DNR Air Quality Health Advisory

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an air quality health advisory for Milwaukee, Waukesha, Manitowoc and Brown Counties in eastern Wisconsin effective from 11:00 a.m., today Wednesday, March 29, 2006 until 9:00 a.m., Thursday, March 30, 2006. 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 outdoor fires. Current weather conditions leading to this advisory are the presence of low level clouds and light winds trapping pollutants near the ground. Air quality is expected to gradually improve for the affected area beginning Thursday morning.

The Air Quality Index is currently in the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups and others, including people who are not in sensitive groups but who are engaged in strenuous activities or exposed for prolonged periods of time. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality health advisory 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 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. To receive air quality health advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/health/listserv.html.

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.

-Avoid burning leaves, brush, grass or wood. Composting is preferred, but if you must burn and your community allows it, do not burn on an air quality health advisory day.

-Never burn household garbage, plastic, rubber, painted wood or other materials that must be recycled or landfilled and cannot be legally burned.

-Practice electrical energy conservation.

For more information:

-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://maps.dnr.state.wi.us/wisards
-For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/staff/regions.htm

2005 lcv scorecard

Last week, the League of Conservation Voters released their 2005 National Environmental Scorecard. Events were held in key states across the U.S. with LCV supporters and the media on hand.

Here is how our illustrious Congressmen scored.

Senator Feingold: 90% (Thanks, Russ!)
Senator Kohl: 75% (Hey Herb, that is a D in my gradebook!)
Representative Mark not-Green: 22% (This is a big fat F in anyone's gradebook!!!)

If you click the above names, you can see what votes they were "graded" on and email them a message about how you feel about their scores.

signs of a greener green bay

With all of the recent efforts to re-develop the city of Green Bay and to get people to live downtown, there has not been much public talk about "green cities" or environmentally correct and energy efficient development. In yesterday's Press-Gazette, there was some very hopeful reporting in the article "Mayor forecasts 'brighter future for Green Bay".

At the neighborhood level, new efforts will include a Greener Green Bay Initiative that will consider environmental factors from more efficient lighting to a policy for how long city vehicles should idle. Schmitt said he was intrigued by a similar initiative in Chicago and even discussed the possibility of a rooftop garden atop City Hall.

If they are serious about this it is very exciting news. As we move away from a fossil fuel economy, it is incredibly important that we revitalize our cities in a way that gets people to live near where they work. Chicago has made great strides in this area.

Right now, the Sierra Club has a very interesting COOL CITIES campaign that helps urban areas deal with these issues. One of their newsletters had a recent article, Cities Get Cool, about this effort. Green Bay should sign on!

eddy out,
rich

UWGB embraces renewable energy

NatureWise program to provide 10% of power
Green Bay Press-Gazette
February 18, 2006
By Terry Anderson

no "green drinks" tonight

Kavarna is closing at 4:00 PM today due to the weather (wimps!) and so there will not be a Kavarna "Green Drinks" tonight.

Orange and blue and then grey
The frosty twilight comes down
Through the thin trees. The fresh snow
Holds the light longer than the sky.

-Kenneth Rexroth, poet

ooo-oh that smell

Last Tuesday afternoon, there was a horribly obnoxious smell throughout Green Bay. I thought that there was a natural gas leak somewhere and my neighbor thought that someone was burning garbage in their fireplace. When Wednesday morning's paper came out, the mystery was solved. Apparently, the Kaukauna paper mill smells were reaching Green Bay for only the second time in 29 years! Green Bay residents can be grateful that they do not live in Kaukauna.

According to Patrick Schillinger, president of the Wisconsin Paper Council, an industry trade association, "there's nothing dangerous about" the smell. Sorry Pat, but I am not so sure we should take your word for it.

Here is the Press-Gazette article:

Paper mill odor wafts north, confuses some

Can an odor "waft"? I know that people can waft, in order to detect an odor, but can the odor itself waft? I don't think so. It can be wafted, but it can't waft.

I was one of the confused. That is not saying much though as I am perpetually confused.

eddy out,
rich

Local DNR hearing deceived the public

This is a guest column sent to us by Steve Abitz.

A People's Forum letter commending Sen. (Alan) Lasee's DNR public hearing is laughable. The hearing was a setup. The results are intended to deceive the public.

The setup: The hearing occurred on a weekday, during the day, so most people could not attend. There was no speaker time limit. Those with an anecdotal DNR ax to grind could talk forever, and some did for 25 minutes. Speaker order was manipulated by letting those in favor of Lasee's agenda speak first. No one in opposition spoke the first hour, after which the TV media (shame on them) left and only one side of the story was aired.

The deception: Lasee's hearing was about personnel and communication problems in the DNR. Budget and personnel cuts, favored by Lasee, are the sources of these problems. He's using the hearing as a ploy to re-weaken Wisconsin's already weakened wetland regulations. It's a total disconnect.

Like ex-U.S. Speaker Tom DeLay, Lasee despises all governmental regulations.

Like DeLay, Lasee is a slave to the corporate and business agenda.

Like DeLay, Lasee has deceived the public and betrayed their interests.

Like DeLay, Lasee deserves the same fate.

Steve Abitz