Demanding Action on Earth Day

All of us in Wisconsin deserve to live safe and healthy lives, which starts with the air we breathe, the water we drink, and keeping our natural resources healthy – and our elected officials have a duty to support a sustainable future.

This Earth Day, there’s a lot of environmental items in Gov. Evers’ budget that Wisconsinites can encourage our local legislators to support – including more than $4 million to plant trees and grow our local forests, and a historic increase in shared revenue so that local municipalities can better manage PFAS contamination in local waterways.

Just as important as growing new trees and forests, though, is protecting and maintaining the ones we already have – an effort that we could support through Gov. Evers’ plan to allocate funds to 30 different county forests that would cover equipment used in combating forest fires and support wildlife habitat management.

Part of building a sustainable future and cleaner planet is also having a well-equipped clean energy workforce, and that’s why Gov. Evers included in the new biennial budget $10 million to expand clean energy job training and re-employment efforts for Wisconsinites joining the clean energy workforce.

Outside of the state budget, there’s federal initiatives to uplift, too. Reports show that millions of households receive their drinking water through lead pipes, which can cause extreme health problems. That’s why the Biden Administration is targeting Wisconsin with funds to replace lead pipes across the state and ensure that Wisconsinites feel safe turning on the tap.

This Earth Day, call your legislators at 1-800-362-9472 to demand clean air, water, and resources to create a sustainable future in the Badger state.

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A Better Wisconsin Together is a state-based research and communications hub for progressives and is an affiliate of ProgressNow.