair and reasonable study.

Opponent Criticizes Chief Justice Abrahamson For Being Judgemental

I think that's what this "activist" word means.

Scott Bernstein Explains Transit's Investment Benefit

More explanation from a national expert on why transit is good for Southeastern Wisconsin.

A GOP Senator Shuns His Party's Ideologues

Arlen Specter, (R-PA), proves that there is moderation yet in the GOP.

SEWRPC Extends Water Study Comment Period Until March 16

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has extended the comment period on its water supply study until March 16th.

The SEWRPC home page link will take you to more information, and a comment form.

CEO Explains Milwaukee's Water Advantages

Badger Meter has good reason to be in Milwaukee.

Today's Unhealthy, Sooty Air Will Hang Around Through Tuesday

If you live near the lakefront, or a power plant, or in an industrialized county...

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Advisory for Particle Pollution (Orange) for Brown, Columbia, Dane, Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, Sauk and Waukesha counties effective 11:00 am on Monday, February 9, 2009 through 10:00 am on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 .

The advisory is being issued because of persistent elevated levels of fine particles in the air. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and wood burning.

The Air Quality Index is currently in the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an orange advisory for particle pollution is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities.

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, an d heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure.

To receive air quality advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/air/newsletters/.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.
Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
Minimize wood burning.
Conserve electricity.
For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!
For more information:

Air Quality Watches and Advisories Status Web Site
Daily Air Quality Hotline - 1-866-324-5924 (1-866-DAILY AIR)
Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov
DNR's statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://dnrmaps.wisconsin.gov/wisards
For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/air/about/regions.htm

But You Still Can't Get There From Here By Direct Bus

Local leaders announced some modest cooperative transit actions - - dropping 25-cent transfer fees and the like - - that were worthy of a news conference and officials' personal presence only because there is so little real inter-county cooperation involving Waukesha and Milwaukee on transit.

As was highlighted during last year's pubic hearings on Milwaukee's water sale agreement with New Berlin, there is still no way for Milwaukee residents to take a direct bus to the New Berlin Industrial Park, which is in the growth area to be served by the water sale.

Walker's U-Turn On Stimulus Money Continues Political Comedy

I was headed out of town a few days ago and was unable to take note of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's world-class waffle when it comes to bringing federal stimulus aid to Milwaukee County.

You will remember that when the bill was in its infancy, Walker channeled his inner Rush Limbaugh and parroted a reflexive, far-right, talk radio line:

Stimulus funding: bad.

Federal aid. Spending. Publicly-funded job creation and investments.

All bad.

Bad. Bad. Bad.

Walker even put name on an op-ed in which he opened with some kind of fumbled analogy to using a gift of $1,000 to buy an "expensive sports car."

I'm still trying to figure just what brand of car that is.

Then there was the backlash, as people realized Walker was suggesting that current levels of unemployment and failed infrastructure were tolerable - - rather inappropriate positions for the elected leader of a county with massive jobs and infrastructure needs.

And, frankly, ridiculous for a probable 2010 gubernatorial candidacy: hard enough to run statewide from Milwaukee County, but suicidal if your opponent, the sitting Governor, could ask voters if they'd choose such fiscal thoughtlessness and political cruelty as state policy?

I predicted a flip-flop. And this was not really much of a limb on which to climb out.

So Walker began to backtrack, finally ending up saying, well, he'd be OK if some fresh millions came to the transit system.

Because somehow that funding is routine.

I had said in an earlier posting that I thought Walker had really stumbled when mishandling the stimulus issue, substituting ideology for leadership, and had boxed himself into a ludicrous position.

His recent attempt to escape the perils of his first political, as opposed to substantive response, is embarrassingly transparent.

And in this case, transparency is not a friend.

Quiet Bush-Era Stimulus Plan Enriched Landowners

And all in the name of species protection.

Coal Winning Over Wind

Coal is still King.

Thanks to Don Freix for the link.

Another Statewide Soot Alert All Day Monday

Attention, joggers, walkers, breathers...there's too much soot in the air statewide.

Per The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Watch for Particle Pollution for all Wisconsin counties effective 12:01 am on Monday, February 9, 2009 through 11:00 pm on Monday, February 9, 2009 .

The watch is being issued because of the forecast for elevated levels of fine particles in the air. Fine particle pollution is composed of microscopic dust, soot, liquid droplets and smoke particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and wood burning.

The Air Quality Index is forecast to reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities during the watch period.

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure.

To receive air quality advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/air/newsletters/.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.
Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
Minimize wood burning.
Conserve electricity.
For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!
For more information:

Air Quality Watches and Advisories Status Web Site
Daily Air Quality Hotline - 1-866-324-5924 (1-866-DAILY AIR)
Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov
DNR's statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://dnrmaps.wisconsin.gov/wisards
For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/air/about/regions.htm

Wisconsin Rivers Video Worth The View

The River Alliance of Wisconsin has a nice video about the state's rivers posted on You Tube.

Glad to see state organizations making use of new media to get the message out.

The River Alliance is also hosting the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival at the Majestic Theater in Madison on Tuesday, February 10th. Details here.

Michigan Governor Severely Restricts New Coal Plants

Jennifer Granholm issues an executive order requiring coal-fired plants in Michigan to jump through new hoops before permits are issued.

Hat tip to the water law blog created by Noah Hall.

Milwaukee County Board Endorses Regional Transit

The Milwaukee County Board endorsed the concept of regional transit, with funding and governance caveats, and tossed the ball to Racine and Milwaukee Counties for their consideration.

Note the absence of Waukesha County from the mix.

Dreamers And Doers Blog Highlights Will Allen

Melissa Scanlan's blog features Growing Power's Will Allen. Nicely done.

Biomass Replacing Coal At UW Power Plant

Gov. Jim Doyle's announcement that biomass will be substituted for coal at the Charter St. UW-Madison power plant is great news for Dane County residents.

Removing coal as the plant's fuel will produce far cleaner air and water, and achieve a significant reduction of greenhouse gases from Wisconsin sources.

Environmental groups' pressure set the process in motion.

Details here.

Sore Losers Populate Bush Staff

Dick Cheney & Co. gripe and whine about the election.

You'd think they'd be enjoying their retirements, or had the good sense to put a sock in it.

Obama And The Environment: NY Times Summary

The Times surveys Pres. Obama's environmental policy differences with his predecessor, but things are not entirely one-dimensional.

Bush Administration's War On Science's Latest Known Victim: The Grand Canyon

There was never a US presidency so determined to twist the facts in favor of special interests than the Bush administration.

The latest example unearthed: the health of the Grand Canyon, a national treasure and people's trust.

People began to catch on, which is one reason John McCain lost and why the GOP will consign itself to minority status so long as it chooses to shelve intellectual honesty in favor of corporate clients.

Poor People Did Not Cause The Housing Meltdown

Could the righty AM talkers stop scapegoating low-income homeowners for the housing meltdown and the spillover into the banking industry?

This is just today's variant on 1970's welfare-bashing.

The talkers myth-making goes like this: Bill Clinton and Barney Frank decided that lending standards would lessened, and presto! - - shaky, adjustable-rate mortgages were written en masse that came due, defaults ballooned and before you know it, Lehman Brothers disappeared and the markets came crashing down.

The truth is that there was bipartisan support across both the Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies that did make more mortgage money available.

But let's remember that defaults piled up in Florida, Arizona and other retirement and sunbelt destinations.

And in the suburbs, too. A friend in Waukesha recently showed me scores, hundreds, perhaps, of legal notices about foreclosures in areas where houses average around $300,000.

The whole country went on an unsustainable borrowing binge, aided and abetted by banks, savings and loans, mortgage brokers and old-fashioned scam artists.

The really smart men and women bundled these fakey, flakey mortgages, turned them into securities and created even bigger unsustainable markets, trading these so-called instruments, raking in fees at every step.

All this funny business wasn't being stage-managed by people in $75,000 homes in Milwaukee or Detroit or St. Louis.

It was being run by marginally-regulated, self-serving greedy bast*rds, not the poor or lower-income people who for a brief moment became homeowners.

So let's quit bashing the poor. They're still poor. Maybe even more poor.

West Bend Activist Elected Board President of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

Wisconsin conservationist activist Caroline “Kine” Torinus was elected 2009 president of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. Tornius is from West Bend and is a force within the very effective Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust.

This is a good step for the organization and for smart land use in SE Wisconsin.

Twin Cities Transit Puts Milwaukee To Shame

Suburbanites killed Milwaukee light rail several years ago, and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is content to see his failing bus system continue in its death spiral.

By contrast, transit in the Twin Cities had a banner year in 2008, including a light rail system that provided 10 million rides.

That's a heckuva lot of air pollution and traffic congestion eliminated.

Meanwhile, we remain locked up in Milwaukee, pouring billions into new and reconstructed freeway lanes, prisoners of a political culture that prefers the old ways, even if they are unsustainable, expensive, and unhealthy.

Bold use of federal stimulus funding could break the pattern, but that would require a level of political will and courage that, to date, remains invisible.

In China, Food Adulteration Brings A Sentence That's Not Peanuts

Chinese courts have handed down death sentences to two people who supplied the additive melamine to milk that injured and killed children who drank it.

We'll see what happens to the Georgia (US) corporate officials who knowing shipped contaminated peanut products traced to the ongoing national salmonella outbreak and food recall, though their plant was known to contain salmonella.

The toll in the peanut poisoning so far: at least eight dead, 500 sickened, including 250 children.

Far, far more people were sickened in China by the melamine scandal, but the death toll there was six - - two less than in the peanut poisoning so far in the US.

Two Years Of Blogging Today

I began posting on this blog two years ago today, so I think I'll take it easy today.

Register For 2009 Citizen Conservation Lobby Day

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is among the organizations sponsoring the annual citizen Lobby Day at the State Capitol.

This is your chance to talk to legislators and staffers about environmental and conservation issues the legislature will take up in 2009.

The registration deadline is approaching: Details here.

My Argument In Crossroads Sunday For Green Simulus Investments

Let's think short-term and long-term, but with sustainability as goal #1.

Al Gore On Message: Will The Congress Listen

Sure it's cold out this winter, but don't you think video of a scientist lighting methane leaking out of arctic ice would get Congress' attention?

Waukesha Saves Water - - Thus Raising A Question About The Diversion, Too

Waukesha reports a solid decrease in water consumption.

And that's good.

So if water consumption if falling, why is it signalling its intention to seek a Lake Michigan diversion of 20-24 million gallons of water daily - - an increase of about 150% from its current daily average of 9.8 million gallons?

SEWRPC provided Waukesha with a requisite map for a diversion application that indicated limited development opportunities in annexable territory.

So, again, why the need for so much additional water?

Waukesha may be showing water consumption declines because of industrial closings, so it's not clear how much of the reported decline is due to commercial/industrial business decisions and how much is due to residential customers installing water-saving devices, and so forth.

Another problem is that Waukesha has only recently instituted its conservation ordinances and rate changes.

Remember all the rain we had last year? Maybe that's why there was, for example, less lawn watering, or car washing.

Last summer there was too much water!

What's the outcome in Waukesha if we have an extended period of drought.

We're a long way from grasping all the science, data and technical planning associated with Waukesha's water use and future needs.

So while the drop in consumption is laudable, the reasons and the implications are not clear.

And may not be - - for years - - which is not a crisis because officials have repeatedly said Waukesha is not in a crisis situation.

It has a problem with radium, and it is dealing with it, and as SEWRPC has indicated, Waukesha has several supply options, including radium-removal, shallow aquiifer, Lake Michigan water, or a combination.

Still also unresolved: will Waukesha cap its current wells if it gets the diversion, will it safely return water to Underwood Creek in Wauwatosa without raising that stream's level, and does the new Great Lakes Compact permit diverted water to be treated and discharged outside of the Great Lakes basin, as Waukesha has said it may due, depending on rainfall.

Waukesha will have to delve deeply into these matters in its diversion application, so let's all stay tuned.

Why We Need Newspapers

Great Don Behm piece in today's Journal Sentinel about a proposed new state park incorporating unique glacial features.

Sensing A Loss, The WMC Takes A Pass

The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce has announced it is sitting out the April State Supreme Court race.

So is the state's leading Deep Pockets, Deeply Reactionary Big Business organization reforming itself after spending millions on negative TV ads to get ethically-challenged local judges promoted to the high court?

Hardly.

The WMC can read a poll and assess an incumbent's huge treasury and grasp that a nobody from Jefferson County is an easy shove under the bus driven by sitting Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson - - whose re-election is a lock, and deservedly so.

The WMC will come back into the fray when there are easier pickings.

Rally Monday, 2/2, For MORE And Better City-Financed Work

Two well-known organizations - - the Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition and MICAH - - are rallying Monday, 2/2 at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall in support of the "MORE" ordinance designed to assist local businesses and workers obtain contracts and fair levels employment and wages on local projects that receive at least $1 million in direct city financial assistance.

The city's Community Economic Development Committee will then discuss MORE (Milwaukee Opportunities for Restoring Employment, file # 080218) at 9:00 a.m.

Transportation and additional details are available through the Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition: 414-443-0682

Another Disgusting Supreme Court Race Lurches To The Right

If these one-note conservative ideologues keep it up we'll end up with appointed, not elected, Justices. The public, nauseated, will demand it.

Push For Transit Funding Moves To Senate Stimulus Bill

Transit advocates helped increase probable stimulus funding in the House bill, so the same pressure needs to be exerted as the Senate bill comes up for amendments and votes.

Here is a link supplied by a national coalition to facilitate that communication.

GOP Puts Partisanship Above National Recovery

All House of Representatives GOP members voted against the stimulus bill despite President Barack Obama's efforts to put a bi-partisan stamp on the measure.

He met with House Republicans, adopted some of their proposals, but in the end, the GOP preferred to stand on the sidelines, hoping to be able to say "I told you so" if the program stumbles or fails.

So the GOP prefers failure - - taking their cues from new party leader and loudmouth Rush Limbaugh - - rather than positively participating in national economic success or stabilization that might bring with it fewer off-year election gains in 2010.

These Republicans stood with President Bush as he promoted tax cuts at the upper end of the spectrum, rewarded special interests, deleted protective regulations and enabled the Wall Street collapse.

No wonder the GOP wants failure now. It's what they understand best, so their status as a dwindling, fringe regional party will continue to feel familiar.

Life Is Cheap On Wisconsin Highways

We've seen it time and time again on Wisconsin highways: bad behavior, like drunken driving, treated with kid gloves by the justice system.

Now here's another example: a motorist runs down two bicyclists. One dies, one is injured.

The driver flees. Then flees the state. Stashes the hit-and-run vehicle. Has a record of driving drunk (though her arrest weeks later made it impossible for her blood alcohol content to have been tested).

The sentence: four years, plus probation of ten years.

Also from the Journal Sentinel. A New Berlin man gets four years in prison for stealing natural gas.

I'm not sure what the reasons are, but it's clear to me that Wisconsin jurisprudence seems to have declared the highways a kind of free fire zone.

Walk into a school or a business and shoot down two people, flee, hide the weapon and get caught a month later, with one fatality left at the crime scene, and I'll wager you get a longer sentence than four years.

But commit the same crime on the road, and somehow the punishment is weaker.

I just don't get it.

State Adding Emissions To Milwaukee's Asthmatic Air

So here we are again near the top of a list you'd rather be absent from all together:

Asthma rates.

We're Number Two nationally, a study says.

Bad enough that people are literally choking on the air we breathe here, but put that into a policy context: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission cooked up a $6.5 billion rebuilding and expansion of freeway lanes, including miles and miles of new lanes right through the City of Milwaukee.

That's right: inducing more traffic into and through the city.

Over the objections of both the Milwaukee Common Council and the Milwaukee County Board.

Tailpipe emissions are a leading contributor to air pollution - - in fact, the state Department of Natural Resources issued a statewide air quality alert for today and tomorrow.

And we have had slew of them this winter and all last year.

From the current alert (and take note of the references to asthma):

"The Air Quality Index is forecast to reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities during the watch period.

"People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure."

Worse, the state and the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency last year seeking looser air quality standards for much of SE Wisconsin.

The EPA, even under Pres. Bush, went the other way and the standards are being toughened.

Our public and privates sector leaders have to understand that dirty air harms everyone - - rich and poor (though central city residents live closer in larger numbers to the freeways; when you drive on I-43 from the Marquette Interchange to Glendale you are driving through what used to be intact, predominantly African-American neighborhoods) - - and that people will opt to leave the area or refuse to relocate here if they know the air will make them sick.

Where is Milwaukee's legislative delegation on this public health menance, this policy catastrophe. Where is the outrage?

People here and in the region, including those like talker Mark Belling who mock and block transit improvements need to understand that every mass transit vehicle can replace numerous auto trips hourly, and contribute to cleaner air.

And why can't Wisconsin leaders muscle up and pass a statewide public spaces' smoking ban to get another health issue out of the air in Wisconsin?

The national study ranking Milwaukee number two for asthma cites cigarette smoke as a factor.

There needs to be better transit here and a political commitment to clean up Milwaukee's polluted air, or the city and region will fall further behind more desirable locales.

And more people here will get sick

Supervisor Chris Larson Shows Leadership On Office Spending Reform

First-term Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Chris Larson (Bayview) won't win many friends on the board with his ideas for reforming how supervisors spend their office accounts - - this in the wake of two supervisors public spending on inauguration travel - - but give him credit for doing the right thing by the taxpayers.

GOP In A State Over Doyle's State Of The State

Predictably, Republicans had nothing good to say about Gov. Jim Doyle's State of the State speech Wednesday night.

They wanted specifics, knowing full well that those details are what the budget is all about, and that offering specifics now simply makes those details and the Governor more of a partisan target than he already is.

So let the GOP huff and puff. It's all an act.

Mail Only Five Days A Week? I'm Getting Catalog Deficiency Anxiety Already

Cut back mail delivery another day. Two even.

Do you miss it on Sunday?

So I thought.

Website Devoted To Stimulus Funding And Water Projects

Bookmark it.

Transit Making Some Progress In Stimulus Bill Amending

It's still behind the highway component, but grassroots efforts are paying off.

Details here.

Scott Walker - - are you aware?

National Urban Planning/Transit Expert Speaking Friday: Sign Up Ends Today

Today is the final day to sign up for the Friday, January 30th conference being presented by the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce, in Oak Creek, and Transit NOW.

The subject is transit's investment benefit.

Registration information at the Building Wealth event button here.

The main speaker is Scott Bernstein, president and founder of the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, known nationally for its cutting edge planning and research.

You do not want to miss Bernstein's talk.

From the conference announcement:

"How do transit investments build wealth and thriving neighborhoods, and create jobs and economic prosperity? Historic transit decisions will be made in SE Wisconsin in the coming months that will shape our ability to create wealth in our communities. Mr. Bernstein will share his expertise to shed light on our opportunities and potential pit falls."

Also on the program: Ken Yunker, newly-promoted executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. He will discuss the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter plan.

Obama Befuddles Conservatives

Some complain that Barack Obama gave his first television interview as President to a moderate Middle Eastern television audience.

Ooooh - - he's speaking directly to foreigners. Muslims, perhaps!

Others want more GOP input into the stimulus bill, even as Obama makes a two-hour visit to Republicans on Capitol Hill to discuss that very matter.

In eight years, George W. Bush made two such trips.

Sesms Obama is keeping his campaign promise to change the tone of the Presidency and the political discourse.

Intolerable.

And You Thought Franken Was The Comedian In Minnesota Race

Turns out it's Coleman & Co.

Norm should call it a day and begin his campaign to unseat Franken now, since the longer Coleman drags this out, the angrier will be the taxpayer voters.

Some Of George Bush's Environmental Lowlights

Lest we forget.

State Of Denial: OWI 'Reforms' Still Treat First Offense As A Ticket

Wisconsin legislators continue to contort their OWI 'reform' bill-drafting to let state drivers have a privilege extended nowhere else in the country - - the issuance of a ticket for a first-time-caught offense.

Under these possible changes, some, but not all second-time offenders would be required to install an ignition breath device, and some, but not all third-time offenders would be charged charged with a felony.

Some, but not all in both cases because the proposed reform law has loopholes wide enough for a tipsy motorist to plow right through.

When it comes to this proposal, a timid legislature still gives the advantage to the state's drunk drivers.

Another Statewide Dirty Air Alert Wednesday-Thursday

Another chapter in our own LA Story:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Watch for Particle Pollution for all counties in Wisconsin effective 12 midnight on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 through 12 midnight on Thursday, January 29, 2009 .

The watch is being issued because of the forecast for elevated levels of fine particles in the air. Fine particle pollution is composed of microscopic dust, soot, liquid droplets and smoke particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and outdoor fires.

The Air Quality Index is forecast to reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities during the watch period.

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure.

To receive air quality advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/air/newsletters/.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.
Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
Minimize outdoor wood fires.
Conserve electricity.
For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!
For more information:

Air Quality Watches and Advisories Status Web Site
Daily Air Quality Hotline - 1-866-324-5924 (1-866-DAILY AIR)
Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov
DNR's statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://dnrmaps.wisconsin.gov/wisards
For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/air/about/regions.htm

Why Are County Pols So Dense?

It wasn't that long ago that Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament and a raft of supervisors were shown the door for turning their pension system into an unsustainable and wide-open benefits spigot.

Now in the same few days we have the former County Clerk Mark Ryan asking retroactively for some of those benefits he voluntarily gave up, and County sups Toni Clark and Elizabeth Coggs agreeing to return about $4,000 in travel expenses they billed to County taxpayers so they could get to Washington and see the inauguration.

The supervisors made their announcement after Journsl Sentinel investigative columnist Dan Bice discovered the billings.

Why is there this institutional tone-deafness at the Courthouse?

Civic and business leader Sheldon Lubar once said in a moment of frustration that Milwaukee County ought to be dissolved.

The lingering fiscal burdens of the pension scandal might actually accomplish that, but County government really needs top-to-bottom reform.

I know there are some excellent supervisors and county staffers on the job, but there are not enough of them.

I Made My Call About Adding Transit/Stimulus Funding: Have You?

Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey is chair of the House Appropriations Committee, so his is the office to call to support more stimulus funding for transit.

Possible amendments to the bill are working their way through committees right now.

Here is his office phone number:

(202) 225-3365

If you don't want to see stimulus funding frittered away, or dumped into new highway lanes, or ignored by your thoughtless County Executive, make the call.

One Stimulus Variation Gives SEWRPC Transportation Allocation Control

One version of federal stimulus highway funding would give entities like the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission control over which municipalities get the money.

Thanks to the Daily Reporter for the story.

Talk about taxation without representation - - in this case, spending taxpayer money without representation, as happens year in and year out.

Milwaukee city residents dutifully send SEWRPC - - an unelected body heavily made up of suburban and exurban residents - - more than $400,000 a year with as much say-so in the Pewaukee-based agency's daily spending, and the commission's various plans and activities, as have the residents of Muskogee. ((Oklahoma).

And some of you out there are still satisfied with this arrangement, or think the City of Milwaukee, without a single seat on that 21-member commission board, will have much to say about where the region's transportation (highways) stimulus money will go?

You can bet SEWRPC's #1 recommendation would be pouring concrete for the new freeway lanes the agency recommended to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on I-94 from Milwaukee to Illinois, and in the Zoo Interchange - - setting the stage for added lanes across the face of Story Hill near the Stadium.

Little matter that both the Milwaukee Common Council and Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted against adding more lanes in the city, given the loss of taxable property and other pernicious outcomes attendant to widening expressways already ripping a city apart.

I'd call this another key exhibit in the case for Milwaukee to create its own municipal planning organization - - - - an argument I've been making since June.

Huge Rosendale Dairy Project Threatens Groundwater

What would be the state's largest dairy farm - - 8,300 animals - - is undergoing a public permitting comment period, and from the looks of the crowd, the people don't want it.

Groundwater pollution is a big problem for people who get their drinking water close close to a major farming operation, with resulting basic health and safety issues raised frequently.

8,300 cows would produce close to 100 million gallons of liquid waste a year - - a quantity that would test the limits of storage, treatment, other preventative measures and happenstance.

Best Way To Deal With Limbaugh?

Ignore him.

Make Congressional Calls Now To Urge Boosting Stimulus Transit Funding

Sources report that amendments will be considered Tuesday and Wednesday by key members of the House of Representatives to consider adding between $2 and $3 billion in additional aid for transit to the stimulus bill. Overall, highway expansion will get the most of the transportation funding, and transit will get little - - and even less without the amendments and grassroots action on their behalf.

Here are the details AND, WISCONSIN, NOTE THE DAVE OBEY REFERENCE BELOW: (I called Tuesday morning: let's keep it going.)

These amendments have a real chance of passing if they can make it to the floor for a vote. But, there is pressure to keep them from reaching the floor. The amendments are attached for your reference.

The House Rules committee will vote tomorrow at 3:00 pm EST to determine whether to allow these amendments to be offered on the floor. Please call the members of the Rules committee and urge them to allow these amendments to be brought to the floor. Without these amendments, chances for bumping up transit are lost.

Decisions will be made very soon, so please make calls today. It is also important to reach out to the House leadership to let them know why accommodating transit demand is so important and why these amendments should be supported.

The appropriations committee will conference with the Senate on the final bill next week, so now is the time to reach out to them as well about the importance of transit.

House Rules Committee
Majority:
***Louise M. Slaughter (202) 225-3615
Jim McGovern (202) 225-6101
Alcee L. Hastings (202) 225-1313
Doris Matsui 202.225.7163
Dennis Cardoza (202) 225-6131
Michael Arcuri (202) 225-366
Ed Perlmutter 202.225.2645

Minority:
David Dreier (202) 225-2305
Lincoln-Diaz Balart (202) 225-4211
Pete Sessions (202) 225-2231
Virgnia Foxx (202) 225-2071

House Leadership:
Pelosi (202) 225-4965
Hoyer (202) 225-4131
Clyburn (202)225-3315
Van Hollen (202) 225-5341

Appropriations Committee
Obey, WI (202) 225-3365 - - PROBABLY OUR BEST ROUTE FOR WISCONSIN CALLERS
Olver, MA 202-225-5335
Moran, VA (202) 225-4376
Roybal-Allard, CA (202) 225-1766
Lee, CA (202) 225-2661

MESSAGE
* Transit is the future of our nation's metropolitan regions which represent 80% of the US population. Public transit ridership has been surging over the last year, but instead of capitalizing on the public demand for more and better transit, cities are being forced to curtail service and cut jobs.

* The amendments by Reps. Fazio and Nadler should be allowed to reach the House floor for a vote. It is a chance to truly strengthen the Recovery bill, which has overlooked the economic and energy benefits of transit infrastructure which currently will only see 1% of the stimulus investment funds.

* Please allow both these amendments to be brought to the floor for a vote. These modest adjustments will result in far-reaching impact on mobility, pollution reduction, and economic stimulation in metropolitan regions.

* Discuss the transit need in your city and the fact that federal resources for transit can absolutely be spent within the timeframes set out by the bill. House leadership in particular need to hear the case for transit. The white house is pushing them to make no changes. The leadership needs to hear from the cities about why these amendments are critical.

Snowmobilers Are The State's Repeat Embarrassments

Seems Wisconsin's snowmobilers can't stop creating the worst of headlines - - slaughtering birds, again, after earlier stories this winter about running down deer, killing each other in collisions, drowning, careening through the woods under the influence, and so forth.

I know that the DNR and various user clubs try their best to promote safe snowmobiling, but the message obviously isn't getting through.

Stiff fines and confiscation of offenders' vehicles will help.

Obama's Fuel Efficiency Standards Mesh With Detroit Overhaul

If Detroit is taking public money by the billions to retool and build more fuel-efficient vehicles - - that entire wave it missed while Toyota and Honda grabbed the hybrid market - - then President Barack Obama's moves to build efficiency into the law makes perfect sense.

This is something that the Bush administration deliberately chose to avoid, preferring business tax breaks for Hummer and SUV purchases - - even if the business didn't need a 6,000-pound vehicle.

It will take years, decades, to undo the damage that Bush did to the economy and the environment as special-interest favors that harmed public health and taxpayer resources.

Will UW-Tosa Be Built Just As The Zoo Interchange Is Reconstructed?

As you're contemplating that real, congestion-laden question, downtown UW-Milwaukee expansion advocate Dave Reid has some other pithy observations about the boondoggly UW-Tosa campus.

Stimulus Spending Sought For Great Lakes; Wisconsin Would Benefit

It's clear that recession-battered Michigan - - and recession may be too tame a description for that hard hit auto industry state - - is hoping for a major infusion of federal funding for Great Lakes restoration.

Michigan is nearly completely in the Great Lakes basin, and its economy and culture are more deeply intertwined with the region's watershed than any other state.

So it makes sense both economically and environmentally that Michigan would be looking to federal funding for Great Lakes restoration - - a program approved earlier but without the requisite dollars.

If not now, when?

Wisconsin would do well to support such an approach, as it borders two of the five Great Lakes and has considerable recreation, commercial and municipal interests that make use of, and need consistent supplies of clean Great Lakes water.

An earlier Michigan media report on the issue is here.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs For 99 Cents

Maybe this can close out the loop on the compact bulb discussion that lit up this blog recently (OK, I know, bad pun, so watts the matter with that?):

The venerable Crown Hardware & Plumbing Supply is selling GE compact fluorescent bulbs to replace 60 watt, 75 watt or 100 watt incandescent light bulbs for 99 cents, after an in-store, instant rebate.

The packaging on the 100 replacement watt bulbs I bought claims a $59 savings over the life of the bulb - - 8,000 hours compared to the lifetime cost of continuing to purchase 100 watt incandescent bulbs projected to last 750 hours.

The compact is also using about 25% the electricity that a 100 watt incandescent uses.

So even if the projected cost savings is overstated - - even by a whopping 50%, for cynical argument's sake - - you're still saving about $30 for each bulb bought, so I figure this $3 purchase will save me at least $90, and probably more.

As I have said previously, we still have in use at least two compact fluorescents we bought in the early 1990's.

Even if you dislike to the bulbs' design, are you telling me you don't have walk-in closets, doorways, hall lights and plenty of fixtures that are logical, money-saving spots for compact fluorescents?

Plus - - if you do your bulb buying at Crown, you get to hang in a movie-set classic hardware store with people who know a heckuva a lot about a heckuva lot of things.

Like Politican Correctness, "Judicial Activism" Is A Meaningless Term

Conservatives adhere to their own brand of politically correct narrow thinking when they define court decisions and jurists they dislike as "activism" and "activists."

As if ideologically conservative decisions and jurists on the Right don't issue decisions that aren't seen as "activist" by those who disagree.

It's all subjective, and heavily semantic.

An example is here.

The Elites Win Again!

Another outrageous celebrity book deal is in the works. I wish someone would campaign against these inside-the-beltline excesses.

Wind Farms - - Seven Turbines Large - - Run Into Even Bigger NIMBYism

Local control in Manitowoc County is used to sandbag a relatively small wind farm, and that is renewing a plan for state approvals rather than local control.

These are complicated issues, but like other zoning issues, there has to be something approaching reasonableness.

South of border, Mexico is embarking on something that would make the vetoed Manitowoc project look like a hand-held pinwheel.

Thanks to the Daily Reporter for its energetic coverage of these issues.

Scot Ross on OWN, Issues

Scot Ross talks up One Wisconsin Now. Story and full interview here.

As I've disclosed numerous times, let me again say I sit on one of two OWN boards.

Warming Climate Challenges The Way We Protect Species

It will cost billions, with greater harm if the money is not spent.

Norquist To Obama: Repairs, More Transit, Fewer Highways

Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, now the President and CEO at the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism, argues convincingly that Pres. Barack Obama should commit stimulus funding to transit and infrastructure repairs, and away from more highway expansion.

National Coalition Promoting Sustainable Transportation Spending

You want a vision, a plan, some priorities and common sense about re-orienting and spending federal transportation dollars?

Read on.

GOP Wants Economic Failure

Rush Limbaugh said last week he wants President Barack Obama to fail. I don't think Obama had been in office for 100 hours, yet 100 days, but the GOP's #1 water-carrier needs Obama's failure for political reasons - - regardless of how many people remain unemployed in the George Bush recession.

Said Limbaugh: "I hope he fails," and bragged he's the only one brave enough to speak those words.

You can read it here, paragraph three.

Which brings us to the Wisconsin Republican Party's opposition to state job-creating initiatives.

This is the Limbaugh approach with a Badger twist, and it will further deepen the economic damage in Wisconsin it it prevails.

The State Supreme Court Campaign's First Fake Issue

Steve Nass, take a bow.

Cities' Stimulus Programs Can Add Value At Low Cost

Let's not forget that stimulus spending on infrastructure projects does not have to be limited to the biggest-ticket items because comprehensive transportation networks should also include lower-cost components, like bike trails, river walks and other pedestrian-friendly amenities.

A genuine transportation system knits together all the modalities and uses, especially in cities where much movement already takes place on foot, or on two-wheels - - whether a bicycle or a wheelchair.

A great analysis is here, courtesy of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

Milwaukee triggered hundreds of millions of dollars in construction and employment in the downtown, Third Ward, and Beer Line area with its Riverwalk.

The Henry Aaron State Trail connects downtown and the Menomonee River Valley with the County park system west of the city, helping to being back the Valley and all the development there.

People should be contacting their Congressional representatives to argue for more funding in the stimulus package for transit, but let's not forget that walkable cities and their built neighborhoods are far more sustainable - - financially and environmentally - - than are sprawled-out exurbs and costly new highway lanes through farm fields.

And these same priorities need to be the framework for the reauthorization later this year of the next five-year national transportation bill.

One coalition's plan is here.

Great Lakes Key To Superior's Economy

Certainly an argument for keeping Lake Superior clean and attractive.

And illustrative of the research and business opportunities to be better advanced by the UW-Milwaukee's new School of Freshwater Science, a ramped-up WATER Institute, and other programs related to Lake Michigan and the watershed.

Harley History Offers Political Insight

Wisconsin is rightly rattled by the layoffs announced at Harley-Davidson.

The iconic business is deeply ingrained in Milwaukee's culture and its workers are among the highest paid.

It's worth remembering that in the 1980's, when Harley was also in financial trouble, the federal government - - specifically the 'free-trading' GOP administration of Ronald Reagen - - helped turn the company around by slapping stiff tariffs on large-engine imported Japanese motorcycles, making Harley's bikes more attractively priced.

The company spent heavily on product development, too, so there was a partnership, but the salient point is that there was government intervention.

I'm not suggesting that the government do the same thing now. Or that there is necessarily any direct aid that Harley should get.

But tax cuts, lending assistance and federal stimulus spending together are designed to stabilize markets and personal finances, too - - as a matter of national policy.

And that is good for all businesses producing consumer goods.

Certainly Harley is at the top end of discretionary consumer spending, but without a stimulus infusion into the local and state economies, Harley's recovery will be slower.

The company's bigger problem is demographic.

US baby boomers are going to soon age away from the requisite agility and vision to safely ride a motorcycle, and the generation coming up behind the boomers is smaller, and less well-to-do.

But Harley has been adaptable, meaning the company will survive, albeit smaller, and perhaps with newer products.

Maybe there's an all-electric three-wheeler in the company's plans for 65-year-old tree huggers?

Check Out The New SEWRPC-Related Count-Up Clock, Left Margin

Hat tip to the java script software developer.

Rail Funding A Stimulus Priority, But Less So

Gov. Jim Doyle is pushing rail spending as part of Wisconsin's stimulus agenda, but Congressional committees are apparently looking to trim the transit portion of the stimulus.

The explanation: money to fund tax cuts had to come from somewhere, and you know it ain't the highway budgets.

Hat tip to one alert reader.

More Global Warming Evidence, Despite Cold Weather Here

The Antarctic and the other six continents are getting progressively warmer.

Business Group Supports WI Global Warming Task Force

Here is its website, goals and members.

When Conservatives Lose Their Minds...

They write crazy stuff like this.

Thanks And Props To Bob Reitman

I've been meaning to do this for a while, and it was hearing on WUWM-FM 89.7 some obscure Paul McCartney tonight that reminded me to get my forgetful self to the computer and finally post my appreciation to Bob Reitman for his wonderful Thursday night program, "It's Alright, Ma, It's Only Music."

Here's the website.

I didn't live in Milwaukee when Reitman began his alternative music gig in the 1960's.

When I got here in the 80's, Reitman was already paired weekday mornings with Gene Mueller on WTKI-FM 94.5. The show was regularly hilarious, and deep when needed, but wasn't ideological, boring or self-important.

Things changed, Bob retired, Gene took himself over to mercifully apolitical (!) morning drive time on AM620 WTMJ - - and voila (!!), Bob re-appeared on WUWM-FM to serve up his archive, genial prose, and broad musicology.

Basically, if you live around here, or don't avail yourself of Reitman's talents on the Internet, you're missing one of the signature benefits that gives the city some definition and makes Wisconsin radio fun.

Newer Wind Turbines Offer Design Revolution

Cylindrical turbines catch the winds easier. So stay tuned.

Water Issues Are Worldwide: Context For Local, Great Lakes Conservation

Think globally, act locally (and regionally).

Wind Turbines Meet Resistance

Done reasonably, and with full regard for the public interest, aren't wind turbines better than more coal plants?

I am not familiar with this plan: the opposition may be completely in the right.

But as we saw earlier when the Kennedy family so vociferously opposed turbines off Martha's Vineyard, even people with good environmental records can become NIMBY's, too.

Oconomowoc, Watertown Want Midwest High-Speed Rail

The 110 mph Interurban rail line to Chicago used to stop in Western Waukesha County, so the support from these communities has historical roots, too.

Not Every Drug Dealer Goes To Jail

Remember this story the next time you hear someone ranting about how all drug dealser should be locked away forever.

WE Energies Prefers Its Coal Plants After All

About wind power: forget some of it.

28-Hour Dirty Air Alert For Entire State

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued a dirty air alert for the entire state - - from about 8 a.m. today through noon tomorrow - - as unhealthy levels of microscopic particles in the air from power plants, smokestacks and tailpipes could find their way into your lungs.

And your kids' lungs. And your aged parents', and so forth.

I'll post the text of the DNR notice below.

Update: The DNR is focusing the advisory on several counties and refining the timimg a bit:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Advisory for Particle Pollution (Orange) for Kenosha, LaCrosse, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, St. Croix and Waukesha effective 11:37 am on Thursday, January 22, 2009 through 9:00 am on Friday, January 23, 2009 .

And now further refined, and expanded from the first revision, above:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Advisory for Particle Pollution (Orange) for Adams, Brown, Buffalo, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor,Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood effective 5:00 pm on Thursday, January 22, 2009 through 9:00 am on Friday, January 23, 2009 .

Remember that public officials, from The Governor, State Transportation Department and Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission are pushing more road expansion into and near our major population centers - areas already failing to meet minimal US clean air standards - - so the plan is for more traffic and emissions, not less.

And the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce wants existing clean air standards relaxed - - in the name of job development - - as if we have to trade clean air for work.

What goes into the air comes down onto the land and the waters. Mercury from coal-fired power plants falls into Wisconsin rivers, streams and lakes, contaminating fish and people who eat them.

Clean water and fresh air are not the intellectual province of environmentalists.

They are directly related to the health and welfare of every man, woman and child in Wisconsin, and it is intolerable that we constantly live in Los Angeles-style smog.

Here is the text of the DNR notice:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Watch for Particle Pollution for all counties effective 7:51 am on Thursday, January 22, 2009 through 11:59 am on Friday, January 23, 2009 .

The watch is being issued because of the forecast for elevated levels of fine particles in the air. Fine particle pollution is composed of microscopic dust, soot, liquid droplets and smoke particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and outdoor fires.

The Air Quality Index is forecast to reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities during the watch period.

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure.

To receive air quality advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/air/newsletters/.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.
Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
Minimize outdoor wood fires.
Conserve electricity.
For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!
For more information:

Air Quality Watches and Advisories Status Web Site
Daily Air Quality Hotline - 1-866-324-5924 (1-866-DAILY AIR)
Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov
DNR's statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://dnrmaps.wisconsin.gov/wisards
For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/air/about/regions.htm

How About The Drinking Fountain?

Or bubblers, as we say here in Milwaukee-ese?

This in response to an argument against banning plastic water bottles - - that if you ban bottled water, people will just switch to unhealthy soft drinks.

As if that's the only choice. Come on.

Where To Drop Off Used Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs In Milwaukee Area

I found this site that will take you after a few steps to a list of compact flourescent bulb recycling sites in Milwaukee county, including many of the retail stores that sell them.

I simply entered a downtown Milwaukee zip code in the appropriate box: other counties are available, too.

Hey: You know what? I'll make this even easier: The Journal Sentinel a while ago published this handy-dandy guide, complete with street addresses, hours of operation, web addresses and phone numbers - - in the entire Metro area.

Here it is:

• City of Milwaukee household hazardous waste drop-off site is at 3879 W. Lincoln Ave. Days/hours: Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (414) 286-3500 or go to www.mpw.net.

Note this updated information from the City:

The Lincoln Ave site only accepts fluorescent bulbs (and other hazardous waste) on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 am to 3 pm. These are the hours that the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)collection is operated by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) on the City's site. In any event, the City encourages you to take the bulbs back to the many participating retailers listed on the Focus on Energy website.

• Milwaukee County residents can go to the Lincoln Ave. site in Milwaukee, or two others: in Menomonee Falls or Franklin. For more, go to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Web site at www.mmsd.com/programs/hhw5.cfm.

• Waukesha County has three household hazardous waste sites, in Menomonee Falls, Muskego and Waukesha. For more information, call (262) 896-8300 or go to www.waukeshacounty.gov/recycling and click on "hazardous waste."

• Ozaukee County and Washington County residents can go to the Veolia Environmental Services waste facility located in the Port Washington Industrial Park, 1275 Mineral Springs Drive. Call (262) 243-8998 or go to www.co.ozaukee.wi.us/hhw.

The good news is that there are plenty of easily-accessible sites, so carefully handled, investing a few dollars more in the purchase of a compact fluorescent bulb saves about $30-$40 in unneeded purchases of traditional incandescent bulbs, and requires the burning of less coal to supply the electricity needed to keep the bulb lit.

Savings for the homeowner, reduction of air pollution, production of cleaner air, and so forth.

The average home has something like 40 light bulbs - - sopme more, some less - - so multiply these energy savings per bulb times the tens of millions of households in the US, and you get an idea of how easy it is to save huge amounts of coal production, shipping and burning.

I saw one estimate that suggested a national savings of 7% of the coal burned annually if all residences make the complete switch - - an amount equal to several entire power plants.

This post is a follow-up to an earlier post and discussion on Eric Von's radio program Tuesday about this issue.

Ford Pushing Hybrid Technology: Can US Automakers Make It All The Way Back?

Ford seems to be the US automaker looking to compete with Honda and Toyota in hybrid vehicle production.

GM claims it will have its electric Volt Chevies in the showrooms by 2010, leaving Chrysler farther behind - - though the deal it announced Tuesday with Fiat will at least give Chrysler access to some smaller, efficient vehicles.

There are a lot of consumers, like me, who were burned by American cars, and have found it hard to go back. I lost thousands of dollars and endless days to repairs on clunkers like a Dodge Dart and Pontiac Phoenix, to name but a couple.

But I'd look to these new American cars when it comes time to replace our 2006 Honda Civic hybrid.

Concealed Gun Carry Is Illegal Here, But Open Carry? Not So Clear

Long piece, but definitely worth a read.

OWI Suspect In Quintuple Fatal Crash Has No Priors

The details are not all in, but it has been confirmed that a driver involved in an alcohol-related crash in Marinette County that killed five people has no previous arrests.

My point is that first-time offenders are every bit as deadly as repeat offenders, yet state law - - the only one of its kind in the nation - - treats first-time OWI as a ticket.

Compact Fluorescent Basics: Followup To Eric Von Show Tuesday

I spent a fun hour with Eric Von in the WMCS-AM 1290 studio Tuesday.

Chatted about President Obama, federal stimulus funding and green technologies, and though I didn't have enough information with me about compact fluorescent bulbs, I thought I'd repair that omission by posting a primer, here.

Because they last far longer than cheaper incandescent bulbs, a compact fluorescent will save the owner $30-$40 in replacement purchases and use far less energy and fuel to power them.

Compact fluorescent bulbs come in a wide variety of sizes and intensities, as opposed to clunky earlier models - - though we are still using two my wife bought in 1993 in addition to many newer ones.

Handled correctly, there's no reason why people can't be switching out their bulbs en masse, saving money and helping clean the air we all breathe.

Obama Sixth New President Since Last SEWRPC Housing Study

Still no meetings of the SEWRPC Housing Committee scheduled, according to the agency's website - - so remember, the last SEWRPC regional housing plan was published when Gerald Ford was President.

Then came Jimmy Carter, (one term), Ronald Reagan (two terms), George H. W. Bush (one term), Bill Clinton (two terms), George W. Bush (two terms).

With Omaba's swearing in, the SEWRPC foot-dragging enters a new level of delay, suggesting the agency motto is "No We Can't."

Melissa Scanlan Launches A Blog

One of the state's leading environmental lawyers expands her reach and offers a solid new blog.

Breadth and depth: I'll be a constant reader.

Obama's Speech Set The Right Tone - - But Not For The Right

The inaugural address by President Barack Obama - - and I do like the sound of that: President Obama - - was relatively low-key, almost somber - - because that is what the country needs right now.

Rightie talkers who need to bash Obama to make a living - - Sean Hannity, Mark Belling, et al - - criticized the speech because it lacked rhetorical flourishes.

And while that is a subjective judgement, think about what a no-win situation Obama is in.

The right has criticized his penchant for grand speechifying, and then comes down on him when he isn't wordy enough.

Go figure.

Obama understands that what the country needs is honesty, analysis, pragmatism, studied reflection and then action.

His speech told us where we are, how we got there, and what we have to do to work our way out of the mess that George Bush has left us.

Obama's line about getting ourselves up, dusting ourselves off and getting on with the tasks at hand were all the rhetoric I need.

For those who want more, console yourself with the words of the Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction: text here.

I feel sorry for the rightie talkers. This was a great day to be an American, and spending time today taking reflexive potshots speaks volumes about the talkers' intellectual deficits.

Obama Inaguration Takes Precendence Today - - A Blogger's Day Off

I'm just gonna watch TV and soak it all in. What a great day for the country.

Canadians Eyeing Wisconsin Communities Eyeing Great Lakes Water

Another news story reports that Canadians are nervous about the consequences of the Great Lakes Compact - - usually touted as a water preservation agreement, but feared in some Canadian circles as a American plan to further tap into the shared water resources.

The story notes that New Berlin and Waukesha, WI are already seeking or signalling their intent to obtain diversions of Lake Michigan water.

Conservative Blogger Goes After New SEWRPC Leader

The conservative blogger and Marquette University prof. John McAdams goes after Ken Yunker, executive director of SEWRPC for just a few days, over SEWRPC's support of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line.

The post is here.

I wasn't at the discussion that McAdams attended, so I make just this observation - -SEWRPC seems to have a tough time finding allies, and I trace this phenomenon to one basic fact:

The agency's historic unwillingness and inability to build grassroots support.

SEWRPC has mishandled so much of its outreach - - whether by holding or participating in public meetings that tamp down aired comments, to dismissing written comments, to avoiding meaningfully diverse hirings and committee appointments, to dissing its Justice Task Force, to rolling over Milwaukee City and County objections to freeway lane expansion at the cost of tens of millions of dollars in taxable property.

And so forth.

Even its ongoing recruiting for the newly-created position of outreach and public relations coordinator has been botched, as the post was not discussed with the Justice Task force, suggesting yet another tightly-controlled, or like Yunker's ascension to executive director, a stage-managed in-house promotion.

SEWRPC is, as we speak, holding a series of meetings on its proposed water supply recommendations, and as one expert observed after one of the meetings last week, in so many words - - 'if there's no crisis, and Waukesha has more than one option to obtain a worthy supply, why did SEWRPC pick one alternative and recommend it rather than saying that there's a variety of options and they all have merit?'

Good question - - and along with SEWRPC's inability to launch its 34-year-delayed housing study, it's fair to ask what Yunker's plan is for getting the agency back on credible legs before an increasingly skeptical public.

We Can Get Used To Wind Farms Offshore

The world is changing, and with it comes alterations to the landscape that are tolerable and, from an emergy conservation perspective, highly desirable.

A generation later, no one will take offense at what will have always been there.

This will hold true off Lake Michigan, too.

Water-Rich Michigan Wants Great Lakes' Stimulus Investments

As the only Great Lakes to be nearly 100% within the Great Lakes basin, it makes sense that Michigan is looking for a large federal stimulus investment in Great Lakes restoration.

All the Great Lakes states should do the same.

Madison, Dane County Development Leaves Troubled Lakes' Legacies

The Cap Times has produced a detailed account of the difficulties with lake levels in Madison, with decades of development and wetlands' losses as major contributord.

Not too different from what plagues Waukesha County, and why many in nearby Ozaukee and Jefferson Counties have been heard to say that they do not want to be the next Waukesha County.