MADISON, Wis. – Earth Day, observed annually on April 22, was founded in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in a brave pursuit for issues like clean air and water to be advocated for on a national stage and cementing Wisconsin as a leader in protecting our planet. But 56 years later, Wisconsin Republicans have lost the plot.
“Looking at recent actions, or lack thereof, from Republican state lawmakers, you might never guess that Wisconsin is the birthplace of Earth Day,” said Lucy Ripp, a spokesperson for A Better Wisconsin Together. “And make no mistake: the Wisconsin GOP’s refusal to protect our natural resources is a deliberate choice, and certainly not due to a lack of means or opportunity.”
Last year, Governor Evers proposed a new state budget that included $300 million to remove lead from Wisconsin schools, $50 million to combat climate change and move toward cleaner energy, and a decade-long extension of the bipartisan and widely popular Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program that protects and preserves Wisconsin’s public lands.
However, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee quickly threw the governor’s budget away by eliminating more than 600 items. Republicans then had an opportunity earlier this year to fund as individual bills the vital items they removed from the budget, but instead decided to adjourn the 2025-26 legislative session only three months into the year, notably without any funding at all for the stewardship program.
Ripp noted that not only is Wisconsin Republicans’ refusal to fund the Knowles-Nelson program and other environmental programs bad news for protecting the environment, it could also cause Wisconsin to lose out on billions of dollars in future economic growth.
This Earth Day and beyond, call your state legislator at 1-800-362-9472 and remind Wisconsin Republicans that, 56 years since Earth Day was born here, we still expect our lawmakers to protect our planet.
