Keep Wisconsin Warm executive director Tim Bruer

Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents stave off the chill through the cold winter months with the assistance of Schoep’s Ice Cream.

“I suppose someone out in California might think that sounds a little funny,” said Alan Thomsen, Schoep’s vice president of national sales. “But here in Wisconsin there are people in their homes trying to stay warm. With all the stories out there we know that people need some help.”

Throughout the Capital Region and across Wisconsin frigid temperatures well below freezing each year put at risk a growing number of the elderly, the disabled and families with young children. A state-wide program called the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund provides low income households with small financial grants to pay rising heating costs as the economy slowly recovers.  Local companies like Schoep’s are actively involved in a number of fundraising initiatives such as an ice cream social that aims to give area residents a little boost with the weather turns cold.

“This is our first year helping out,” Thompsen said. “We handed out about 12,000 dishes of ice cream. At $3 to $5 apiece we were able to make a good contribution.”

Not to be outdone the frozen custard franchise Culver’s has also made sizeable donations to KWWF. Along with more 7,000 small to large businesses such as Park Bank, CUNA Mutual Group, Rayovac, The Gialamas Company and Glowac Harris, many local institutions provide funds to help the less fortunate manage their home heating needs. City of Madison Common Council president and KWWF spokesman Tim Bruer said keeping poor families safe and warm through the winter is an easy cause to support. Read the rest of this entry »

For 10 years, the Ski Area Citizens Coalition has published its ski area environmental report card, a rating system that grades ski resports across the west according to their impact on the natural environment.

Paul Joyce, a conservation assoicate at the environmental protection group Colorado Wild, says a ski resort’s grade depends on how well it plays in its own backyard.

“When a ski area expands into the back country, expands into habitat, affects wildlife, affects vegetation, thereby affecting water, watersheds, water quality,” Joyce said, “those things weigh really heavy with the report card.”

Resorts owned by the Aspen Skiing Company dominate the highest rated resorts in the west.

“People listen to us in part because we’re an interesting news story, but also because we’re business people.,” Auden Schendler, environmental affairs director at Aspen Skiing. “Ultimately we’re not environmentalists. We’re business people. And we see climate changes as an existential threat to business.

In this edition of This American Land we explore ski resorts that employ environmentally sustainable practices to protect natural areas that surround their slopes. Read the rest of this entry »

Researcher Aly Courtemanch starts her work day on skis. That’s how she gets around on the alpine terrain where she studies the Teton Range bighorn sheep herd. Using GPS devices and trail counters, Courtemanch a scientist at the Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Wyoming, tracks the movemnts of both sheep and skiers.

“We really want to get a better sense of how bighorn sheep survive in the Tetons, both summer and winter,” she said. “We don’t know very much about this bighorn sheep herd, it’s really small and really hard to study because they’re so remote and hard to observe.”

While other wild sheep move down to more moderate terrain, this herd winteres at some of the highest elevations in Wyoming. But they’ve stopped migrating about 60 years ago due to human development, firs suppression and other factors. In this edition of This American Land researchers take a look at this species on the brink of extinction. Read the rest of this entry »

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An interview with author John Francis

In 1971 John Francis witnessed a catastrophic oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The greasy black sludge that coated resident sea life and stained nearby beaches left an indelible impression him as well. As a young man at the dawn of the environmental movement he felt compelled to act. But what can one person do to change a society bent on its own destruction?

Left with little do that would make a difference in world Francis abandoned all forms of motorized transport. He started walking. But still hoping to make an impact on his community and himself Francis took his devotion a step future and swore a vow of silence. For 17 years he did not utter a word. And yet he still managed to earn college and graduate degrees in science and environmental studies.

Dr. John Francis went on to become the United Nation’s goodwill ambassador to the world’s grassroots communities and the U.S. Government hired him to help establish policies for the management of oil spills. Read the rest of this entry »

The street may have thawed but your bike chain is frozen solid! On that last cold ride of the fall maybe you put your ride away wet. Or maybe you’ve got an old bike you’re restoring. But turn the crank and you’ll find that your chain is a rusty, crusty mass of immobile iron links.

Find a solution at Examiner.com: Madison Recreation Examiner

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to run in a low gravity environment, there’s spot in Madison where you can do just that. The Sport & Spine Clinic, a rehabilitative therapy center at 340 S. Whitney Way, recently acquired an Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill.
“I’d been hoping to work with low gravity for my patients for a while now,” said clinic director David Nissenbaum. “I’d wanted a pool. But of course I don’t have room for a pool here. The Alter-G is the next best thing, maybe even better.”

Read the rest at Examiner.com>> Madison recreation Examiner

Yellowstone National Park has been described as a winter wonderland.

“We find that a lot of people from across the United States enjoy going into the park on snowmobiles, because … you’re out in the fresh air,” said Bill Howell, part owner of a local snowmobile and snowcoach tour company. “You get to see things on a snowmobile. With your guide you can stop and take pictures.”

But conservation groups have been seeking to ban snowmobiles here for more than a decade. Even snowmobile enthusiasts now admit the machines became a problem in 1990s.

“The amount of machines and the amount of people going into the park skyrocketed, a lot more than I think anybody had ever predicted or thought would happen,’ Howell said. “And as a result it probably did get a little out of hand.”

In this edition of This American Land we take a look at efforts to create a balance between the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and those who aim to limit motorized access to the park. Read the rest of this entry »

Eight-year-old Savanna Lee is discovering wonderful things about the world around her. “I learned that there’s a whole bunch of stuff under the water,” she said, “things like bugs and beetles, not just fish. It’s exciting!”

A student at Glendale Elementary School in Madison, Savanna is among many local children that benefit from an environmental education program offered by the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Every Monday afternoon for ten weeks of the year Savanna and her classmates explore nearby forests, streams and marshlands. Called Nature Nuts, the course creates safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences for area youth whose families cannot afford traditional after-school activities. Read the rest of this entry »

Last year the only known wild jaguar in the United States was captured in a trap and euthanized by Arizona Wildlife authorities. The death of this big cat, called Macho-B, triggered a federal investigation that found violations of the procedures that are meant to protect endangered species.

But at the heart of this case are a number of federal wildlife protections that were tossed out in favor of the “Secure Fence Act.” In this edition of the This American Land we take look at the ecological impact of a 600-mile barrier along the Mexican boarder. Ostensibly to keep immigrants from illegally entering the U.S. this border fence is also preventing the migration of several animal species.

“Our jaguars here depend on a source population in Mexico that are dispersing up to the United States looking for habitat, looking for mates, looking to establish new territories,” said Randy Serraglio of the Center for Biological Diversity. “And if they can’t get through that border wall, they’re not gonna come here.” Read the rest of this entry »

For more than a year now it’s been my pleasure to bring you the stories behind the selfless causes of people trying to make the world a better place. The mission of the Joy Trip Project is to explore the lives of those who blend their passion for adventure with their desire to work for the benefit of others or toward the preservation of life on our planet. In my own way I hope that I have contributed to the success of their causes by bringing them to your attention and encouraging you to participate. So in the spirit of that mission I’m pleased to announce a new Joy Trip Project initiative.

On August 29, 2010 I will join a small group of climbers to ascend the summit of Mount Fuji in Japan. Organized by the non-profit Love Hope Strength this event aims to raise money and awareness for the fight against cancer. Fuji Rocks! is the lasted in a series of climbs that feature a base-camp live music concert along with a drive to register new bone marrow donors to the national database of those willing to help a leukemia patient in need of a bone marrow transplant. It is my plan that with your help over the next five months The Joy Trip Project will raise $6,000 to $10,000 for this cause and register at least 1,000 new donors.

Read the rest of this entry »