The Fox River in northeast Wisconsin is called Paper Valley for the industry at the foundation of the local economy. Growth is not without consequences and for many years polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs were dumped as waste into the river. The episode is a classic example of environment pollution that has rightly been addressed. Good enough is never good enough, however, when the standard is perfection.
Judge rejects Wisconsin group's challenge of pollution settlement April 2004: A legal attempt to overturn a settlement with Georgia-Pacific Corp. involving environmental damages caused by pollution in the Fox River has failed. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman rejected a citizens group's claims that the 2002 settlement did not contain enough money for the company's share of the environmental damages and it violated federal procedures.
Last May, Governor Jim Doyle vetoes a bill protecting existing private piers for access to the waterways of Wisconsin. The Governor fully supports the environmentalists in the Department of Natural Resources who believe piers are a hindrance to establishing pristine pre-European waterways. Good enough is never good enough for an idealized conception.
Mark Green Comments: I certainly hope Jim Doyle will do the right thing and tell his DNR to let Wisconsinites enjoy their summer. I can't imagine walking out to a pier, only to find a DNR official crawling around, tape measure in hand, ready to hand out a fee if a family is not in 'compliance.'
Conservationists want clean surroundings and areas preserved for both wildlife and recreation. Environmentalists want to change the way we live to recreate the past, and they want to do this by government control of society. From the beginning of his campaign for Governor, Republican Mark Green has pledged to reform the DNR. It makes sense to assign one group to focus on true pollution enforcement, while others manage our land and water to preserve the outdoor way of life of our citizens.
