It’s only coincidence that communities across Wisconsin are required to have their much vaunted comprehensive plans completed just about the time the last SUV rolls off the General Motors assembly line in Janesville.

But it’s no coincidence that our best efforts to peer into the crystal ball and map our future could end up just as ungainly a dinosaur as the Chevy Suburbans that made big money for GM in the era of $1.15 a gallon gasoline. That’s because we’re drafting plans for a future that promises us $4, $5 or $6 a gallon gasoline under parameters established by the state when gas was $1.15 a gallon. Link to Article

By Reinsch, Lee Marie

It's not a pretty topic, but manure's pretty plentiful in this farm-dominated area.

What better way to make a stink about rising oil prices than to make fuel out of an inevitable agricultural byproduct?

Biogas digestion systems are one of a handful of technologies Wisconsin farmers are using to plow the path toward a greener future.

"Farms are the best places to use renewable energies," says Don Wichert, director of renewable energy programs for Focus on Energy and Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp., both nonprofit groups based in Madison. "You have access to solar, wind and biomass [anything natural that can be burned as fuel] probably more so than anybody living in town." Link to Article

Published Monday, June 23, 2008

UW-River Falls hosted a meeting on sustainability and energy independence Friday afternoon featuring UW-RF graduate Rod Nilsestuen.

Nilsestuen, now Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, returned to River Falls to discuss issues surrounding resource conservation and sustainability.  Link to Article

Flooding sinks farmers’ efforts to fill food, fuel needs

By RICK BARRETT and JOHN SCHMID
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Posted: June 16, 2008

The devastating Midwest floods are creating waves of economic pain with crops ruined, corn prices pushed to record levels and a damper put on expansion of the ethanol industry.

Instead of cashing in on the harvest this fall, many farmers will be turning to crop insurance and federal assistance to cover their losses as thousands of acres of prime Wisconsin farmland resemble small lakes.

Meanwhile, development of ethanol refineries - seen by some people as an economic development panacea in rural communities - has been suspended at a dozen plants around the country, a trade group said Monday. High corn prices, and now questionable supplies, have made the ethanol business less attractive.  Link to Article

CONSERVING ENERGY, SAVING RESOURCES

The first Sustainable Energy Fair serving Northwest Wisconsin will be held July 12, 2008.  A number of speakers will present workshops at the Rusk County Fairgrounds, Ladysmith, WI between 9:00AM and 6:00PM on that day.  Area businesses will be available at information booths to answer questions related to sustainable living and using resources wisely.  We are striving towards healthier communities and stronger local economies.  For a full schedule of speakers visit http://rusk.uwex.edu.

We encourage all area residents to attend.  Record gasoline and heating fuel prices make this Fair a timely event.  Come and discover what can be done to stretch your resources and help our environment.  Learn about alternative energy sources and how to impact government for reasonable public policy and regulations.