tagged w/ Wisconsin
-
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin law bans sex with dead bodies, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in reinstating charges against three men accused of digging up a corpse to have sex with it.
The court waded into the grisly case after lower court judges ruled nothing in state law banned necrophilia. Those decisions prompted public outrage in Wisconsin and on the Internet, where one blogger wrote: "Doing the dirty with the dead OK in Wisconsin."
Not anymore, the court ruled in a 5-2 decision.
Justice Patience Roggensack, writing a majority opinion with three other justices, said state law bans sexual intercourse with anyone who does not give consent whether a victim is dead or alive at the time. Dead bodies obviously can't give consent, she said.
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin law bans sex with dead bodies, the state Supreme... more
-
-
A lesbian couple from Wisconsin who are planning to head out of state to marry could face nine months of jail time and a fine of up to $10,000 for fraud, according to reports by Salon today.
Kathy Cox and Kim Whalen have been together for over 20 years and plan to tie the knot on 8/8/08 in California, but an old law from 1915 prohibits couples from leaving the state to marry and then returning with a union that isn't valid in Wisconsin.
The couple are planning to go ahead anyway, says Cox, "The pioneers get the arrows, and the settlers get the land. So we'll take a few arrows."
Should utterly ridiculous laws like this be, um, outlawed? Could it be that they conveniently provide the anti-same-sex marriage brigade with ammunition to punish and prevent gay marriages?
A lesbian couple from Wisconsin who are planning to head out of state to marry could... more
-
-
Wisconsin law bans sex with dead bodies, the state Supreme Court ruled today (July 10) in reinstating charges against three men accused of digging up a corpse so one of them could have sex with it.
Wisconsin law bans sex with dead bodies, the state Supreme Court ruled today (July 10)... more
-
-
Over on another part of Current TV, debate is hot over a State of Wisconsin law that says if a same-sex couples from Wisconsin goes to California to get married, it is a criminal offense that threatens them with a $10,000 fine or up to 9 months in jail (or both) if they do marry in California.
This law was passed decades ago, says it is illegal to enter into a marriage outside the state if that marriage is not legal in Wisconsin and was enacted to prevent underage couples from crossing state lines to marry.
In 2006 Wisconsin voters passed a constitutional same-sex marriage ban; gay marriage is not legal in Wisconsin.
But up till last month this law was not really a problem Lesbians and Gays in that state because the only state that had gay marriage was Massachusetts. Their law essentially has a caveat in it that says same-sex marriages preformed in Massachusetts are only legal outside the state of Massachusetts if that state also recognizes same-sex marriage. In other words, if I got married in Massachusetts, my marriage would only be recognized in California.
We Feel this a very serious Constitutional Issue... and one with not only ramification's for the LGBT community but everyone in America....
Please read our full article and see if you agree....
Over on another part of Current TV, debate is hot over a State of Wisconsin law that... more
-
-
If same-sex couples from Wisconsin go to California to get married, they may face a $10,000 fine, 9 months in jail, or both.
"Wisconsin law makes it a criminal offense to enter into a marriage outside the state if that marriage were illegal in Wisconsin. The law was passed decades ago to prevent underage couples from crossing state lines to marry, but it could be used against same-sex couples, Glenn Carlson of Fair Wisconsin told The Capital Times newspaper in Madison."
Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2006.
While no one has been prosecuted under the law, Lambda Legal (the gay and lesbian legal association that fights for equal rights) posted a warning to Wisconsin residents on their website http://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/factsheets/fs_marriage-for-same-sex-couples-in-california.html
Other states, including Delaware have laws prohibiting residents from circumventing state law by traveling to another state, but Wisconsin's punishment is the harshest. If same-sex couples from Wisconsin go to California to get married, they may face a... more
-
-
Sweet concept.
Don't have to show my biceps (ahem..) when stopping for emergency extra air at gas stations!! This is in Wisconsin, home of the Trek bike company.
(Their Carbon frames are still made in the U.S, I believe -Waterloo WI.)
-
Can't wait to see this in the near future.
It is nice though, here in SF there are many markets and small businesses that often have a pump near their rack area. Nice, nice.
The SFbike coalition does something similar from time to time, much luv for you!)
- - - from bicycledesign.blogspot.com - - -
If you happen to be in Madison, Wisconsin during the next few weeks, check out the “Trek Stop” cycling convenience center. This test unit will be set up for a month outside of Machinery Row Bicycles. While it is in place, you can stop by anytime to put air in your tires or buy basic small items like a tube, patch kit, water bottle, energy bar, chain lube, etc, out of the vending machine.
Kudos to the Trek ID team on this project. I think it is a really cool idea, especially for commuters who might roll by before the shop is open. Hopefully the test period will go well and we will see these Trek Stops in other cities in the near future.
Posted by James at 5:00 PM Sweet concept.
Don't have to show my biceps (ahem..) when stopping for emergency... more
-
-
Ah the joys of living in Small Town America.
Not the cool, totally-under-water parts of Small Town America, mind you. Just the nearby-to-totally-under-water parts where everything is still soaked and mildewy, but nobody gets to camp out in sports stadiums.
I would *totally* camp out at Miller Park if it came to that. I'm just sayin'...
Whatever that just was aside, my heart absolutely goes out to the people who lost their homes and their livelihoods to the flooding in Central Wisconsin. None of us saw this coming, there's nothing you could've done to stop it, and I'm so sorry that now you're stuck dealing with all this. We've got your backs, CenWi.
Love,
SoWiAh the joys of living in Small Town America.
Not the cool, totally-under-water... more
-
-
Orfordville was just one stop on a 10,000 mile journey to set a world distance record. Da Luz started in Toronto and plans to end around the end of the month in Inuvik, Canada, the northern-most point in the world reachable by road and also “the land of the midnight sun.”Orfordville was just one stop on a 10,000 mile journey to set a world distance record.... more
-
-
(Marquette, Michigan) - Many of the rich around the world view Indigenous Peoples, women and children as “expendable commodities,” said Turtle Island Project Director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard during Northern Michigan University 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit.
Hubbard added he fears for the future of mankind and the planet because “we have lost any sense of the sacred.”
The summit was held on Earth Day 2008 on the NMU campus in Marquette, Michigan near the shores of Lake Superior.
The two-day summit - the first of its kind at NMU - was April 22-23.
Read more by clicking on link.(Marquette, Michigan) - Many of the rich around the world view Indigenous Peoples,... more
-
-
Residents of three states and Canada will celebrate the world's largest, deepest and coldest freshwater lake.
Lake Superior Day will be held on July 20, 2008Residents of three states and Canada will celebrate the world's largest, deepest... more
-
-
Gangs who are dealing drugs and luring Native youth into crime are being tracked by Wisconsin law enforcement who are planning to arrest the dealers of death.
Wisconsin's eight tribal police departments are cooperating with state and federal lawn enforcement agencies to build cases against the gangs.
''We have cases going through the task force and we are taking a stand here and will be working on executing a lot of warrants and doing undercover work," said Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Police Chief Mark Waukau in an article in the Indian Country today newspaper.
Gang expert Niso Frank Caywood says tribes need to reach out to their at-risk youth and teach tribal culture to students.
Gangs who are dealing drugs and luring Native youth into crime are being tracked by... more
-
-
Wisconsin Native American tribes are working with state and federal law enforcement agencies to removing children from homes where drugs are sold, used and manufactured, according to Indian Country Today newspaper.
The program is sponsored by the Wisconsin Alliance for Drug Endangered Children (WIDEC) and the Native American Drug and Gang Initiative (NADGI), the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office (Department of Justice) and all of Wisconsin's tribes and their tribal police departments in cooperation with many law enforcement agencies including local police and sheriff's departments.
Police are cracking down on Native American and other gangs that bring drugs onto Wisconsin reservations.
Wisconsin Native American tribes are working with state and federal law enforcement... more
-
-
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin tribal school, the College of Menominee Nation and elders organized numerous projects for the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
The projects included recycling four tons of electronic waste, collecting 24 pounds of unwanted pharmaceuticals, students cleaned up litter across the reservation and covered gang graffiti with Native American art.The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin tribal school, the College of Menominee Nation... more
-
-
A Wisconsin judge has ruled that the state marriage protection amendment is constitutional.
The court recognized that the principle of government of, by and for the people means honoring the will of the people when they go through the proper process to amend a state's constitution.
In upholding the amendment, Judge Niess found that the amendment sole purpose was "the preservation of the unique and historical status of marriage" and that it was, therefore, properly enactedA Wisconsin judge has ruled that the state marriage protection amendment is... more
-
-
EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
These goals were exceeded many times over.
A few examples:
---
In Milwaukee, WI: 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned in.
---
At the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin near Green Bay: Approx. 4 tons of e-waste was collected plus thousands of pounds of other trash cleaned from reservation Tribal members turned in over 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
---
In Traverse City, MI: Over 28,750 pounds (over 12.5 tons) of computers and other e-waste was collected.
---
The electronic waste is recycled, and the pharmaceuticals are incinerated in state-of-the-art EPA -license facilities.
So why is this important?
The old and broken electronics - like computers, cell phones and TVs - contain heavy metals that can leach into the groundwater if dumped into landfills.
The unused pharmaceuticals can end up in your drinking water if they are flushed or poured down the drain.
That’s because most wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove chemicals from these pharmaceuticals including hormones, narcotics, seizure medication and many more - that end up back in your drinking water.
In an April 2008 press conference in Milwaukee, EPA and other officials explained why the Great Lakes Challenge and similar projects are important to protect the environment and your health.
Pharmaceutical chemicals are sent back out into the Great Lakes, rivers and other places were people recreate and are the intakes for drinking water.
Studies show that the chemicals are appearing in the nation’s drinking water in small amounts - the long term effects are not known - however they have been linked to mutations in fish and other wildlife.
Also - these medicines can be stolen, diverted or accidentally ingested by children - if they languish in your medicine cabinet.
Around the country many e-waste and pharmaceutical take back programs have been developed by governments and local businesses.
Please check with your local officials to find out details for your area.
Because every day should be Earth Day.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, Michigan.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said EHI founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette.
I’m Greg Peterson and you’re watching Earth Healing TVEPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and... more
-
-
Milwaukee area residents turned in 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals during two events in EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
About 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned during Medicine Collection Day on Saturday, April 19, 2008 organized by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD).
The Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) organized an electronics collection on Saturday, April 26, 2008 that garner about 32 tons of electronics. The site off-loaded an average of three cars per minute. About 700 cars dropped off electronics called e-waste.
More than two thirds of the collection was computers and related equipment.
The DPW collected 643 computer monitors weighing over ten tons; 338 televisions weighing over 5 tons, over 7 tons of personal computers and nearly 5 tons of computer printers. Eight percent of the collection, nearly 5,000 pounds, involved miscellaneous e-waste like cell phones.
The challenge was important because scrap electronics are the fastest growing segment of municipal solid waste stream.
E-waste may contain hazardous materials including lead, mercury and heavy metals that can pose a risk to human and environmental health. The EPA awarded $500,000 in grants to numerous cities participating in the challenge including the city of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the "recycling televisions and computers reduces the risks of toxins contained in these products being released into our air and water."
Event partners included the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, city of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW), Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, the Italian Community Center, Midwest Computer Recyclers and WISN-TV.
About 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned during the Milwaukee area's Medicine Collection Day sponsored by the MMSD.
The collection name was a "prescription for clean water and safe kids."
Veolia Environmental Services incinerates non-controlled substances at a federally licensed facility.
Medicine collection partners:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Milwaukee Police, Milwaukee Brewers, City of Milwaukee, Aurora Pharmacy, Columbia St. Mary's, City of Racine, Racine Police Department, Burlington Police Department, Western Racine County Health Department, Caledonia/Mt. Pleasant Health Department, Ozaukee County Public Health Department, Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Village of Saukville, Washington County, Washington County Sheriff's Department, and City of West Bend Sewer Utility.
For more information call MMSD Public Information Manager Bill Graffin at 1-414-225-2077
The MMSD distributed nearly 200,000 postcards promoting the event that has been widely publicized by area media.
The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) distributed the final 5,000 cards to interfaith contacts in the Milwaukee area.
The EHI local interfaith liaison is Rev. Brad Brown, campus pastor at Marquette University Lutheran Campus Ministry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee events were among about 100 projects involving hundreds of communities across eight states around the Great Lakes basin that participated in the EPA Earth Day 2008 challenge.
The goal was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
The EHI assisted challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches and temples to participate in the Earth Day related events in their area.
This video was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office in Chicago to the EHI in Marquette MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette.Milwaukee area residents turned in 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of... more
-
-
(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
This is the second of several videos explaining the numerous MITW projects including teaching youth about the legend of the sturgeon and its place in tribal culture, cleaning up the reservation, and replacing gang symbols with Native American art.
In part two, the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative looks at the sturgeon education classes.
The tribe was creative as it added other facets to the challenge like teaching the children about their culture and the close relationship to the earth and its many lakes and streams.
All classes at the tribal school taught the students about the sturgeon, that is a vital part of Menominee legend and heritage, said Joe Awanahopay, language arts instructor at the Menominee tribal school.
Earth Week tribal school classes applied subjects like math, history and others to different aspects of the life cycle, biology, habitat, legends, spawning grounds and the cultural and practical value of the sturgeon, an important fish to the Menominee people since the dawn of their tribe.
“The sturgeon are a historic importance to our people,” he said. “Since the beginning of time, our people have relied upon the sturgeons for various reasons including for food and scraping hides.”
“In our legends, the sturgeon are the protectors of our wild rice,” said Awanahopay of the slow-growing giant fish known for its thick hide and rubbery snout whose uses and related regulations have sometimes pitted white fishermen against American Indians. “We have been engaging the students in the culture, language, science and the social studies of what the sturgeon mean to our people.”
“They've been studying the anatomy and the physiology of the sturgeon and the students are looking at the sturgeon habitats and what the effects of pollution are.”
“They are looking at the different migrations, the geography, the path the sturgeon used to take to come to their home here - their traditional spawning grounds on the Menoninee Indian reservation,” he said. “Because of two dams that are here now south of our reservation, sturgeon are no longer able to come home here to their ancestral spawning grounds.”
“We are so fortunate to have so many elders that we still work with that are able to give us this knowledge and pass it from one generation to the next, despite all of the forced assimilation and the changes in our youth, who are trying to make their way in modern society yet integrate the traditions with the technology in today’s world," Awanahopay said.
Sponsors include the tribe's Community Resource Center, Menominee County Police, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic Wellness Program (Maehnowesekiyah), Probation and Parole, Community Recycling Project, Recreation Department, EarthHealing.org and the U.S. Post Office in Keshena.
This video is possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office (both in Chicago); in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment," said EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
---
Menominee Indian Tribe of WI:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
MITW Tribal School:
http://mts.bia.edu/
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu
Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community) of Interfaith Resources Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons... more
-
-
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
This is the first of several videos explaining the tribes numerous projects that included cleaning up the reservation, replacing gang symbols with Native American art, teaching youth about the legend of the sturgeon and its place in tribal culture.
In part one, the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative looks at the many recycling projects of the College of Menominee nation.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin in Keshena is being praised for its massive cleanup projects during the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge - involving over 100 projects across eight states that comprise the Great lakes basin.
The college of Menominee Nation held a pharmaceutical and electronic waste collection as part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
Other tribal projects during the challenge included the clean up of two reservation communities by tribal school students, the Menominee Teen Court Panel, and many other volunteers.
All classes at the tribal school taught the students about the sturgeon, that is a vital part of Menominee heritage.
Called the protector guardian of Menominee wild rice, the sturgeon used to spawn on the reservation until a man made dam blocked the route to ancestral spawning grounds.
The students whitewashed gang graffiti at a skateboard park replacing it with American Indian art.
"The younger students put their hands in paint and made flower hand prints on the wall," said teacher Beth Waukechon.
Adults participated in the challenge in a big way - as the tribe's Solid Waste and Recycling Department held curbside e-waste collections during Earth week 2008 - and all month accepted e-waste at the transfer station.
Native American and other students also made garbage monsters at the Keshena Public Schools with help from their parents using common every day trash from home.
More than four tons of e-waste and other recyclables were removed from the reservation during April.
At the College of Menominee Nation, over 23 pounds of medicines were turned in including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
Sponsors include the tribe's Community Resource Center, Menominee County Police, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic Wellness Program (Maehnowesekiyah), Probation and Parole, Community Recycling Project, Recreation Department and the U.S. Post Office in Keshena.
While hosting the collection, the college's Implementing Sustainable Development class found out they won the National Recycling Coalition Bin Grant through Coca-Cola, said professor William Van Lopik, Ph.D.
"One of premises of the class is to do things, not just talk about what we are going to do and how the world is going to be changed, but having students do things," Dr. Van Lopik said.
The grant pays for 50 recycling bins.
The class has participated in the ten-week Recycle Mania project two years in a row that involves weighing recyclables as they leave the building. This year, the class ranked 136 out of 200 colleges and universities with 8 pounds of recyclables per person, beating out Ohio State and Georgetown, Van Lopik said.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment," said EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and... more
-
-
(Keshena, WI) - Faculty brought their old computers, cell phones and medicines an Earth Day collection at a Keshena, Wisconsin tribal college to help a federal Great Lakes Basin challenge, while younger students cleaned the reservation and whitewashed gang graffiti.
An Earth Day 2008 electronic waste and medicine collection went smoothly at the College of Menominee Nation. Over 23 pounds of medicines were turned in including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
The collection is among numerous Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (MITW) projects that are part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
Gang graffiti was whitewashed from a skateboard park wall near the tribal school by K-8 students. The MITW youth honored Earth Day and replaced grafitti with positive Native American symbols.
"The younger students put their hands in paint and made flower hand prints on the wall," said teacher Beth Waukechon. "All week students have been cleaning up the reservation, and one student was so inspired she wants to start an Earth Club."
On Friday, April 25, over 180 students cleaned up litter around the community of Neopit.
"The students are giving thanks to Mother Earth for all that she had done," Waukechon said. "They are taking a moment each day to do that."
"We know that Mother Earth can shake us off at any moment," she said. "We are the ones that need her, she doesn't need us."
"Clean up the Rez Day" was held on Thursday, April 24 at the tribe's Youth Development and Outreach program. The Menominee Teen Court Panel and volunteers cleaned up garbage, said Claudette Hewson, MITW Restorative Justice Coordinator.
The teen panel, ages 14 to 17, is a peer review for youthful offenders sentenced in tribal court who "need to learn healthy behaviors," Hewson said. On May 2, at-risk teens will paint over more reservation gang graffiti.
Sponsors include the tribe's Community Resource Center, Menominee County Police, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic Wellness Program, Maehnowesekiyah, Probation and Parole, Community Recycling Project, Recreation Department, EarthHealing.org and the U.S. Post Office in Keshena.
Earth Week tribal school classes appled all subjects to different aspects of the lifecycle, biology and value of the sturgeon, an important fish to the Menominee tribe.
Overseeing the pharmaceutical collection was Heidi Cartwright, a part-time Manawa police officer and college police science instructor.
While hosting the collection, the college's Implementing Sustainable Development class found out they won the National Recycling Coalition Bin Grant through Coca-Cola, said professor William Van Lopik, Ph.D.
"One of premises of the class is to do things, not just talk about what we are going to do and how the world is going to be changed, but having students do things," Dr. Van Lopik said.
The grant pays for 50 recycling bins.
The MITW held curbside pickup of electronics during Earth Week. A couple thousand pounds of electronics were turned in at the MITW transfer station since April 1. The total is expected to reach several tons.
Native American students recently created "Garbage Monsters" out of bottles, paper and other items found in their trash in a project at the Keshena Public Schools, said Diana Wolf, MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator. After naming their monsters, the students explained other uses for the garbage.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment," said EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.(Keshena, WI) - Faculty brought their old computers, cell phones and medicines an... more
-
-
(Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest week with help from interfaith groups and American Indians in reaching the goal of one million pounds of electronics and one million pills.
The EPA issued the challenge to Great Lakes basin residents participating in over 100 projects that are collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons. The EPA awarded grants to some of the projects.
Interfaith groups are involved in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. An EPA grant helped start the non-profit Earth Healing Initiative (EHI).
Trust between religions and interfaith environment projects are vital to protect the future of the earth, said a Lutheran bishop, who has participated in numerous Earth Day recycling projects.
"We are in an environmental crisis in many ways," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The Great Lakes watershed is really a kind of a mother to all of us here in the upper Midwest."
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition and partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment," said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (MITW) is holding a curbside pickup of electronics for members during Earth Week, April 21-24. Over 1,000 pounds of electronics have been turned in at the MITW transfer station since April 1. The College of Menominee Nation hosts pharmaceutical/electronics collections on April 22.
On Friday, April 25, students at the tribal K-8 school are picking up litter and cleaning up the a reservation community. Students recently created "Garbage Monsters" out of bottles other items found in their trash, said Diana Wolf, MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator. Students gave presentations on other uses for the garbage.
"This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us," Skrenes said. “The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing."
Examples of established interfaith organizations that are assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Duluth Arrowhead Interfaith Council, Marquette University Ministry in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers who removed more than 370 tons of e-waste, pharmaceuticals and household hazardous waste during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keepers belong to ten faith traditions with 150 churches and temples including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Quakers. The EHI is working with the same faith traditions.
---
EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html
EPA Press Release:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/dc57b08b5acd42bc852573c90044a9c4/bb279434e6f40c6e8525743200582794!OpenDocument
---
Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
---
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community)
Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
---
Duluth
University of Minnesota LCM:
http://www.d.umn.edu/lcm/index.html
---
Arrowhead Interfaith Council:
http://www.arrowheadinterfaith.org/home.html
---
Milwaukee
Marquette University LCM:
http://www.mulutherans.com
http://www.marquette.edu/um
---
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu(Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest... more
-
