Eco-Minute

Canadian oil giant Enbridge has reportedly breached the aquifer in northern Wisconsin during its construction of the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline. The company says the incident happened when they installed part of the pipeline under the Marengo River. Freshwater flowing from the site is being, quote, “monitored and contained.” Back when Enbridge applied for construction permits from the DNR for the...

October is National Firewood Month (yes, it’s a real thing), so the Department of Natural Resources is encouraging people to only buy firewood where they plan to burn it. The Buy Local, Burn Local campaign is aimed at preventing the spread of invasive species that can lurk in firewood like the spongy moth, Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer and other pests and diseases that can hurt our tr...

Wind energy is getting support in rural Wisconsin. 46% of people surveyed in Marathon County over the summer say they do support their community hosting wind energy projects, mainly for the revenue they provide. Just 22% opposed and 29% were on the fence. The top places they want wind revenue go: K-12 funding, and money towards roads and intersections. Clean Wisconsin is suing the EPA over the age...

The Trump Administration is set to dismantle two major environmental protections. The EPA is planning to drastically limit the definition of wetlands, yanking federal pollution protections for most wetlands in the United States. The Agency is also eliminating its own rule that limits greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. And it’s unveiling a separate rule that could prevent future administra...

Cleanup in northern Wisconsin after what appears to be the biggest reported oil and gas pipeline spill in state history. Canadian oil giant Enbridge spilled more than a million gallons of hazardous natural gas liquids in Iron County, forcing evacuations in the area. It’s unclear whether other toxic chemicals like benzene and hydrogen sulfide were also released or what the impacts may be to Lake Su...

Cloverleaf, the developer behind Port Washington’s controversial AI data center, is reportedly looking to build a new hyperscale data center on the east side of Madison. Energy utility MG&E recently filed a new data center tariff proposal with the Public Service Commission. The City passed a moratorium on AI data centers amid concerns about water use and high energy demands. But that moratoriu...

Oracle is dropping its lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin. The tech giant filed suit in June after the Public Service Commission passed new financial rules for AI data centers in the We Energies Service territory. The new protections—which We Energies claims will “narrow the pool of investors” for AI data center projects in their area—could be used as a blueprint in other parts of the state. A...

There is growing concern over a proposed AI data center in Wisconsin Rapids in Wood County. Neighbors packed a public meeting about the project worried about environmental impacts like energy demand and water consumption.  New York-based property developer PNK Group is pushing to build the data center along the Wisconsin River where a paper mill used to operate. Few details about the project have...

As Canadian oil giant Enbridge trenches and blasts its way across Wisconsin’s Northwoods to make way for its new Line 5 oil pipeline, they’ve hit a setback for the Michigan section of the pipeline. The Michigan Supreme Court has struck down permits for the company to tunnel under the straits of Mackinac. The Michigan Public Service Commission, which granted the permits, will need to re-do its anal...

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is joining 18 other states to file a petition against the  current Trump Administration for rolling back climate safeguards put in place during the first Trump Administration. The bipartisan AIM ACT was signed into law in 2020. It phases out the use of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in commercial refrigeration equipment. The chemicals are among the fa...

Wisconsin’s summers are getting smokier. According to a new analysis from Clean Wisconsin, the number of days that we breathe air polluted by wildfire smoke has risen over the past 15 years from one day per year to nine days. Exposure to wildfire smoke now accounts for an estimated 250 premature deaths in Wisconsin every year. You can blame our warming planet. Earlier melting of snow, decreasing r...

Lawsuits starting to emerge over AI data centers in Wisconsin. Legal nonprofit Midwest Environmental Advocates is suing the Department of Natural Resources saying the agency skipped the required environmental review for Port Washington’s AI data center amid pressure from its developers. And in an effort to protect strict new financial requirements for data center owners and operators, Clean Wiscon...

Happy Plastic Free July! The global movement meant to help people reduce their plastic waste is starting to catch on in Wisconsin. The challenge – to go a whole month without single-use plastics. A few things you can do—buy laundry detergent in a box, carry a reusable water bottle, and keep a couple reusable grocery bags in your car. And it might help protect your health. Micro- and nanoplastics h...

Bad news for Lake Superior. Another invasive species is getting a foothold in our largest, most pristine Great Lake. Bloody Red Shrimp – tiny crustaceans that travel in swarms that look like reddish clouds in the water – have been found in the Duluth-Superior harbor. The shrimp multiply quickly and feed on zooplankton, disrupting the food chain and leaving less food available for nativ...

Time is running out for Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson stewardship program, the long-running conservation effort that has helped preserve more than 750,000 acres across all of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Funding for the program ends on June 30th. This year, Wisconsin’s legislature declined to renew funding for Knowles-Nelson after 37 years of protecting Wisconsin’s treasured natur...

Wisconsin’s largest power company, We Energies is joining forces with tech companies behind the Port Washington AI data center to challenge a recent order from the Public Service Commission. In April the Commission told We Energies that its new AI data center customers must meet strict credit and collateral requirements to ensure they can cover the cost of all the new power plants and other infras...

Some Federal Funding could be coming to Wisconsin – to keep an old coal plant running. The 1970s-era Columbia Coal Plant was supposed to be shut back in 2022, but Alliant Energy never followed through. Now the plant is part of a $425 million dollar emergency order by the Trump Administration to keep coal burning. Coal plants release a long list of toxins into the air and water, including mercury a...

The Trump Administration’s new budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—or NOAA—could spell disaster for our Great Lakes. Funding for research programs that work on everything from water quality to maritime safety and weather observations are zeroed out in the budget. The $1.3 billion in cuts to NOAA still must be approved by Congress. June is pollinator month! A time to reco...

Happy 75th birthday to Wisconsin’s State Natural Areas Program created in 1951—the first program of its kind in the country and the largest. There are nearly 700 natural sites cared for and protected through the program. Our very first state natural area was Parfrey’s Glen in the Baraboo Hills. How often do you think about the Mississippi River? Unless you live near the river, maybe not as m...

The EPA says it wants to toss out a rule that keeps coal power plants from releasing hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic metals into nearby waterways. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said the rule is so hard to comply with that it could cause coal plants to shut down, and that would deprive AI data centers of the electricity they need. Zeldin called the rule “burdensome” in the face of the comin...

The US House has voted to remove controversial provisions from the Farm Bill that would have weakened pesticide protections and given chemical companies legal immunity. The provisions sought to strip states of their authority to pass stronger protections against pesticides, allow pesticide applications near schools and playgrounds, and block people harmed by exposure from suing chemical companies....

New research from Clean Wisconsin shows it’s not great to live next to an AI data center. Turns out air pollution from diesel generators on the sites can harm your health. The research shows the hyperscale Vantage data center in Port Washington could cause $960,000 to $1.29 million in annual public health costs statewide. Most of the harms come from increased ozone pollution, which is linked to se...

Just when you thought there might be a lull in the push to build AI data centers in Wisconsin, another project has been announced – this time along the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin Rapids. Few details have been made public, but there will be a hearing at the city’s Planning Commission on May 4th. Residents are extremely concerned about possible harms to the river and health and noise impacts. Wisc...

More details about a possible AI data center in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region. The small Mississippi River town of Cassville is reportedly being eyed for what could be the biggest construction project ever in Grant County. County officials have refused to name the tech company behind the project, but say it’s a famous one. Some residents are concerned about harms to freshwater resources and wildlif...

A coalition of public health and environmental groups – including Clean Wisconsin – has filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s repeal of tighter standards that protect people from toxic air pollution. The standards limit the amount of mercury, lead, arsenic, and other toxic metals emitted from coal-fired power plants. Since EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards took effect in 2015, they’ve driven...