Mining and environmental justice in Northern Wisconsin

Mining has been in the news again in Wisconsin, especially with the controversy over the Gogebic Taconite Mine. You'll find a wealth of information about the proposed mine on the Internet, but you should also take a look at the controversies of the past - especially the Crandon mine. The controversies over mining have multiple dimensions, so to keep it manageable you should focus your project on tribes and tribal lands.

Here are some links about the Penokee / Bad River mine to help you get started - you'll find more links at each of these sites, and several are specifically about the environmental justice dimensions of the case:

Mining Impact Coalition

Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe

Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice

For background on the Crandon case (for comparison), here's a book: http://www.amazon.com/Exxon-Crandon-Controversy-Michael-OBrien/dp/193254237X. Although there are no academic articles about the Penokee mine (yet!), you'll find some about the earlier controversy.

Also, don't forget to use Google to look around for more links - and there are Facebook pages you can join to help you keep up with the controversy as well. (Just go to Facebook and enter "Penokee" in the search box.)

Valley Coal Plant and Environmental Justice

We Energies' Valley Coal Plant is the site of one of the most visible environmental justice campaigns in Milwaukee - and indeed one of the few at which the term "environmental justice" has been actively used. It is also still active - they hosted a big public meeting in December 2011, and it probably won't be the last.

Here are some sites to help you get started:

The Cleaner Valley Campaign - this blog is a fantastic place to start. There's a lot of information here (indeed, even plenty of data to analyze), and you'll find links to the various partners involved in the campaign. The partnership list will give you some clues about the key constituents who are concerned about their issue. 

Also recommended: join their Facebook page - still more good links here, and this is a great way to keep track of what they might be doing this spring.

CleanWisconsin

Midwest Environmental Advocates

Petition to EPA

To find even more good stuff, don't forget to Google (regular search and news), and try multiple search terms!

Critiques of libertarianism

In Geography 464 and 564, we read a few pieces coming from a libertarian perspective. For those looking for critiques of libertarianism, here's a treasure trove.

Blue Marble 2012

Nice HD - Blue Marble 2012.

"Water revolution looming"?

A new semester has begun, and it's time to revive the blog.

Here's a Journal-Sentinel article about a relatively new book on water scarcity. Not the gloom and doom you might expect, but I'm not sure I'll be able to drink Evian again, thanks to the author's colorful description. Let me know if you've read it.

Meanwhile, here's one author's take on how to deal with looming water scarcity in cities: increase land use density. (Some nice colorful maps too!)