Reduce, reuse, recycle. Or is it reload? Continuing his ridiculous anti-environmental binge, Walker decided to target recycling and sustainability in his 2011-'13 biennial budget proposal after already terminating construction of high-speed rail and restricting wind farms.
In his budget, Walker ends a decades-old recycling mandate and takes away state subsidies for local recycling programs. Wisconsin, home to the creator of Earth Day, has historically held a pioneering role in sustainable practices. This year, We Conserve, UW-Madison's environmental stewardship program, successfully reduced the UW's environmental footprint by 40 percent. Unfortunately, under Walker's proposed budget cuts, the government is taking aim at Wisconsin's history of conservation and forcing the state to take unreasonable steps backward from our recent environmental achievements.
Isn't our motto ""Forward?""
Passing in 1990, the Wisconsin Waste Reduction and Recycling Program, which touted the catchy tagline ""Give your trash a second chance,"" took full force in 2004. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Walker's proposal is the biggest change to this program since 1995, when it became illegal to throw away aluminum cans and newspapers. Studies conducted by the Wisconsin State Journal show that the amount of curbside recycled material has nearly doubled from 225,701 tons since 2004. In the same way that Oscar the Grouch changed his tune from ""I Love Trash"" to more encouraging recycling messages, Wisconsin resonated with conservation efforts as well.
Cutting funding to local government's recycling programs total $32 million, with Madison taking a $1.1 million hit. For our community and other larger cities with established recycling programs, it is unlikely that recycling will be completely eliminated. Madison's recycling coordinator George Dreckmann said Madison's recycling programs cost about $6 million, so a $1.1 million cut will not halt but severely cut back recycling efforts in Madison. Smaller communities, which face local cuts on top of elimination of state grants, will be forced to raise taxes and seek more complex avenues for funding or end their programs.
The bottom line is that these cuts to state recycling grants will result in a significant reduction of material recycled and a substantial increase in waste ending up in landfills. Walker is trashing Wisconsin. Literally.
Recycling is expensive. It costs businesses money. It costs the state money, but that money has ensured a greener future and kept waste from decomposing into greenhouse gases. If businesses are not required to recycle, it is highly doubtful that they will, likely erasing the progress Wisconsin has made in the past 20 years.
Progress? Moving forward? A better future? I suppose I have been taking these promises, the Wisconsin Idea, for granted. I do not know why I'm still shocked Walker turns out time and time again to be the biggest party pooper this side of the Mississippi. I was a celebrator when we started progress on our segment of the Midwest Regional Rail Corridor high-speed rail. But before Walker was even sworn into office, former Gov. Jim Doyle halted the project in his correct anticipation that Walker planned to terminate it permanently.
There is one important lesson progressive Wisconsinites can take away from Walker's short time as governor: Just because we invest millions of dollars in a progressive project does not mean that Wisconsin won't terminate it partway through.
Before Walker took office, he pleaded with Doyle to stop using biofuel technology at the Charter Street Heating Plant, although construction had also already begun on this renewable and viable project.
I guess we really shouldn't be that surprised that the now Gov. Walker isn't afraid to stop even 20-year-old environmental projects. According to these warnings and developing trends, the longer Walker clings to power, the farther back into Wisconsin's proud history he targets conservation efforts. Up next? Perhaps throwing away Earth Day. I bet Walker sees celebrating the earth as too expensive for Wisconsin tax-payers.
Melissa Grau is a sophomore majoring in journalism and communication arts. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
