National Academy of Science Touts Grasses As Ethanol Source

Not corn. Grasses.

More evidence that Wisconsin and other agricultural and wooded states can pursue alternatives to corn-based ethanol and save water and energy in the process.

If Ethanol Is Good For GM, It Must Be Good For The Country, Too

Since that's a paraphrase of what its infamous CEO "Engine" Charlie Wilson is purported to have said years ago about the relationship of General Motors to the country.

So let's get farmers back to growing corn for food, not fuel, as cellulosic, fibrous plants offer companies like GM an alternative for ethanol production that saves energy and water in the processing,

I Make A Few Suggestions About Building Equity Into Regionalism

From where I sit, it's all about water and transportation, written in an op-ed in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sunday Crossroads Section of January 13th.

Wisconsin's Bad Air Finally Makes Major Media News

Sunday's Journal Sentinel carried an article about the unhealthy alerts that had become numerous in recent weeks, when we usually see them on humid hot days.

I had begun noticing the number of such alerts issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and posted blog items about them on January 5th, 2008, December 30th, 21st, 19th and 11th of 2007.

A sample is here.

And let's not forget that it is the position of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce that air quality standards in Southeastern Wisconsin should be relaxed.

I've also posted more than once about this, too, with one example here.

On Water, John McCain Is No Bill Richardson

Republican presidential candidate John McCain tells a Michigan audience that the Great Lakes belongs to residents of the states that border them, and he wouldn't divert "a drop."

When in Michigan, and actually, in any state, that's the right thing to say.

Smaller Lakes Need Great Effort, Too

There's a pressing need to preserve the Great Lakes, with much crucial time wasted for the last two years as a state study committee capitulated to Waukesha County business interests and deferred Wisconsin efforts to ratify the pending Great Lakes Compact.

But as the Capital Times' Rob Zaleski has been writing, Dane County's lakes have troubles of their own, and the need is urgent to take better, long-term care of southcentral Wisconsin's premier bodies of water.

The Capital Times has joined the call for adopting the Great Lakes Compact, though its readership territory does not touch the Great Lakes basin.

That's because the CT has a broad perspective.

People around the state similarly need to weigh in and support Dane County regional efforts to do the same for the lakes there.

Great Lakes Water Resources Index, Amended

From time to time, I post a list of online sites that offer information about Great Lakes water issues.

Here's the updated list.

As before, please send me suggestions.

1. Loon Commons Environmental Blog in Minnesota.

2. Michigan Liberal Blog. More politics than environment.

3. Dave Dempsey Blog, in Minnesota, via Michigan.

4. The Political Environment Blog, in Wisconsin.

5. Energetich20 Blog- - A UW-Madison engineering student's effort.

6. Dale Olen Blog - - Wisconsin activist, writer.


Online news and information sites:



1.Great Lakes United.org: All-purpose informational site.

2.Great Lakes Information Network, GLIN, collecting traditional media, daily (but no blog items).

3. Great Lakes Town Hall, an arm of the Biodiversity Project, Madison.

4. The environmental engineering firm Brown and Caldwell has an excellent newsletter and roundup (free registration required here).
Great Lakes For All.

5. University of Wisconsin-Miwaukee's WATER Institute: Numerous experts, papers, other resources.

6. Peter Annin's Great Lakes Water Wars: Comprehensive listing of Great Lakes resources, diversion applications and responses, and more.

7. Good variety of sources at Great Lakes Shipwatchers.

8. Oregon State University's Water and Watersheds.

9. Wisconsin Association of Lakes e-newsletter and additional resources.

10. Midwest Lakes Policy Center. Water issues, generally.

Blogs and Media Following Pabst Farms 'Modifications'

Pabst Farms 'planning' is a great example of what can happen when a new city is plopped down on a farm field, and the Sprawled Out blog has followed similar matters in Franklin, so I begin with that.

It's a good blog. I'm glad to plug it, so check it out.

Back to Pabst Farms, where the upscale mall is getting bigger, but not necessarily better.

And as The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Amy Rinard notes, the redesigned mall site at the northern convergence of Highway 67 and I-94 in Western Waukesha County has a new developer who has added a string of big-box stores backing up to what could become the entry way to the City of Oconomowoc - - welcoming motorists to Lake Country with a panorama of store backs, parking and Dumpsters.

That ain't New Urbanism. It's more like Old Urbanwasism, where everything serving the car separated retail and pedestrians from the street, and the visual environment got trashed.

It's a dead model, but that's what the mall planners say their client stores want, and have told Oconomowoc officials they know more about retail needs than does the city.

Strange strategy, since Oconomowoc put $24 million in public tax dollars into Pabst Farms to citify the rural land, and still has mall design and construction approvals, and another cash payment to make on the interchange plan to make it go forward.

Speaking of the interchange, state and local governments in Waukesha County are hell-bent to begin work on that fast-tracked, $25 million I-94 interchange to the site, even as the design is changing and getting iffier by the minute.

Here's another good account of the issues from the Daily Reporter.

Business Leaders Risk Killing The Compact: Maybe That Is The Plan?

Again, prominent Wisconsin and Waukesha-area business leaders ventilate loudly in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the proposed Great Lakes Compact will hurt them.

Man, did they get a lot of ink.

They just will not grasp and acknowledge that the Compact is an eight-state, two Canadian province cooperative agreement.

It is not the Greater Waukesha Guaranteed Prosperity Compact - - to convey special status for an area that has over-used its ground water through hyper-development, yet wants to paper over its profligacy by inserting into an international stewardship agreement permission for its very own, dedicated spigot - - county-wide.

Ironically, current federal law is more restrictive than the proposed Compact.

There is no logical reason for these business leaders to prefer living under the more stringent federal diversion restrictions unless their next card is litigation to void the federal law.

None of these business leaders' pronouncements are rooted in Great Lakes stewardship. Their perspective is all about self-interest, and it is not out of the question that the Compact, years in the making, could be unraveled by Wisconsin's non-approval.

Remember that after the Compact was initialed by all the Governors and provincial premiers, and while Wisconsin officials were beginning to set up a process to approve the Compact in our state, the City of Waukesha twice confidentially asked Gov. Jim Doyle to approve perpetual diversions from Lake Michigan in direct contravention of the procedures and goals laid out in the pending Compact.

It was and remains an undercovered story. Here is an account.

A Waukesha Water Utility lobbyist, Bill McClenahan, has complained on this blog (see the comment section there) that I have unfairly cast Waukesha as being anti-Compact. I disagree.

I think the record to date shows that Waukesha is making strides in conservation planning, and I have praised Waukesha for that on this blog.

But Waukesha also continues to heavily use closed sessions of both the water utility and common council to formulate diversion planning, raising suspicion that the diversion scheme being formulated will not fully return diverted water back to Lake Michigan.

Also keep in mind that the Southeastern Regional Planning Commission, as it finishes work on major regional water supply study recommendations, may propose the creation of a new regional water authority to more easily move Lake Michigan diverted water to a growing number of communities across the entire region.

Michigan will surely try and block some or all of those moves, thus further jeopardizing the Compact and again setting the stages for the federal law to be challenged.

I wouldn't put anything past the Compact opponents, especially some in Waukesha County that have listened too hypnotically to their talk radio,and self-generated publicity and now truly believe they are entitled to exceptional treatment.

The talk about making deep changes to the Compact, knowing that such amending, including eliminating the embedded principle of eight-state approvals for out-of-basin diversions, will kill the Compact.

There was a time that environmental policy for the state and nation were given birth here by legends like Aldo Leopold and Gaylord Nelson.

The stance and work and intentions were pro-active and assertive to protect the ecosystem for generations to come - - because we share these resources as a state, region, nation and planet.

Now the conventional wisdom is more and more about selfishness and money and perceived advantage, not the common good.

How far from our legacy and position as the region's ecological leader could we fall?

Increased Cigarette Tax Drives Smoking Down

It's been long known that as the cigarette tax goes up, usage goes down, especially among young smokers with the least earning power - - and that's all to the good.

Smoking cessation programs, whether hotlines or access to medication and counseling are also important to include with the coercive power of taxation.

Smoking is responsible for billions of dollars in social costs and many premature illnesses and deaths. Government needs to use its powers to reduce smoking - - not just taxation, but therapeutic programs, too.

Interesting Link Between Tar Sand Oils and US Airlines

Great Lakes refineries in Superior, WI, Indiana and Detroit are ticketed to receive heavy tar sand crude oil piped in from hugely destructive extraction in Alberta, Canada.

Now we learn that US airlines are among the major users of this costly oil, and there is a movement afoot to turn the airlines away from that source.

Details and edification, here.

Blog Goes Over The Line: We Don't Need This

Watchdog Milwaukee, the blog put up by former Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Jim McGuigan, has posted a deeply personal attack on Lynne DeBruin, an incumbent Supervisor.

The link is here.

I do this with some ambivalence, as I will be responsible for spreading access to this unpleasantness, which could not sit well with Supv. DeBruin, a Westsider.

Both McGuigan and DeBruin generally support issues that are in line with my opinions, so it all baffles me.

I do not know what interpersonal or political dynamics or histories have taken place between them, but I know an unnecessarily personal attack when I see it.

Politicians have personal lives and roles as spouses and parents. Those need to be off-limits, certainly in public forums, and you'd think that no where would that be better appreciated than among politicians' colleagues.

Apparently not.

I tried to post a comment yesterday about this on McGuigan's blog, but it has not been approved. In it, I urged McGuigan to confine himself to political criticisms and remove the personal stuff.

It's his blog, and his call. I understand that.

But as I have said in other circumstances, there is nothing gained from incivility, regardless from where on the political spectrum it is launched.

And hey: I'm not perfect on this score, either, but I think McGuigan's posting is so far over the top or across the line that it stands out and thus needs to be called out.

As an aside, it sure seems like there is a lot of this intense in-fighting and personal battling in County politics: that arena could use more leadership, less internal warfare, and maybe one huge timeout.

Gov. Doyle Is Right: We Need A Statewide Smoking Ban

Like Illinois. Minnesota. And much of the rest of the world, including even Ireland and France, where smoking was deeply ingrained into popular, national culture.

Gov. Doyle is right to worry that Wisconsin will become the region's ashtray, where foul inside air leads employees and other state residents residents to contract lung cancer and other costly diseases.

Wisconsin can be a healthier state, with fewer demands on the already-overpriced health care system here, if cigarette smoke is removed from the common air supply.

There is an imperfect smoking-ban bill moving through the State Senate that needs to be strengthened by closing loopholes that delay its application in bars and restaurants.

The time for coordinated, uniform state action is now - - before more people are tipped towards cancers, heart disease, or asthma.

Milwaukee Business Leaders Meet Their Worst Enemy - - Themselves

Our hometown business leaders, in love with China, rip their city, and in the process, probably help Colorado win the Coors/Miller merged headquarters.

Nice work, fellas.

It's that old story: Milwaukeans just can't stop beating themselves up, but those guys do it in print. Go figure - - especially since there's more than enough data and reporting around that indicates China may not be the most attractive production model for American business leaders to follow.

I've added some contextual updates about that below, but first - - want to see how a progressive business leader can sound when addressing a business audience with a fully open mind, about issues which, again, other Wisconsin business leaders have been negative?

Give this a read. It's about the need to preserve the Great Lakes, differing substantially from the isolationist and self-interested propaganda about Great Lakes water coming out of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Metropolitan Home Builders Association and the Waukesha Chamber of Commerce.

Update:

The Journal Sentinel carries its own version of the business leaders' anti-Milwaukee complaints, wherein we learn that when our CEO's fly to China they love being met at airports in escorted limousines, like potentates, emergency lights flashing.

Turns out that visiting business bigwigs just love the fawning attention they receive in a Communist dictatorship.

Oh, the ironies.

Yes, the Chinese government and its tightly-controlled corporate infrastructure can provide what our business leaders most crave: low costs.

That's because China runs on minuscule wages, crappy environmental standards, laws against unions, and other favors that can only be guaranteed in a one-party, military state.

NPR recently carried an interview with experts who monitor plants in China that produce goods, including popular brand name shoes and clothing, for US retailers.

It turns out that many Chinese workers make 55-60 cents an hour and must work mandatory overtime - - pay that is often withheld from female workers who also are harassed, even sexually assaulted on the job.

And without a union to take up their cases.

Further Update:

Chinese officials beat a blogger to death, according to CNN.

OK, so not every country enshrines free speech to the extent of the US Constitution, but where's the outrage about this event. Note that the report says "officials," or what we here call "under the color of law."

And remember a few months ago that the Chinese government executed the head of their Food and Drug Administration equivalent for poorly regulating the sale of lead-tainted toys?

If we imitate that model, a lot of the top people at our Consumer Products Safety Commission and other agencies and manufacturers would have relocated to Brazil by now.

Further, Further Update:

The death toll in Chinese coal mines last year was nearly 3,800 miners, according to official sources. That's more than ten dead miners a day. Any US business leaders want to step up and endorse that lovely safety record as worth emulating?

Based on tons of coal mined, China's death toll annually is about 100 times higher than the US miner's fatality toll. In some recent years, that data shows the number of Chinese miners killed above 5,000, when the number in the US was under 25.

China is the model for how we should do business here?

I hope not.

Midwest Governors Tout Renewable Energy, Great Lakes Compact

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was joined by our Gov. Jim Doyle this week, charting out renewable energy plans for the Upper Midwest.

No mention by either in news reports of the probable application for a huge petroleum refinery expansion in Superior by Murphy Oil, based a definitely non-renewable energy source - - dense crude oil extracted at great energy and water expense, and piped in, from the tar sand fields of Alberta, Canada.

But back to the renewables: both the governors recognize that their states have plenty of forest and agricultural lands that can be used to produce cheaper forms of ethanol than what's found in today's preferred source - - corn.

And that's a good development, because producing ethanol from wood-products or grasses uses far less water and energy to make than corn-based ethanol.

The outlines of Wisconsin's approach to renewable energy production are contained in a lengthy briefing book prepared this summer for Matt Frank, the new secretary of the Department of Natural Resources.

I posted excerpts on my blog, here, drawing attention to wind and wave-generating schemes along with the agricultural and forest-based industrial opportunities.

It's anybody's guess if these plans will ever produce a kilowatt of electricity or a gallon of ethanol, but it's good to see government and industry at least talking to eachother about how to save money, energy and reduce carbon emissions, too.

It was interesting to see that Doyle and Pawlenty both calling for the approval of the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement that would implement in the eight Great Lakes states a cooperative plan to limit diversions of water away from the lakes and bring about conservation, too.

Minnesota has already approved the Compact: Wisconsin is the only state without a bill even under review, in large measure due to fierce opposition from Waukesha County business interests.

This is what the Governors had to say about the Compact, noting that Minnesota had already approved it:

“'It’s my hope that Wisconsin and all others will join us in that regard,” Pawlenty said.

"Doyle said a fight over water issues in southeastern Wisconsin’s Waukesha County should not delay his state’s participation in the Great Lakes compact.

“'This is about how we preserve the quantity and quality of Great Lakes water,” he said, adding it’s a way to protect the lakes from invasive species.

“'If there ever has been an issue where we have to look at the big picture, this is it.'”

We'll see just which big picture that is, should the Governor support a Great Lakes Compact bill rolled out by legislators later this month, as rumored.

There's more than one version of the Compact under discussion around the State Capitol, thus more than one rendition of a big picture under consideration.

Milwaukee's New Multi-Purpose Transit Center Is Stunning

John Gurda gives us the history of the rise, fall and resurrection of grand train stations in Milwaukee, and how right he is to sing the praises of the gorgeous Amtrak and inter-city bus station that has replaced the eyesore that used to stain St. Paul Ave. downtown.

We met out-of-town friends there last weekend, and all of us could bately believe our eyes.

I'm convinced that this so-called multi-modal station will add light and commuter rail lines in the next few years.

When that happens, passengers with good long-term memories will wonder why it took so long to replace the ugly building and also to add the most modern of rail upgrades.

In Chicago, Recycle Your Christmas Tree, Get Cool Free Stuff

Interesting and creative plan, don't you think?

Even The Onion Weighs In On Water Issues

A typical Onionesque list of city conservation programs includes one from Madison.

Send your suggestions for Waukesha and New Berlin to the comment section, and join the fun.

Madison Urban Environmental Group Upgrades, Goes National

It's a tribute to the hard work of Urban Open Spaces Foundation creator Heather Mann.

The group's new name: Center for Resilient Cities.

Storm Warnings? Mary Lazich Forecasts On The Weather Channel

But not about the local weather. Sounds like "lake effects" would be more accurate (with apologizes to WUWM's Jane Hampden), according to information Sen. Lazich, (R-New Berlin), has posted on the Internet.

Lazich has a blog, "Conservatively Speaking," that is carried on suburban online news sites, and there is always something interesting on it.

In recent weeks, she's posted safe winter driving tips, support for smokers' rights, angst about Wisconsin taxes, and suggestions that you carry holiday gift cards in your wallet so you don't forget them.

Another thought-provoking posting began this way:

The true meaning of Thanksgiving

"By Mary Lazich

"Wednesday, Nov 21 2007, 06:28 PM

"Thanksgiving has become more secularized than Christmas."

The link is there for the rest of the story.

Anyway, on Wednesday she wrote on her blog that she will be appearing on the Weather Channel program, "Forecast Earth," based on her participation on the Great Lakes Compact legislative study committee.

That got my attention.

That's because a legislative/citizen committee failed after a year's meetings to draft a bill to approve the Compact - - an eight-state, cooperative Great Lakes water conservation and diversion management agreement - - in part due to Lazich's objections.

She balked at several Compact provisions, including diversion procedures and restrictions, as did the Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

Another Lazich ally opposing the Compact is Ohio State Sen. Tim Grendell, a conservative property-rights advocate.

Lazich brought his arguments to the study committee where they were dismissed as irrelevant to Wisconsin law by state Department of Natural Resources experts.

Here's her "Forecast Earth" publicity announcement:

I'm on the Weather Channel

By Mary Lazich
Wednesday, Jan 9 2008, 09:29 AM

Recently, a crew from the cable TV channel, The Weather Channel came to the state capitol to produce a segment on the Great Lakes. Because I served on the Legislative Council’s special study committee on the Great Lakes Compact, the crew interviewed me for the program, “Forecast Earth.”

The segment airs this Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Entitled, "The Great Lakes Water Battle," the segment is being promoted on the Weather Channel website:

“Lake levels drop, revealing miles of rocky beaches, and cargo freighters begin to run aground. It's not the future, it's happening now to the world's largest freshwater lake system. We take you into the heart of the "Great Lakes Water Battle."

The segment airs this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. with a repeat at 4:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon."

Thanks to the good folks at the Sprawled Out blog for this information.