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Wisconsin regulators on Tuesday unanimously rejected Alliant Energy's proposal to build a new coal-fired power plant, in large part due to concerns over -- you betcha -- climate change.

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The Bush administration misread the law when it removed endangered-species protections from a population of some 4,000 gray wolves in the Great Lakes region, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman reinstated the wolves onto the endangered-species list, agreeing with green groups that Great Lakes wolves are not a "distinct population segment" able to be de-listed without regard to wolf well-being elsewhere. Friedman's ruling reverses new state rules that allowed residents in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to kill wolves that attacked livestock or pets. The ruling echoed recent goings-on in the Northern Rockies, where the Bush administration recently declared wolves recovered, inspiring states to lift bans on wolf hunting, only to see a judge reinstate endangered-species protections. Notes Amy Atwood of the Center for Biological Diversity, "The Bush administration's repeated attempts to push the limits of the Endangered Species Act have been decidedly rejected by the courts."

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If you don't border the Great Lakes, keep your grubby hands out of 'em. That's the general message of a bill that would bar any major water diversion from Lakes Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, unless all eight lake-bordering states approve. The so-called Great Lakes Compact, which has passed Congress and heads to the welcoming pen of President Bush, also holds Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to new conservation standards and requires that they regulate their own large-scale water use. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have agreed to similar conservation measures. The compact -- which exempts diversions of fewer than 5.7 gallons, a favor to bottled-water producers -- eases fears that thirsty states and even countries would try to siphon the lakes, which hold 90 percent of North America's fresh surface water and 20 percent of the world's supply.

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For more on Rust Belt cities, see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Cleveland.

It may not be intuitive to link an area historically associated with steel mills, coal mining, and automobile assembly lines to sustainable development. But green growth is catching on in the Rust Belt, long an economically unendowed area of the country -- and its manufacturing-heavy past is coming in handy in emerging fields like biotech, nanotech, and hydrogen cars.

Here's what three cities are doing to green up their acts.

A new Destiny emerges in Syracuse.

Image: destinyusa.com

Syracuse, N.Y. In late 2007, Syracuse was named the "Go Green Large City of the Year" -- and this year, it will host the annual summit of the Go Green Initiative, which fosters sustainability in schools across the nation. Where was Mayor Matt Driscoll when the Go Green award was handed out? Why, he was leading a panel discussion on global warming at the U.S. Conference of Mayors summit in Seattle. Not bad for a city once best known for being a leader in the salt industry and home to the hardworking Erie Canal. In recent years, a push by city officials has seen Syracuse invest in green building and energy; its Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems unites businesses and institutions working on research and product development in clean-tech and renewable fuels. Destiny USA, a major mixed-used project powered by renewable energy, has garnered national headlines, and backers of a more local effort to revitalize the downtown corridor hope to create green-collar jobs and attract young workers. What effect will the green push have on this still-hurting city? Only time will tell.

Pittsburgh: good intentions, bad air.

Photo: nps.gov

Pittsburgh, Penn. The Smoky City has become a poster child of sorts for urban revitalization, although it still hasn't achieved the eco-notoriety of larger metropolitan areas. As home to the nonprofit Green Building Alliance, Pennsylvania's second-largest city has seen a boom in sustainable development, and it's been hailed as a leader of the green-building movement -- ranking third in the number of green buildings in the U.S., just behind Portland and Seattle. Efforts to redevelop riverfront brownfields have met with some success, and the city has gained new attention for its recreation access. But the challenges of its post-industrial legacy remain: The city was recently given the dubious honor of worst air quality in the nation, and sprawl is an ever-looming foe. Pittsburgh may no longer be "hell with the lid off," as it was once dubbed, but residents and advocates acknowledge that it seems to linger in a sort of purgatory.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett at last year's Mayor's Climate Summit.

Photo: usmayors.org

Milwaukee, Wisc. Once known as "the beer capital of the world," Milwaukee has lately seen an explosion in other types of comestibles. With the state seeing a 92 percent increase in organic production from 1997 to 2001, the city has built up its local food network; it now boasts several inner-city community-garden projects, a downtown public market, an annual campaign to encourage residents to follow a 100-mile local-food diet, and citizens' groups -- both organized and ad hoc -- pushing local food to the fore. A New Urbanist surge -- largely attributable to former Mayor John Norquist, now president and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism -- has seen downtown housing grow at a rate comparable to that of the 'burbs, with affordable options an important part of the mix. Current Mayor Tom Barrett's Green Team is working to keep sustainability at the fore, and has partnered with the Apollo Alliance to bring clean-tech jobs to the area. We'll drink to that.

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Photo: iStockphoto

Ripon College, a private liberal-arts school in Wisconsin, has launched a program to give new bikes to first-year students who pledge not to bring their cars to campus for the year. Prompted by concerns that the school might have to expand parking lots into green space if the growing student population keeps driving to (and parking at) school, Ripon decided to take the unconventional approach instead. The school hopes a few hundred of this year's new students will agree to the deal, especially those who were originally planning on driving. Administrators have high hopes. "We're trying to change the culture," said Ripon President David Joyce. "I figure it's easier to bribe people than to punish them." Students who take the bribe will get a free Trek 820 mountain bike, complete with lock and helmet. Students, you will be tested on this. (Psst, this is the test! Don't fail it.)

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DOD declares wind turbines can interfere with radar, but says some can proceed

The Defense Department has finally completed a long-awaited study on how wind farms impact military radar, which clears the way for some stalled wind projects to continue. At least a dozen projects in Illinois, North Dakota, and Wisconsin had been put on hold pending the DOD study. In its report, submitted this week to the Senate and House Armed Services committees, the DOD declared that turbines in radar line of sight can interfere with detecting and tracking aerial objects, but the Pentagon also showed willingness to allow wind projects to proceed anyway if they pass a case-by-case review process. Wind turbines "present technical challenges to the effectiveness of radar systems that must be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure acceptable military readiness is maintained," the DOD wrote in its report. Wind advocates are hopeful that any conflicts can be resolved. "Decades of experience tell us that wind and radar can coexist," said Randall Swisher of the American Wind Energy Association.

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Like many tribal lands across North America, the Sokaogon Chippewa reservation in Northern Wisconsin faces environmental perils that threaten not only the land, but also the livelihood and culture of the people who live on it. The Sokaogon spent close to three decades battling one of those perils: the proposed reopening of a nearby zinc and copper mine. In 2003, thanks in large part to the efforts of environmental director and tribal council member Tina Van Zile, the tribe joined forces with the neighboring Forest County Potawatomi to end the battle -- by buying the mine.

Rich with casino profits, the Potawatomi paid cash for their half of the $16.5 million purchase. The Sokaogon, one of the smallest and poorest tribes in the U.S., have tried a wide variety of fundraising efforts -- from selling commemorative mine borings to auctioning off rifles -- to raise their share of the bill, which comes due this April. In this virtual walking tour, Van Zile introduces us to her tribe and to the land they are trying to protect.

Donate to help the Sokaogon tribe protect the Wolf River.

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Wisconsin power-plant expansion could have long-term eco-consequences

The fate of a Wisconsin coal-fired power plant could augur poorly for the environment, say its opponents. At issue is what does and doesn't count as a "new" power-generating facility: Under the Clean Water Act, new facilities are subject to strict regulations on cleaning technology; an addition to an existing facility, however, is subject to looser rules. The Oak Creek power plant south of Milwaukee wants to double its capacity with a pair of new generators -- old-school pulverized-coal units rather than newer, cleaner gasification units -- which it contends is an expansion and thus subject to the looser rules. So far Wisconsin authorities and the U.S. EPA have agreed. Opponents are steamed. "For them to argue this is an existing facility just boggles the mind," said a rep for an area manufacturer. New language inserted in the preamble to the Clean Water Act by the Bush administration seems to allow for this interpretation, though, and Oak Creek is "the poster child of the worst that can happen" as a result, says attorney Reed Super.

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Humboldt-Based Candidate New Front-Runner for Green Party Nomination

Meanwhile, far from the madding crowds in Iowa, Green Party activists are fishing about for a standard-bearer of their own. Ralph Nader said no thanks; he's planning to lose the 2004 presidential race as an Independent. But a potential front-runner has emerged in the person of David Cobb, a longtime Green activist. While Cobb is from Texas and was instrumental in establishing the Green Party in the state, he is currently based in -- where else? -- Northern California's notoriously leftish Humboldt County. The final verdict on a Green presidential candidate will come in June, at the party's national convention in Wisconsin. In the 2000 election, Nader, running as a Green, received some 2.5 percent of the national vote, and was accused of sapping enough liberal votes in Florida to throw the state to Bush (though it must be admitted that the Supreme Court played a teeny-weeny role there).

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Wisconsin Tribes End Mining Threat by Buying Site

In a stunning victory for environmentalists and Native Americans, Wisconsin's Sokaogon Mole Lake Chippewa and Forest County Potawatomi tribes announced Tuesday that they had bought the rights to a zinc and copper mine near Crandon, ending a 25-year controversy. The $16.5 million purchase was the surprise result of negotiations between the tribes and Northern Wisconsin Resources Group, a lumber company that owned the mine site. The cost of the purchase will be split between the tribes, with the Potawatomi money coming from gambling revenue and the Mole Lake money from loans. The tribes do not plan to mine the 55-million-ton zinc and copper deposit, preferring to protect the nearby Wolf River, tribal waters, rice beds, and burial grounds. Gordon Connor, a co-owner of NWRG, said the company decided to sell because the permitting processes were too costly and difficult, a fact he blamed on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

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States Tighten Air Rules in the Wake of Federal Loosening

A number of states and cities are thumbing their noses at the Bush administration's moves to weaken air-pollution rules by imposing their own stricter regulations. Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and other states, as well as a few cities, announced yesterday that they are making or seriously considering plans to retain requirements that old industrial plants install state-of-the-art emissions-control technology before increasing production, though the federal government axed such requirements on a national level in August. Outgoing California Gov. Gray Davis (D) has already signed a bill that will keep stricter standards in place in his state. "We don't like your rule, EPA. We're doing our own," said Bill Becker, executive director of the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials, two groups pushing this effort.

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Compact fluorescent light bulbs, those money- and energy-saving improvements on the old-fashioned incandescent variety, are extraordinarily popular in Wisconsin. About 12 percent of all light bulbs sold in the state are CFLs, a figure that trounces the national average of roughly 1 percent. That's thanks largely to Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program, which educates homebuilders and businesses about energy efficiency and offers financial incentives for using efficient products. Unfortunately, the state's budget crunch is jeopardizing the program's future; a proposal by Gov. Jim Doyle (D) would cut $27 million, or more than 43 percent, from the program's budget in 2005. Hugo Heyns, director of Focus on Energy's business projects, says the cut would be a mistake, because every dollar spent on energy efficiency programs saves the state $3.50 in energy expenses.

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