Register here: Mayday Strong

Right now there are protests scheduled all over Wisconsin. Some of them, like in Madison, are on Friday May 2.

On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets to protest with a clear message: HANDS OFF!

This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our democracy and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are rallying to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.

There will be over 20 street protests all across Wisconsin from Eagle River to Oshkosh and from La Crosse to Milwaukee, as well as a gathering in Madison.   You can register to attend and learn more here at handsoff2025.com

The main demonstrations in Wisconsin will be in Madison and Milwaukee from 12 to 4pm, but protests are being organized across the state.  If you can’t travel far just show up at the town closest to you.  The list of protest sites is as of noon on Sunday March 30.  Check the map at handsoff2025.com as sites are added daily. Open the link to your town below to get more information about the event and sign up to indicate you are attending. (We need a head count!)  The time of protest will vary by location so check out details by clicking on the link:

Appleton

Burlington

Chippewa County

Dodgeville to Madison

Eagle River

Eau Claire

Janesville

Kenosha

Madison

Milwaukee/SE Wisconsin

Monroe

New Glarus

North Central Wisconsin/Wausau

Oshkosh

Phillips

Racine

Reedsburg

Rhinelander

Stevens Point

Union Grove

Walworth/Walworth County

Bring signs, friends, your voice.  Thank you for rising up to defend our democracy in the biggest protest since the election.  Our outcry will be heard around the world.

For a listing of additional actions of various types, check out the Third Act Wisconsin Volunteer Action Page:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rHO5X05_o9sCHoCYth6dUHvyWCoA0SuaH-bFELx2qbg/edit?tab=t.0

On April 1^st, Wisconsin voters will elect a new member of the state Supreme Court. Third Act Wisconsin strongly endorses Judge Susan Crawford in this crucially important election. Crawford’s campaign emphasizes protection of basic rights and the rule of law, while her DNR experience speaks to a fact-based approach to climate and energy issues. In contrast, Brad Schimel’s website promotes the myth of widespread voter fraud to justify further restrictions on voting rights, and he has applauded the pardon of violent January 6^th insurrectionists.

Crawford’s election will maintain the current liberal majority on the Court, ensuring we retain fair legislative maps and safeguard bedrock democratic principles. Please actively support her campaign in whatever way you’re able, whether it’s spreading the word, helping register new voters, writing postcards and letters-to-the-editor, canvassing to get out the vote, or sending a donation. Volunteer at www.crawfordforwi.com and also watch for TAWI-hosted action opportunities coming soon.

For more ways to get involved, go here.

—-Susan Millar, TAWI Democratize Energy Team

State regulators approve largest solar project in Wisconsin history

Vista Sands Solar Project in Portage County expected to generate enough energy to power 200K homes.

State regulators this week paved the way for the largest solar energy project in Wisconsin’s history, expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 200,000 homes.

The Vista Sands Solar Project will be built on more than 6,000 acres in Portage County. It will generate more than 1,300 megawatts and feature 300 megawatts of battery storage. It’s more than four times the size of the Badger Hollow Solar Farm, currently the biggest solar project online in Wisconsin.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin unanimously approved construction of the roughly $2 billion project Thursday. It’s being developed by Vista Sands Solar LLC, a subsidiary of Doral Renewables, a green energy company based in Philadelphia. The company hopes to begin construction by early 2026 and to complete the project in two to three years.

No electric utilities in the state are currently attached to the project, but developers say they’ve had early discussions with utilities that could purchase power from the site.

PSC Chair Summer Strand said the battery storage component would allow the project to improve reliability during peak demand. She also said the project would bring a host of environmental and economic benefits.

“This would be by far the largest solar project in the state of Wisconsin and one of the largest in the upper Midwest,” Strand said. “This is one of the most beneficial and impactful renewable energy projects ever proposed in Wisconsin.”The project will create roughly 500 jobs during construction and about 50 permanent jobs, according to Doral Renewables.

The solar farm will also result in more than $6 million in annual utility aid payments to Portage County and the municipalities hosting the site, the developer said.

“This would be a significant increase to their township budgets, and then a good proportion also goes to Portage County,” said Jon Baker, vice president of development for Doral Renewables and project manager for the Vista Sands. “What’s great about the $6.5 million that will be paid to the townships and county is that we don’t require any additional services as part of that.”

For more on the Vista Sands Project, click here.

350 Wisconsin, along with partners Sierra Club and League of Women Voters of Wisconsin with representation by Midwest Environmental Advocates, is challenging the DNR’s decision to issue wetland fill and waterway crossing permits. With the lack of crucial, site-specific information related to blasting operations, hydrological conditions, and the full extent of environmental harm, our petition argues that the DNR could not lawfully approve the construction project. We maintain that Enbridge has grossly understated the damage to wetlands, rivers, and interconnected ecosystems and that the long-term impacts cannot be dismissed as “temporary” or insignificant.

The lakes, rivers, and wetlands throughout our state are important to all Wisconsinites. The effects of climate change imperil our public trust rights to navigation, recreation, and critical natural and cultural resources and our rights to the benefits that these ecosystems provide, including carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, and water filtration.

The Wisconsin DNR itself has acknowledged the fact that the reroute would facilitate the continued use of fossil fuels and would contribute to negative impacts associated with fossil fuel production, transport, and consumption. Yet somehow, the DNR determined that the impacts would not be significant and that the project should move forward, regardless of the human and ecological damage it would cause.

The importance of this moment cannot be overstated. By taking legal action and challenging the WI DNR’s decision regarding Line 5, we’re sending a powerful message: the era of recklessly endangering the environment and our climate must come to an end.

And it starts with us.

Join Third Act Wisconsin and Third Act Central’s Deborah Moore as we kick off Banking on our Future. As older Americans with a lifetime of savings in banks and retirement accounts, we demand a phase out of financial backing for expanding fossil fuel projects.

Our money should be funding a future full of wind farms and solar panels, not superstorms and epic droughts!

Third Act is backing up this demand with an innovative strategy. For example, Costco has a credit card partnership with Citibank, one of the leading funders of climate chaos. Third Act groups across the country have found fun and effective ways to engage with Costco and other institutional clients to do the right thing and clean up their credit cards with dirty Citi. Our new Third Act Wisconsin working group is ready to get in on the action. Find out how you can join us, by coming to our webinar on December 4th. We will be joined by Deborah Moore, a savvy campaign strategist who has helped coordinate Banking on our Future actions around the country.

Register Here for Banking on Our Future: 7 pm on Wed, Dec 4.

Important Election Deadlines:

• October 16: Deadline to register by mail and online
• October 22 – November 3: In-person Absentee Voting period
• October 31: Deadline to request an absentee ballot
• November 5: Deadline to return absentee ballots
• November 5: Election Day & Same-Day Registration at polling locations.

To learn more about the Wisconsin Farmers Union click here

Make Your Voting Plan:

Whether you’re voting in person or by absentee ballot, having a plan will keep you organized and accountable. Here’s a simple template to follow:

1. Registration Status:
   • Registered to vote
   • Need to register or update registration?
     Deadline: October 16th (Online & Mail)
2. Voting Method:
   • In-person on Election Day
   • In-person early voting (Oct 22 – Nov 3)
   • Absentee/mail-in ballot
     Absentee Ballot Request Deadline: October 31st
3. Key Dates:
   • Election Day: November 5th, 2024
   • Early Voting Period: October 22nd – November 3rd
   • Absentee Ballot Return Deadline: November 5th
4. Polling Location:
   • Find your assigned polling place on MyVote Wisconsin: MyVote.WI.gov
5. Transportation Plan:
   • How will you get to your polling place?
     • Personal Vehicle
     • Carpool
     • Public Transportation
     • Other: _______________________
6. Important Contacts:
   1. Local Election Office: __________________________
   2. Voter Protection Hotline: 866-687-8683
7. Commit to Vote: I will vote in this election and encourage three others to do the same!

Bring a Friend and Strengthen Our Collective Voice

Bringing a friend or family member with you to vote ensures that our rural communities have a stronger say in shaping the future. Encourage others to vote either in your community or wherever they are registered.

Use these links below to check out your voter registration, important election dates, updates, and information on the candidates and referendums on your ballot!

Important Links:

• My Vote Wi 
• Ballotpedia
• Vote Smart
• WPR: Where the Candidates stand 

Together, we can make a difference for farmers and rural communities. Let’s mobilize, vote, and have our voices heard!

We need you, experienced citizens of Wisconsin! Right now, our state looms large in the global and national campaign for climate justice. Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that will determine success or failure in the Presidential and U.S. Senate elections. Meanwhile, we are also facing multiple threats to our clean water and air, such as the outdated and dangerous Line 5 Pipeline, while fossil fuel financing continues unabated unless we work together to stop it. Join us for this lively Launch of Third Act Wisconsin–be inspired toward hope and action, and learn about the many ways you can get involved.

Bill McKibben

Founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. In 2014, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament. He’s also won the Gandhi Peace Award, and honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities.

Rebecca Solnit

Writer, historian, and activist, and the author of over eighteen books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and disaster, including the books Men Explain Things to Me and Hope in the Dark. Rebecca has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award. A product of the California public education system from kindergarten to graduate school, she is a regular contributor to The Guardian

John Harrison Nichols

Liberal and progressive American journalist and author. He is the National Affairs correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times. Books authored or co-authored by Nichols include The Genius of Impeachment and The Death and Life of American Journalism.

Kimberly Blaeser

Former Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets, is a poet, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of six poetry collections—including Ancient Light, Copper Yearning, and Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance. An enrolled member of White Earth Nation, Blaeser is an Anishinaabe activist and environmentalist. She is an MFA faculty member at Institute of American Indian Arts, and a Professor Emerita at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Stephanie Janeth Salgado Altamirano

Stephanie (She/Ella/They/Ella) was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 2015. An activist since her high school days, she was a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change. Stephanie now works as the Youth Coordinator in empowering Latinx youth to find their sense of hope, dignity, and liberation.

Doug White

Eco-activist, musician, gardener, producer, teacher and community organizer from the Four Lakes Watershed area of South-Central Wisconsin.

Events Details

Click here to register:

Register Here

• Event date

  October 23, 2024

• Time

  7:00 PM ET
  6:00 PM CT
  5:00 PM MT
  4:00 PM PT

• Location

  Join from anywhere

“Vanguard: Stop investing in climate destruction.”

“Vanguard:  Offer climate-safe funds.”

At Third Act Wisconsin, we are most concerned about Vanguard’s huge ($3.5 billion) investment in Enbridge, Inc.  the Canadian company building pipelines across Wisconsin.  So we also welcome you bringing your own sign with messages such as:

Photo by Rachael Warriner

“Stop tar sands pipelines”

“Stop Line 5”

“Water is Life.”

To join us, show up at James Madison Park in Madison at 10 am.  The rally will be short, so you may miss us if you come late.  We plan to hold signs in front of a pipeline prop entering  Lake Mendota, take some good photos, and post the photos to social media.  Vanguard does not have many physical offices, and so social media is our best way to reach our target.  (Actions are planned across the country, including at three locations with Vanguard offices).

What: Rally against Vanguard investments in pipelines

When: 10 am, Wednesday October 9

Where: James Madison Park, 614 E. Gorham Street, Madison, WI (we’ll gather by the lake)

For questions or to RSVP, contact Julia Isaacs (jbixleri@aol.com).

Vanguard is the largest global investor in coal — the world’s dirtiest and deadliest fossil fuel — and one of the world’s two biggest investors in oil and gas. It has virtually no environmentally friendly or socially responsible investment options. Go to SOS Vanguard or read this one-pager if you want to know more about Vanguard is a key target in efforts to stop the flow of money to fossil fuels.

Third Act Wisconsin is staging this action as an early step in building a team to do further fossil-free financing actions in Wisconsin.  If you can’t join us Oct 9, but want to learn more about the new Third Act Wisconsin group, register for our virtual launch on October 23rd at 6 pm.