• Home
  • Archive
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • March 24, 2023

The Madison Times

The Paper That's More Than Black and White

  • News
    • Local News
    • National News
    • International News
    • Sports News
    • Education News
  • Columns
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Life Lessons with Alex Gee
  • Events
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Lifestyle
  • Classifieds
  • Community
    • Middle Spread
  • Milwaukee

Gov. Evers Signs Order for Task Force on Climate Change

October 19, 2019

By Ana Martinez-Ortiz

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes says that climate change is affecting residents, especially people of color, throughout all of Wisconsin. (Photo by Ana Martinez-Ortiz)

Stephanie Salgado, 18, is no stranger to the devastating affects of climate change. In her home country of Honduras, Salgado saw farmers struggle to buy food because of poor crops and beaches overrun with plastic and oil spills.

Instead of simply bearing witness, Salgado decided to do something about it and became a climate change activist with Youth Climate Action Team, a youth-run nonprofit dedicated to fighting against climate change.

Salgado said its been hard, but they’re doing what they can to change the world.

As a team member, Salgado helps to organize strikes, talks with legislators and more. On Thursday, Oct. 17, Salgado along with her teammate, Ayanna Lee, introduced Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes during a press conference at the Riverside Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place.

During the press conference, Evers signed Executive Order #52, which established the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change.

“I’ve said since day one that climate change is real and we’ve been ignoring it for far too long,” Evers said.

Climate change poses a real and immediate threat and is not a bipartisan issue, he added.

“The Wisconsin way of life depends on clean air, clean water and clean land,” Evers said.

Evers appointed Barnes to serves as the chairman of the task force. He explained that Barnes has been passionate about climate change since the day they met.

Barnes said that he’s been wanting to create a climate change task force since the beginning, but he wanted to make sure it would be done right. In his travels throughout Wisconsin, he’s seen how climate change has affected everybody in some way.

People of color and especially indigenous people are some of the most affected by climate change.

“All of Wisconsin can prosper in transitioning to a just and equitable clean economy,” Barnes said in the press release.

Barnes said that the task force plans to take swift action but have deliberate conversations. It’ll focus on science, stewardship and sustainability.

August Ball, the CEO and founder of Cream City Conservation, is one of the members of the task force. She said that the task force is a way to bring together people who are smart, resilient and innovative.

A solution will be found, she said but it also means recognizing that this land once belonged to indigenous tribes, specifically the Potawatomi and Menomonee in Wisconsin. Solidarity is part of the solution.

While the task force consists of adults, Lee said the young can get involved by visiting ycatwi.org. There they can learn how to become part of a team to organize strikes, call legislators and advocate. Sometimes people yell or they don’t believe, but one person doesn’t compare to the hundreds of people who are taking a stand, Lee said.

And as Evers and Barnes said, it’s the young people who are really doing the most and now it’s time for the adults to do their jobs.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Ana Martinez-Ortiz, Climate Change, Mandela Barnes, Tony Evers

Read More - Related Articles

  • Judge Janet Protasiewicz is my Choice for the Wisconsin Supreme Court
  • Gov. Tony Evers Takes Oath of Office for Second Term
  • Holy Cathedral Hosts Wisconsin Inaugural Interfaith Service for Governor Evers and Lt. Governor-elect Rodriguez
  • Wisconsin Officially Turns Purple
  • I Need Your Vote to Help Change Washington





Connect With Us

Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On Twitter
Follow Us On Twitter

Editorials

Karma Chavez
Amanda Zhang
Julianne Malveaux
Benjamin Chavis
George Curry

Journalists

Jacklin Bolduan
Brianna Rae
Aarushi Agni
Rob Franklin
Claire Miller

Topics

Brown Girl Green $
Young Gifted & Black
Universally Speaking
Ask Progress
Civil Rights

Topics

Police Shooting
Police Brutality
Black Lives Matter
NAACP
Racism

Politicians

Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Gwen Moore
Paul Soglin
Scott Walker

Contact Us

The Madison Times
313 West Beltline Hwy
Suite 132
Madison, WI 53713
608-270-9470

Copyright © 2023 Courier Communications. All Rights Reserved.
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.