Wisconsin’s summers are getting smokier. According to a new analysis from Clean Wisconsin, the number of days that we breathe air polluted by wildfire smoke has risen over the past 15 years from one day per year to nine days. Exposure to wildfire smoke now accounts for an estimated 250 premature deaths in Wisconsin every year. You can blame our warming planet. Earlier melting of snow, decreasing rainfall, warmer nighttime temperatures all contribute to more fires.
Good news for black-necked stilts. They are migratory shore-birds, with you guessed it, long legs and black necks. With some help from the DNR, the protected birds have begun nesting in Horicon Marsh. The Wisconsin wetland now contains one of the largest breeding populations of black-necked stilts anywhere east of the Mississippi, and that number has doubled since 2022.
Right now on The Defender podcast, do data centers hurt your health? Listen at cleanwisconsin.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
