Kathleen Bero
Lake Michigan Federation
Suite 307
647 W Virginia Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204
USA
WOMEN AS ACTIVISTS
The town of Ixonia, Wisconsin is an agricultural community in the United States with a population of 1,500. In the late 1980s, this community was faced with a proposal to construct an incinerator that would burn tires and medical waste. The residents of Ixonia were told that their community would benefit greatly from the incinerator. They would have cheaper utility rates, more jobs and an increased tax base. What they were not told was that this was an experimental incinerator, and has never before been constructed. Therefore, it was impossible to know just how extensive the health effects would be. My role was to identify potential leaders in the community (which ended up being mostly women), provide them with a lawyer (pro bono), technical support from an engineer and the opportunity to educate themselves. Two lawsuits and a few town board elections later, and the incinerator is still not built. In fact, the public is now engaged in discussions about other environmentally related aspects of their community.
Ecosystem protection in the West hasn't been entirely effective due to the fragmented management approach our communities have been engaged in. Somehow we have either forgotten or neglected the reality that humans are indeed just a piece of the ecosystem. We are co-inhabitors not conquerors of this Earth. If we are ever to achieve healthy, sustainable, global communities which exist harmoniously with our wild neighbors, then we must adopt a comprehensive, integrated approach to community-based decision making.
One effort underway to create a comprehensive approach to managing our communities is the Great Lakes Leadership Network. The Network is targeting women willing to work together, share information and focus on crafting a future for the Great Lakes ecosystem that is both ecologically sustainable and socially just. Although this effort is aimed at fostering women leaders, it is not exclusive to women. The Network will work to achieve two goals:
1) To identify the links between community-based issues including health economics, land use, neighborhood revitalization, governance, education, public safety, the environment and more.
2) To identify existing leaders and to identify and nurture new leaders.
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