WISPIRG's Jennifer Giegerich (Jan Pelton)

It is only 10 months to the next major election.

Here in Wisconsin we’re getting used to the non-stop campaigning. Being the ultimate swing state has its advantages: You know that politicians need your vote. You would think that we’d hear some real policy initiatives from those seeking election. Sadly, it doesn’t pan out that way.

Where’s the leadership? Where’s the vision? Especially when it comes to the environment?

Take water quality. For the last three years, the Department of Natural Resources has been proposing rules to protect our lakes. The current rules on the books have not been meaningfully updated since the 1960s. The dramatic increase in development has rendered these rules outdated and powerless to protect our lakes.

The DNR’s new rules protecting lakes which we’ve been talking to you about for three years, would be a significant improvement, but the agency is afraid to approve them. If the DNR did approve them, the rules would then have to pass through the hostile legislature, where the DNR fears they would be gutted.

Remember when the Democrats and the Republicans would knock themselves out to protect Wisconsin’s natural resources? The state of Gaylord Nelson and Warren Knowles?

As hopeless as it all seems, we have to remember that as citizens and voters we have the upper hand.

In this lead-up to the November election, make sure your voice is heard. At every opportunity, ask: What are you going to do to protect our lakes? What are you going to do to move toward clean energy and away from fossil fuels? How are you going to restore Wisconsin’s natural resources—instead of handing them over to special interests?

If we demand that vision for our state, our leaders will follow.