It’s no secret, Wisconsin has been rapidly losing its family farms, and with them, a way of life that’s defined much of our state for more than a century. But there’s a lifeline. In this episode, a southeastern Wisconsin farmer explains why he's trading in some of his ethanol corn -- for a chance to farm the sun.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Jay Wednt, farmer, Dean Kincaid, Inc. 

Resources for you:

Analysis reveals solar farms produce 100 times more energy per acre than corn ethanol

Farmers for Solar

Wind and solar emerge as cheapest options for powering Wisconsin

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Imagine feeling not quite yourself. You don’t feel like taking care of your kids. You can’t find your way to work anymore, don’t want to hang out with anybody. It would be awful.

But it’s happening to bees all around us.

Turns out a pesticide used on virtually all of our corn and soybeans, is harming our pollinators at very low levels of exposure in ways that are rarely studied.

On this episode, hear from a University of Wisconsin Madison researcher who’s been looking at the lives of bees and the impacts of a neurotoxin we put on our food.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Dr. Hames Crall, Assistant Professor of Entomology, University of Wisconsin

Resources for You:

Episode: Neurotoxins on our Plates

Episode: Wisconsin's Vanishing Bee

Episode: No Mow May, Does it Work?

Understanding the Impact of Neonicotonoid Pesticides

Wisconsin Neonic Forum Video Series

 

 

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What if I told you there was a grain that doesn’t have to be replanted every spring, that has roots growing 10-feet deep, taking in carbon and holding it deep in the soil, that helps prevent soil erosion and excess fertilizer from washing into our lakes--AND it makes a tasty beer.

In this episode, a look at the work behind an experimental batch of Kernza® beer at Karben4 Brewing in Madison that has the farming research world taking notice.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Joe Walts, Karben4 Brewing

Resources for You: 

Taste the Change: Wisconsin Kenrnza®

Natural Climate Solutions: A path forward for Wisconsin's agricultural sector

Three cheers for climate beer!

Kernza® Crunch: The race to develop the world's first perennial grain crop

 

 

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“Action is the antidote to despair.” On this episode we look at how to move forward on climate when it feels like our federal government is determined to push us backward. Learn about actions you can take right now, right here in Wisconsin to defend progress. And hear from climate advocate and Wisconsin farmer Chelsea Chandler on climate strategy in the age of "drill baby drill."

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Chelsea Chandler

Resources for you:

Clean Wisconsin Take Action

Analysis: Solar farms produce 100 times more energy per acrea than corn ethanol

Threats to federal funding for pollution cleanup, clean energy initiatives spark anger in Wisconsin communities

PSC approves most powerful solar project in Wisconsin history

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In the wintertime, Wisconsin is one salty place. It’s all over our cars – in our cars – tracked into buildings, all over our shoes and boots. It’s a mess. Thankfully salt season is almost over, but it’s never over for our lakes or even our drinking water wells.

Find out what happens to all that salt when winter is over, and hear from an advocate who's working to teach all of us out to be salt wise. 

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Allison Madison, WI Salt Wise

More Resources for You: WI Salt Wise website

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We are about to say goodbye to some basic water protections as the Trump Administration looks to undo decades of science-based work focused on keeping toxic chemicals out of our water supplies.

Right now on the Defender, Amy talks with Clean Wisconsin attorney Evan Feinauer about how bedrock protections like the Clean Water Act could be at risk as the new administration targets regulations, research, and expert staff at the EPA. Find out what’s at stake and how Wisconsin can fight back.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Evan Feinauer

Resources for You: 

Under the Lens: What we know about PFAS in Wisconsin's Water

Nitrate pollution's impact on Wisconsn's health and economy

Neonicotinoid pesticides and their impact

More episodes with Evan: 

When Judges Rule the Environment: How bad are the new Supreme Court rulings?

What Trump 2.0 means for our environment

 

 

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Lead is a neurotoxin, and when you breathe it in, it gets into your bloodstream and can cause all kinds of health problems, including brain damage. It’s no wonder leaded gasoline was banned in the US nearly 30 years ago. But that ban didn’t cover small aircraft fuel. Turns out, those small airplanes buzzing around recreational airports across the state and country still use leaded gas. The planes are spreading tiny lead particles over people’s backyards, water wells, playgrounds, soccer fields and waterways just about every time they fly.

It this episode, Amy talks with a small town Wisconsin lawmaker who is leading her community’s charge to get the lead out of our air. And she’s got an eye-opening study that shows how our drinking water could be at risk too.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Cynthia Richson, Town of Middleton, Wis., town board chair

Resources for you: 

EPA Lead Endangerment Finding

 

 

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If you care about the environment, protecting this planet, our home, our livable climate, chances are you’re a little stressed out right now. But what if I told you that environmental action can open the door… to joy. Heat from a Wisconsin woman who started on a journey a few years ago to get fossil fuels out of her home. No furnace, no gas stove, no gas hot water heater.  She takes us on a tour of her house and shares her perspective on activism and the joy she finds in taking personal responsibility for our impact in this world.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Susan Millar

Resources for You:

How to Defend the Inflation Reducation Act The biggest investment to fight climate change in U.S. history is under attack. Find out how you can protect incentives that are helping Wisconsinites save energy and money.

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True to its name, this podcast, State of Change is about to undergo some big changes. The first – a new name. Going forward, this will be the Defender podcast. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same name as Clean Wisconsin’s quarterly newspaper, the longest-running environmental advocacy publication in Wisconsin, the Defender.

And right now, that advocacy, that word “Defender” is so important. Environmentalism needs a voice, now more than ever.

We’re also going to be rolling out new episodes weekly. So every Monday check your favorite podcast streaming service or your inbox to listen to the latest Defender episode.

Every week, Amy will with scientists, advocates, farmers, experts, and just everyday people who are working right here in Wisconsin to make a difference to protect this place we call home. And learn how you can use your voice to be part of defending what we all care about.

 

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It’s food season, also known as the holidays! And what you choose to put on your plate actually has an impact on the world around you. Agriculture is not only big business across the Midwest, it is also a major source of water pollution in Wisconsin and a major and growing source greenhouse gas emissions.

But how do you make it better?

In this episode, Amy talks with Kathryn (Kata) Young, Natural Climate Solutions Manager with Clean Wisconsin, about the places where eating and our environment connect.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Kathryn (Kata) Young, Clean Wisconsin

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What does a new, better-prepared Trump Administration mean for the water we drink, the air we breathe, the safety of our food, our climate?

We know a long list of federal environmental protections and programs will be rolled back or dismantled during the next presidential administration. We’re talking about erasing new standards for toxic PFAS chemicals in our drinking water, pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, diminishing wetland protections, pulling funding to replace lead pipes, undermining the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon, axing programs that help people weatherize their homes, getting rid of support for manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and of course, lots more drilling and fracking.

If you think it feels overwhelming, you’re not wrong. There are also plans to target the unbiased science and research that happens at our federal agencies, replacing civil servants with political appointees.   

So now that I’ve got you thoroughly angry, sad, scared, name the emotion, we’re going to dig into some of these issues and look at the road ahead to fight back.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guests: Clean Wisconsin Attorneys Evan Feinauer and Brett Korte

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For the past 25 years, we've been putting neurotoxins on our food. Neonicotinoids are potent chemicals that attack the central nervous systems of insects. Not only are they widely used on our food and in our soil, they're showing up in our drinking water in Wisconsin. And that leads to a big question -- what do they do to us?

In this episode, Amy uncovers the truth about neonicotinoids with experts from Clean Wisconsin and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guests:

Sara Walling, Water & Agriculture Program Director, Clean Wisconsin

Carla Romano, Groundwater Specialist, Department od Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection

Background Reading:

Understanding the Impact of Neonicotinoid Insecticides

Agricultural Chemicals in Wisconsin Groundwater Report, Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection

Neonitcotinoids and their impacts

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What's it going to take to get Wisconsin to 100% clean energy? If you listen to the state's biggest power companies, it's more methane gas. Wisconsin is on the verge of an expensive gas construction boom if utilities like We Energies in Alliant Energy have their way. But what about wind and solar? Is it possible for Wisconsin to finally trade in fossil fuels for clean energy right now? Amy talks with energy expert Dr. Ciaran Gallagher.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Dr. Ciaran Gallagher, Energy Manager, Clean Wisconsin

Background Reading:

Under the Lens, the Truth About Natural Gas

Stopping Gas Expansion in Wisconsn

Power Wisconsin Forward: An affordable, reliable, fossil-free future

 

 

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New research reveals how much it would cost to remove toxic PFAS 'forever' chemicals from the environment at the same rate we're currently producing and using them. Spoiler alert: we don't have enough money in the world. Hear from the researcher behind the study who says it should inspire optimism not hopelessness in the face of our growing PFAS problem.

 

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Ali Ling, PhD

Background Reading:

The Future of Persistent 'Forever" Chemicals

Under the Lens: What we know about PFAS in Wisconsin's drinking water

Toxic PFAS pollution devastates two Wisconsin Communities (video)

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What keeps you safe -- when you drink water, take medicine, get on an airplane, or take out a loan? It’s often a government agency charged with implementing our health, safety and consumer protection laws. But recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court have cast a long shadow. Legal experts say the rulings point to a Court that is actively working to unravel longstanding protections and policies, not just for the environment but across the board, and the harm will be far reaching. 

Host:

Amy Barrilleaux

Guest:

Evan Feinauer, Clean Wisconsin attorney

Background Reading: 

Rulings from U.S. Supreme Court a disaster for the environment

Clean Wisconsin takes legal action to protect communities from toxic mercury pollution

New EPA power plant rules will save lives in Wisconsin

Clean Wisconsin Legal Work

 

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