Latest on Line 5: The crude oil project that threatens northern Wisconsin
Release Date: 07/21/2025
Who's Really Paying for Data Centers?
The Defender
You may have heard, Wisconsin needs more power and we need it fast. In the next few years, AI data centers will cause an unprecedented surge in energy demand across our state. There are already large expensive new powerplants being built to help meet that demand with more to come. But the big question is, will Wisconsinites be left shouldering the cost? In this episode, the shocking energy needs of AI, why our power companies are rolling out the red carpet, and the lasting environmental and economic harms that could be left in the wake. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Tom Content, Citizens...
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How to protect the planet by doing nothing
The Defender
What if you could make a difference in the fight to protect our environment by doing nothing at all? In this episode, why fall is the perfect time to be lazy - for the planet. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Elizabeth Braat, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Resources for You:
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Wisconsin's Forbidden Fruit
The Defender
The amazing story of one Wisconsin food that was banned, burned, disappeared from our plates - and the comeback that's being helped along by solar farms. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Lily Hislop, Savanna Institute Resources for You:
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Data Center Secrets
The Defender
A Clean Wisconsin analysis shows just two approved data centers in Wisconsin will use more power than all the homes in our state combined. More than the generation capacity of the Point Beach nuclear plant, the single-largest source of power in Wisconsin. And that leaves a lot of people are wondering, where is all this leading us? What will it mean for Wisconsin’s precious water resources, our land, our energy bills? And why is it so hard to find out? In this episode, an in-depth conversation on the secrets of data centers. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Michael Greif, Midwest Environmental...
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The Climate March is Coming!
The Defender
There is no question we are living through a stressful, often overhwelming time. So if you’re feeling hopeless, especially in the face of the climate crisis, no one could blame you. But there is no better place to find hope – than in other people. How you can joing people from all walks of life in Sunday, Sept 28 to take a stand for our climate right here in Wisconsin. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Heather Allen, Policy Director, Elevate Resources for You: Sunday Sept. 28, Madison, Wisconsin
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150 Million Reasons to Listen to This Episode
The Defender
Yes, there are 150-million reasons to listen to this episode. Because Wisconsin has $150 million dollars in federal funding to help make our homes warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, healthier, more efficient. All the things. A look at two little-known programs that survived the big Federal cuts and are ready to be used by you. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guests: Dylan Crye, Home Energy Rebates Program Manager, Focus on Energy Joe Pater, Dir. Office of Energy Innovation, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Resources for You: - Focus on Energy podcast
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How much would you pay? Measuring the value of a clean environment
The Defender
How much would you pay to swim in a clean lake? How much to take a breath of fresh, clean air? To fish in a pristine stream? You may not ever think about that, but there is somebody who does -- a lot. On this episode, meet the professor who’s working to understand the economic value of a clean environment. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Dan Phaneuf, Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Unversity of Wisconsin Resources for You:
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Nothing to see here! Why the EPA says climate change won't hurt you
The Defender
The Environmental Protection Agency is quickly getting out of the protection business. And no where is that more clear than its new plan to get rid of the Endangerment Finding, the landmark legal and science determination that climate change hurts people and that the EPA has the responsibility to do something about it. On this episode a look at why the EPA is now insisting climate pollution won’t hurt you, and what walking back the endangerment finding could mean for Wisconsin. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Clean Wisconsin General Counsel Katie Nekola Resources for You:
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Lambscaping! Why WI sheep farmers are excited about solar farms
The Defender
Livestock farmers in Wisconsin are getting excited about solar! MG&E’s Tyto solar project is home to about 13,000 solar panels, 30 acres of thriving plants, and a flock of happy sheep. Amy takes a behind-the-scenes look at the solar energy project where 145 hungry sheep are hard at work this summer. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guests: John Armstrong, manager of renewable engineering, Madison Gas and Electric Beau Stafford, Wiscovery Farms Resources for You: Surprising Environmental Impacts of Solar in Wisconsin
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Move People, Not Oil
The Defender
In the long, never-ending struggle to protect our environment, it can be easy to feel helpless, powerless. Maybe nothing underscores that feeling more than trying to stop a big foreign oil interest from building a pipeline across your state. But there is something you can do to speak out against the Line 5 oil pipeline. And it's fun! Amy looks at the Move People Not Oil campaign. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Jacob Ahrens-Balwit, Strategic Communications Manager, Clean Wisconsin More Resources for You: (Instagram) - Take the pledge and more information
info_outlineNorthern Wisconsin is home to Lake Superior, to beautiful streams and wetlands, to thousands of acres of mesic forests--and to a 72-year-old oil pipeline called Line 5. Now the foreign oil company, Enbridge, that owns and operates the line is pushing to blast and trench its way across northern Wisconsin to build a reroute. Amy gets the latest on legal action to stop it.
Host: Amy Barrilleaux
Guests: Clean Wisconsin attorneys Brett Korte and Evan Feinauer
Resources for You:
What Line 5 means for me (video)
Clean Wisconsin News: Sign up for Line 5 updates and more