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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

WI Groundwater Protection Top 2015 Conservation Priority

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Wednesday, December 17, 2014   

MADISON, Wis. - "A few small steps forward." That's how Anne Sayers, program director for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, describes what's been accomplished this year to help protect Wisconsin's environment.

Sayers said 2014 brought renewed citizen involvement in the Badger State, with thousands of people calling their legislators and going to Madison for hearings on conservation issues. For the upcoming legislative session, she said, groundwater protection will be the Conservation Voters' top priority.

"That's not a political analysis; that is just reality," she said. "Across Wisconsin, citizens are facing water shortages. It's nearing a crisis point for some communities. We need to figure out a proactive plan in Wisconsin to address how we're going to use our water and how we're going to manage it for the long term."

Even with all of Wisconsin's rivers, streams and lakes, many of the aquifers below the ground are drying up, Sayers said. She blamed years of unregulated water use and said her group will encourage and support measures in the Legislature to protect groundwater supplies for future generations.

According to Sayers, 2014 brought a huge step backward for Wisconsin's environment.

"The open-pit mining bill was, some say, the worst environmental bill in Wisconsin's history," she said. "It essentially exempted iron-mining companies from having to follow all of the rules that other companies and industries in Wisconsin must follow."

Supporters of the open-pit mining bill said it was essential to creating new jobs.

The hills of western Wisconsin supply nearly three-quarters of the sand used in the United States for hydraulic fracturing - or "fracking" - for natural gas. While this has meant an economic boom for that part of the state, Sayers said it's come at a huge price.

"The unfortunate thing is, it sprang up so quickly that there's really no oversight over this industry, and we're finding that violations are occurring," she said. "We're seeing runoff into trout streams, air quality harming kids' health - and we aren't seeing repercussions for that."


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