Category: City of Madison

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Madison alders approved city’s first environmental justice policy this summer–without knowing it

September 4, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Dane County and Madison have some of the worst racial disparities in the nation. Elected officials vow time and again to fix things, but when there’s a choice between doing…

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Firefighting Foam Action in Wisconsin

August 11, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

From International Fire Fighter Vicki Quint Water contamination issues from PFAS are creating pressure on the fire service to make changes in toxic AFFF products. PFAS contamination of drinking water…

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Madison Juneteenth rally today

June 19, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Madison Juneteenth rally Friday, June 19th, 7pm at Olin Park Read Natalie Yahr’s Cap Times article about the history of Juneteenth Day and the Madison event here and below. ********…

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Police brutality and environmental injustices are connected

June 11, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

(Image from The Nation) MEJO condemns the brutal killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer–and commends Black Lives Matter, other racial justice activists, and all…

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Northside teens push for creek clean-up after new sediment tests find high levels of PFAS — again

May 28, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

By Oona Mackesey-Green, Northside News (photo by Garth Olmanson) When the test results came back in February showing high levels of PFAS in the sediment at Starkweather Creek, a foot…

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Capital City Hues on MEJO & EMCC Starkweather PFAS testing (Part 2)

May 21, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

East Madison Community Center (EMCC) Starkweather project team members Mack Rimson, Kenyan Harper, and Elijah Smith (left to right) at a Starkweather Creek tributary, November 2019 (Photo: Maria Powell) **********…

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Capital City Hues on MEJO & EMCC Starkweather PFAS testing (Part I)

May 6, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

MEJO and EMCC team meets to discuss Starkweather results in late February (Photo by Jim Powell) *********** Jonathan Gramling of Capital City Hues met with MEJO leaders and East Madison…

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PFAS, COVID and potential environmental racism

May 4, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

By Brad Geyer, Safe Skies, Clean Water The draft environmental impact study acknowledged that there will be “significant disproportionate impacts to low-income and minority populations as well as children.” Although…

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Decision to base F-35s in Madison ignores public health concerns

May 1, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

By Bruce Barrett and Paula Rogge, Cap Times Today we are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. Our federal, state and local government officials have been working hard to contain the…

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Earth Day 1970 in Madison, Wisconsin

April 22, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Fifty years ago, on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day events were held across the United States, spearheaded by Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Madison) and Dennis Hayes, a Harvard Kennedy…

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MEJO and East Madison Community Center teens find significantly elevated PFAS levels in Starkweather Creek sediments

April 21, 2020 Jim Powell

Earth Day 2020: Fifty years after first Earth Day, toxic environmental pollution still pervasive (Madison, Wis.)–New PFAS results, released before the COVID 19 lockdown, show significantly elevated levels of PFOS…

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Low-income housing built on “environmental nightmare,” infectious agents

March 21, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Was the site cleaned up before development? No. ****************** In the last three years, low income apartments, an assisted living facility, and several Habitat for Humanity homes have been constructed…

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Superfund will not protect our waterways — or us — from the military’s toxic pollution

March 11, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Maria Powell, Cap Times op-ed Photo above: Starkweather Creek going through Truax Field The final environmental impact statement (EIS) on basing F-35 fighter jets at Madison’s Truax Field states that…

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The Final F-35 EIS is a total sham

February 23, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

The public comment process for the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for basing F-35s at Madison’s Truax Air National Guard base was not only token—it was a total sham. According…

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Don’t kill the messenger: City water utility spokesperson falsely accuses media of bias

January 30, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

PFAS hits in Madison drinking water wells By Steven Verburg, for the Isthmus In a Jan. 16 guest column in Isthmus, a Madison city water utility spokesperson took a page…