Local transportation policy in a time of demographic, political and technological change. We’ll talk about: * Changing demographics – an opportunity to invest in a 21st century transportation system. * Harnessing changing technology while retaining core community values. * Being economically competitive while providing equitable access to everyone. * Optimizing our existing infrastructure. * Reducing […]
FOXCONN In Wisconsin: At What Environmental Cost?
On Thursday, August 3rd, the Wisconsin Assembly held public hearings on 2017 Special Session Assembly Bill 1, which would provide up to three billion dollars in manufacturing tax incentives to the Taiwanese Foxconn corporation to build an LCD assembly plant at a yet-to-be-determined location in southeastern Wisconsin. The bill would also exempt the facility from […]
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, with Dan Egan
The Great Lakes make up a large part of Wisconsin’s identity. Where does the water for the lakes come from? Where does that water go? What are some of the invasive species that are now living in the Great Lakes that arrived in the lakes via ships? Our guest for the hour is journalist Dan Egan, author […]
Walker Proposes Cutting Self-Supporting DNR Magazine
The “Wisconsin Natural Resources” magazine has been published by the Department of Natural Resources for almost a century, and is funded without tax money. However, Governor Walker has proposed cutting the magazine to “narrow” the DNR’s focus. Former editor Natasha Kassulke joins Tony to discuss the goals of the magazine and the editorial constraints she […]
350 Madison
Three hundred and fifty parts per million: that’s the percentage of carbon the earth’s atmosphere can contain while maintaining the climate to which we’re all accustomed. Above that, and greenhouse effects start raising the temperature. We’re currently at four hundred parts per million, thanks largely to human combustion of fossil fuels, which releases millenia of […]
The Rebound of the Upper Sugar River
The Upper Sugar River starts where the Wisconsin glacier stopped 50,000 years ago. From the highlands near Mt. Horeb, the river winds its way through southwestern Dane County before hitting the Lake Belleville dam. From there it eventually joins the Pecatonica River in Winnebago County, near the Illinois state line.
It’s had a varied and occasionally troubled history, serving as a power source for timber mills, and more recently, as a outflow for agricultural fields. Lately, however, it has become a mecca for trout fishers, kayakers and naturalists, as the river’s health and ecology has experienced a remarkable rebound. The Upper Sugar River Watershed Association can take a good chunk of the credit for that turnaround. Brian Standing spoke with Wade Moder, Executive Director of the Upper Sugar River Watershed Association, about the work of the Association on the Monday 8 O’Clock Buzz.