The recent air quality crisis in Wisconsin has brought to the forefront the urgent need for sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. The Wisconsin Green Party is deeply concerned about the health and environmental impacts of this crisis and calls for immediate action to address the root causes of such environmental disasters.

The Current Crisis

Wisconsin is currently experiencing the worst air quality in the United States due to heavy wildfire smoke from Canada. The Department of Natural Resources has issued an air quality advisory for the entire state, warning that the air quality index (AQI) has reached unhealthy levels. This has led to numerous event cancellations across southern Wisconsin, impacting our communities and economy.

The poor air quality is not only a health hazard, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions, but it is also a stark reminder of the broader environmental challenges we face. This crisis is a symptom of a much larger problem - our unsustainable relationship with the environment.

The Green Party's Vision for Ecological Sustainability

The Green Party believes that the human community is an element of the Earth community, not the other way around. All human endeavors are situated within the dynamics of the biosphere. If we wish to have sustainable institutions and enterprises, they must fit well with the processes of the Earth.

Our current crisis underscores the urgent need for a shift towards ecological sustainability. The Green Party's vision for ecological sustainability includes a commitment to clean energy, regenerative agriculture, public transportation, and sustainable urban planning. We believe in the importance of water conservation, the reduction of greenhouse gases, and the preservation of biodiversity.

Proposed Solutions

In response to the current air quality crisis, the Green Party proposes the following solutions, grounded in our commitment to ecological sustainability:

1. Transition to Clean Energy: We call for an Ecosocialist Green New Deal to achieve 100% clean energy and zero greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. This includes socializing power generation and distribution utilities and private energy corporations into a public energy system to rapidly implement the transition to 100% clean energy generation and distribution.
2. Regenerative Agriculture: We propose a shift towards regenerative organic agroecology by working farmers on small and medium-sized farms. This will contribute to carbon drawdown by rebuilding carbon-rich living soil and integrating the agroecologies of farms into surrounding ecosystems.
3. Public Transportation: We advocate for the socialization of the railroad and automotive industries into a public transportation system to rapidly electrify transportation powered by clean energy sources. This will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and decrease air pollution.
4. Sustainable Urban Planning: We support the expansion of public housing and the development of walkable, bikeable communities. This includes coordinating the rehabilitation of existing and the building of new public housing with public transportation and the placement of ecological manufacturing.
5. Public Broadband: We propose building a public broadband system providing free internet to all and public ‘cloud’ systems that allow individuals, government, and organizations to construct public alternatives to near-monopolies like Amazon Web Services and Facebook.
6. Negative Emissions Programs: We suggest creating a Civilian Conservation Corps employing several million people in natural carbon sequestration projects that restore biospheric carbon sinks, including forests, soils, wetlands, and mangroves in the U.S. and around the world.
7. Just Transition: We call for a Just Transition program that guarantees that workers and communities affected by the transition to clean energy are kept whole during the transition.

The Wisconsin Green Party is committed to advocating for these solutions and working towards a sustainable future for all. We urge our fellow Wisconsinites to join us in this endeavor.