Clean Wisconsin

05/28/2026

Our team is in Washington D.C. this week to talk with Wisconsin's congressional lawmakers about the implications of rollbacks for federal water quality protections and the lack of administrative action on nitrates and pesticide regulation. Thanks to all of our supporters who make work like this possible!

05/27/2026

"As farmers face rising costs and lower prices for corn and soybeans, the report states Wisconsin could reach net-zero goals by embracing perennial systems and reducing fertilizer. Those systems include growing perennial crops, such as hazelnuts and Kernza, along with agroforestry and silvopasture that combine trees with crops and livestock."
Huge thank you to the Savanna Institute, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Grassland 2.0, and all the other partners and farmers who contributed to this first-its-kind analysis! Read the full story at the link in comments.

05/27/2026

Our 2027 Calendar Photo Contest ends in just over a month! Share your favorite snapshots of Wisconsin's most picturesque scenery for a chance to win exciting prizes, including a chance to have your submission featured on the calendar's cover.

Make sure to submit your photos by June 30 to be entered into the contest! Find more details: https://www.cleanwisconsin.org/clean-wisconsin-2027-calendar-photo-contest/

📷️: Meryl Mixtacki, "Sunrise" at Tomahawk Lake

05/24/2026

Large, or hyperscale, data centers used to train AI applications require immense amounts of power, often using more energy than an entire city. This drives the need for additional power generation and associated water use.

Read more about how AI data centers pose risks to Wisconsin’s surface and groundwater resources in "Into thin air," as featured in the latest issue of The Defender:

As AI data centers are built in Wisconsin, water withdrawals will rise from increased power generation and greater demand on municipal public water supplies.

05/23/2026

Wisconsin's AI data center developements come with real, quantifiable health harms. “We don't think that the data centers we are seeing in our state right now are good for our health, are good for our climate, are good for the environment, and we're going to push back against that type of development.” -Clean Wisconsin Energy and Air Manager Ciaran Gallagher

An analysis done by Clean Wisconsin is finding the center will be adding pollutants to the air which could impact the health of residents.

05/20/2026

It's World Bee Day! Did you know there are over 400 species of bees native to Wisconsin? Twenty of them are different species of bumblebee! These often overlooked insects are just one of many pollinators that allow our environment — and vibrant springtime flowers — to thrive.

But widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are used on virtually all of our corn and soybeans, are harming our pollinators at very low levels of exposure. Learn more at cleanwisconsin.org/our-water/neonics/

05/19/2026

Have you mowed yet??

At Clean Wisconsin, we believe everyone deserves deserves the right to clean water, breathable air, and a healthy community. Learn more about The Truth About No Mow May.

05/17/2026

In the years since the statewide mining moratorium was repealed in 2017, resource extraction companies have expressed renewed interest in Wisconsin's Northwoods as a promising source for precious metals.

Read about the latest efforts from a Canadian-owned mining company to drill for metals in the Bend Deposit of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in "Drilling in the Northwoods," as featured in the latest issue of The Defender:

In the years since the statewide mining moratorium was repealed in 2017, resource extraction companies have expressed renewed interest in Wisconsin's Northwoods as a promising source for precious…

05/15/2026

A Wisconsin circuit court has ordered Enbridge Energy to halt pipeline construction at certain locations while it reviews a lawsuit challenging state regulatory approvals for the Canadian energy giant’s controversial plan to build a new 41-mile segment of its Line 5 oil pipeline around the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin.

"The court’s decision to limit construction activities recognizes the seriousness of the legal issues before it. The record developed during the hearing shows that the DNR failed to comply with state law and its obligation to protect our wetlands and waterways. The judicial review process is essential to correcting those errors and ensuring environmental standards are properly applied." — Clean Wisconsin Attorney Evan Feinauer

Read more: https://www.cleanwisconsin.org/circuit-court-issues-order-limiting-pipeline-construction-while-lawsuit-over-line-5-permits-moves-forward/

05/14/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to our data chat at Kuumba Juice & Coffee in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood last week!

There's no shortage of data that shows how low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. But more often than not, that information is inaccessible and difficult to access. Our environmental health initiative aims to eliminate those roadblocks and give residents a better understanding of the environmental health risks affecting our communities.

Big thanks to our partners at Data You Can Use, the Harambee ECO Neighborhood team, the Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office - ECO, and all of the community members who are helping guide our effort to make environmental health data easier to understand.