LARSON Weekly Report - April 12, 2012

Dear Friend,

In honor of Earth Day, we will look closely at the history of Earth Day, recent legislative efforts geared toward our natural resources, and provide information about local environmental events and initiatives.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or opinions you may have about our community or our state.

Sincerely,

Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7
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Our Conservation Tradition Forgotten
Earth Day, which falls on Sunday, April 22, is fast approaching. In honor of this holiday we will take a look at our past, present, and future by recounting how our tradition of conservation began, examine our state’s current environmental efforts, and detail how to preserve our natural resources to ensure they can be enjoyed by generations to come.

You can also CLICK HERE or on the video link below to view my message for Earth Day 2012.

Conservation—The Wisconsin Way
The conservation movement in Wisconsin began with the arrival of Mr. Increase Lapham to Milwaukee in 1836. During his travels, Lapham kept meticulous records on Wisconsin’s environment to serve as models for those that would follow him. In 1855, Lapham began to argue for an ecological point of view toward the Wisconsin frontier by lobbying the State Legislature to authorize a natural history survey to prevent more of Wisconsin’s native species from going extinct due to increased settlement and industrialization.

Early conservation efforts continued under the leadership of Fighting Bob La Follette who supported the creation of state parks in Wisconsin to protect some of our lands from radical deforestation. La Follette championed that pitting economic development above our environment is a false choice that Wisconsinites should not be forced to make.

Wisconsin was even home to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator dedicated to cleaning up polluted waterways, protecting natural resources, creating green jobs, and bolstering the state's recreation infrastructure. The first Earth Day was observed nationwide on April 22, 1970, and served as a day to increase environmental awareness. As we see with many families, when a commitment to conservation is shared, future generations continue with efforts to protect our natural resources. Gaylord's daughter, Tia Nelson, is a great example of such an intergenerational legacy. Tia now servhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifes Wisconsin as Executive Secretary on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.

Click here for more information about Gaylord Nelson or the history of Earth Day.
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Failing Our Forefathers
This most recent legislative session served as a wake-up call that preserving our environment takes effort and commitment from those in charge. Unfortunately, those with the power this session failed to improve or protect our treasured natural resources. The goal as an environmental steward is to leave a place cleaner than when you arrived, and on this aim, the Legislature fell short.

Instead, Governor Walker and Republican legislators pushed an agenda that has left our state’s natural resources vulnerable. Many of these changes were instituted under the most recent budget, including:

-- Cutting funding for recycling programs by 40%. According to Recycle More Wisconsin, previously funded recycling programs keep 1.69 million tons of materials out of Wisconsin's landfills, supports 97,000 jobs and contributes $5.4 billion to our state's economy.

-- Eliminating $26 million in Stewardship program funding used to forever safeguard Wisconsin's precious lands and valuable natural resources for today and tomorrow.

-- Reducing funding for the Focus on Energy program that promotes in-state economic development, helps Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, and protects our environment. In the past 10 years, more than 91,000 businesses and more than 1.7 million residents used the program and saved $2.20 for every $1 spent on average.

-- Eliminating the Office of Energy Independence, which provides long-term planning and development of fuels, technologies and business practices in Wisconsin to reduce our state's dependence on foreign energy resources.

-- Eliminating the Renewable Grants and Loan Program and the Green to Gold Program. The former provides incentives for Wisconsin businesses to develop renewable technologies including biofuels, while the latter helps Wisconsin's industries lower their energy costs and encourages job creation and growth.

-- Repealing water quality standards that require communities to reduce the total amount of suspended solids in local water supplies. Without such regulations to protect our water quality, sewerage waste, toxic chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides could make their way into our drinking water and lakes, and significantly harm the health of our families and communities.

-- Holding up wind siting rules forcing alternative energy investors to send jobs elsewhere.

This agenda to place polluters over people continued with the passage of Senate Bill 326, legislation that undoes important environmental protections that keep our air clean and our water safe for drinking and recreation. The following concerns can be found in this environmentally harmful legislation that threatens our natural resources and families by:

-- Tying the hands of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by not allowing follow-up requests for information from permit applicants.

-- Encouraging DNR permit applicants to submit incomplete or false information since DNR is restricted in follow-ups.

-- Giving DNR the authority to issue permits without a public hearing.

-- Removing air quality protections, such as requiring industries to model their expected air quality impact to ensure the health of neighbors is not adversely impacted by pollutants they produce.

There is an undeniable link between a healthy environment and sustainable economic growth. Therefore, like Fighting Bob La Follette, we should not allow polluters to bully us into making a false choice between conservation and economic growth.

Creating a Brighter Future for Our Children
Our children deserve better than what they have been offered by this Republican Legislature. For this reason, I authored the Wisconsin Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights with my colleague Representative Chris Taylor. This resolution seeks to reconnect children with nature to both improve their overall health and ensure we have a new generation of stewards to protect Wisconsin’s valued natural environment. It lays the foundation of our commitment to provide our children the opportunity to discover Wisconsin’s diverse wilderness by sharing in our hunting and fishing traditions, hiking on trails, and swimming in our lakes and rivers. With this Bill of Rights, we also codify a generational promise to our children that Wisconsin will have breathable air and clean drinking water.

This resolution is vital to the health of our children as there has been a recent shift away from outdoor activities to more solitary and stationary activities, such as watching TV and playing video games. According to a recent survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Fund, children ages 8-18 spend more than 7.5 hours each day, or 53 hours a week, on smart phones, computers and watching TV. These figures are in stark contrast with the amount of time children spend outdoors considering the average 6-12 year old spends just 30 minutes per week in unstructured outdoor activities such as gardening, camping or hiking.

As a result, our children are now suffering from a “Nature Deficit Disorder,” which has begun to take a toll on the health of our children who are facing skyrocketing obesity, diabetes and attention deficit disorder rates. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention find that from 1980 to 2008 childhood obesity in children aged 6-11 nearly tripled and childhood obesity in children aged 12-19 more than tripled. This means that approximately one out of every five children today is considered obese, leaving today’s youth at risk of becoming the first generation to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.

The Wisconsin Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights promotes behaviors and activities that are shown to improve the mental and physical health of our children. Time outdoors is proven to benefit our children’s health as it decreases stress levels and lowers their risk of developing asthma or being overweight. It also increases our children’s chances for success since students who play and learn in outdoor settings perform better on tests, have higher grade point averages and cause fewer classroom disruptions.
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This resolution is an opportunity for parents, policy makers, educators and health care providers throughout our state to affirm each child’s right to grow up healthy and have access to a clean and safe outdoor environment. As stated by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, “Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health.” It is time that we start making that investment. By Adopting the Wisconsin Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, we will take one step forward in that direction. Unfortunately, this legislative initiative was not adopted this session. However, I look forward to introducing this resolution again when the 2013-2014 Legislative Session begins in January.

Click here to view a copy of this resolution.
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COMMUNITY Event
Family Free Day at Zoo
Date: Sat., April 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Location: Milwaukee
Description: Home to more than 2,275 animals with more than 330 species represented, the Milwaukee County Zoo is one of Milwaukee’s finest attractions. All visitors receive free admission to the Milwaukee County Zoo on this day, although the parking fee remains in effect. CLICK HERE or call (414) 256-5466 for more information on this event or the Milwaukee County Zoo.
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Office Phone: (608) 266-7505
Toll-free Phone: (800) 361-5487

Email: Sen.Larson@legis.wi.gov

Mailing Address:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707

Web Site:
SenatorChrisLarson.com