I'm pleased to report that the Wisconsin Green Party's Coordinating
Council adopted the following resolution at its 5/13/00 meeting:
WHEREAS, Wisconsin Public Service and Minnesota Power propose to
construct a 250-mile-long, 345-kilovolt transmission line variously
known as "Arrowhead-Weston," "Arrowhead-Arpin," and "Power Up Wisconsin"
across northern Wisconsin from near Duluth, MN to Wausau, WI; and,
WHEREAS, this line's right-of-way would be up to 150 feet wide, directly
impacting some 4,500 acres of forest and agricultural lands; and,
WHEREAS, this line would directly affect 7,000 property owners, who face
the likelihood of having their land condemned through the utilities'
right of eminent domain; and
WHEREAS, this line would create undesirable esthetic impacts with its
130' pylons (poles) as tall as a 13-story building; and,
WHEREAS, the use and maintenance of this line would create health
hazards for people and wildlife due to the electromagnetic radiation it
would generate and the herbicides which would be sprayed beneath it;
and,
WHEREAS, this line would in all likelihood be used to supply power to
the proposed Crandon mine and the existing Project ELF facility, both of
which are opposed by the Wisconsin Green Party; and,
WHEREAS, this line would carry power generated by Manitoba Hydro in
Candada, a business which has operated with total disregard for the
cultural and economic welfare of indigenous Cree communities in
Manitoba; and,
WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Green Party believes that power generation should
be located as near as possible to the intended point of use, and should
rely on renewable resources that have as little negative impact as
possible on human communities and ecological systems;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Wisconsin Green Party joins with the
Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board, the Wolf River Watershed
Alliance, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and
Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), the Sierra Club, Save Our Unique Lands, Inc.
(SOUL), and many other groups and organizations who have expressed their
opposition to this line; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Wisconsin Green Party will seek to
insure that the issue of this powerline is injected into all public
policy discussions and political debates in current and future campaign
seasons until it is defeated.
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