Stories of Environmental Activism in Wisconsin

media release: It was the 1970s and rivers were catching on fire. Wisconsin’s own Fox River was practically dead. In response, the first Earth Day was established on April 22, 1970, thanks to the activism of environmental leaders like Gaylord Nelson. Within the same year, Peter Anderson and Doug La Follette founded Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, now called Clean Wisconsin, in an effort to protect Wisconsin’s cherished yet vulnerable environment.

The history of environmental activism in Wisconsin is full of incredible people and empowering stories. Join us for the next Doug La Follette Environmental Speakers Series program and hear from some of the activists who paved the way and those who are continuing the work to protect our future.

We look forward to hosting you at this free event, part of the Doug La Follette Speaker Series, on Tuesday, December 12 at the Majestic Theatre (115 King St, Madison, WI). Doors open at 5:00 p.m. for a cocktail hour and the chance to mingle and chat with our speakers. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m and run until about 7:00 p.m. Learn more here!

There will also be a special video premiered at the event, featuring Kathleen Falk. Prior to serving as President Obama’s appointee as Regional Director for the US Department of Health and Human Services and being the first woman elected–and longest serving–Dane County (Madison) Executive, Kathleen began her career as co-director and general counsel of Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade. In that role, and then as the Public Intervenor–an Assistant Attorney General in the WI Department of Justice –she won groundbreaking court cases and changed public policy.

The event will also feature the musical stylings of Ken Lonnquist. Ken was one of the early members of Wisconsin's Environmental Decade and has spent many years educating Wisconsin communities about the environment through his music.

Speakers:

Doug La Follette was an organizer for Earth Day 1970 and a founder of Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, later renamed Clean Wisconsin. In addition to serving as Wisconsin's Secretary of State for 40 years, La Follette has been involved in multiple initiatives and organizations related to the environment and renewable energy, including being appointed by President Jimmy Carter as an assistant director to the Mid-American Solar Energy Complex   

Peter Anderson was a founder of Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade alongside Doug La Follette. In his almost 20 years with the organization, he served as both co-director and director of WED, working tirelessly to lobby for the most pressing and important environmental issues of the day. In 1989, he moved on towards other environmental endeavors-- fighting leaking landfills, working to combat climate change, and protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline--but continues to be an advocate for all things Clean Wisconsin.

Bryan Rogers is the environmental justice director at Walnut Way Conservation Corp and heads their Environmental Justice & Infrastructure Initiative. A former Witness for Peace Honduras Program Director, Bryan has facilitated dozens of delegations across Latin America and the Caribbean, building cross-border solidarity with social movements in US. His work as an educator, organizer, writer, and musician has taken him across South America, from the heart of a grassroots student movement in Chile to