Earth Day's midlife crisis

Here is the cartoon I decided to draw for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I liked it because it made a good point about the current state of American political discourse. I drew another Earth Day cartoon that I sent off my state-wide and national subscribers and I have attached that toon to this blog post. It’s not a bad a cartoon, but it doesn’t have the same edge.



It is sad that the environment and science itself has become such a partisan political issue. We need to be having a debate about what is the best way to address global warming, not whether or not it is a hoax.

Denying climate change is really a position for political wimps.

It is difficult to decide what is the best method of curbing green house gasses(i.e. what are the roles for the private sector and local, state and federal government, and what sort of mechanism such as cap and trade or carbon taxes are best at controlling carbon). It's much easier to stick your head in the sand and pretend that there isn't a problem.

Deer Hunting and socialsm

I'm not a hunter, and I was not raised around hunters or wildlife (although wild pheasants used to roam around the vacant lots near where I grew up in Detroit). But since moving to Wisconsin, I've tried to embrace the proud outdoorsman tradition that is so important to this state's identity.

There are many hunters out there who are true conservationists. These folks are excited that wolves are starting to thrive again in Wisconsin, and might reclaim the role as primary predatory to the white-tailed deer population.

But there are other hunters who only see the wolves as a threat. If the wolves cull too much of the already over-counted herd, then the DNR might have to consider rolling back the deer season in November. And certain hunters would rather see the wolves extinct, than to have their excuse to drink beer and play with guns in the Northwoods cut short.

As you can see from my editorial cartoon, I have less respect for these hunters.

Friendly Wisconsinites

Wisconsin has had the highest response to the Census of any state. Almost 80 percent of state residents have filled out the little forms that help determine where federal funding goes, and how many congressional districts we will have.

This wasn't major news because it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Wisconsinites were more likely than residents of other state to perform their civic duty.

I'm not originally from Wisconsin, but I've really learned to love my adopted home state. Wisconsinites have a very strong and specific state identity and they take their civic responsibilities seriously (We are also always towards the top for highest voter turnout in national elections).

But the people here are just darn friendly, too. Shortly after moving to Madison from Detroit, I had a stereotypical Wisconsin experience – a lengthy conversation with a person on the other end of wrong number.

And while the big shots from the coasts or Chicago might think the folks here are naive country bumpkins, the world would be a better place if everyone was from Wisconsin.