Environment forum finds common ground
3:51 PM 3/16/03

We're not usually too enamored with big meetings of important people sitting around talking, but we think local entrepreneur John Imes may be onto something with his Wisconsin Environmental Initiative.
You might recognize Imes' name because he and his wife run a nationally noted bed-and-breakfast in one of the tonier sections of Madison's near West Side. But in his other day job, Imes is a special envoy of Wisconsin's prickliest politics. As WEI executive director, Imes pulls together normally warring factions to try to find common ground in a particularly hard place: the intersection of Wisconsin's environmental and energy policymaking.
Today, at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, his group continues its innovative initiative. The WEI Environmental Policy Forum is meant to improve environmental policymaking by increasing communication and collaboration among folks ranging from the top rungs of the Doyle administration to the local governments, myriad businesses and numerous non-profits that all have a stake in state environmental policy.
So what's the big deal? Imes is out to solve what ails the body politic: Too many policy debates short-circuit in finger pointing ||Page=000 Column=001 OK,0001.04||and complaints that one viewpoint or another has been summarily ignored.
WEI's forums give everybody a voice, and they're getting results. Last month, after a series of "Energy Forum" meetings that began in 2001, WEI issued a 30-page roadmap for lawmakers crafted by forum participants that showed how it's possible for Wisconsin to have abundant supplies of electricity without sacrificing quality of life or relying on polluting technology.
The report has already generated a state Senate Energy Committee hearing. Policymakers should see the wisdom of carrying out the specifics of the report, which emphasizes reducing energy demand, expanding research, investing in renewable energy, diversifying energy investments, and planning for the long-term. Amazingly, the report s shows how Wisconsin can spur technological advances and develop abundant energy resources while being environmentally responsible. Why couldn't we see this before? Three words: Politics as usual.
Now the group hopes to attain similar consensus in environmental policy. Given shrinking state re||Page=000 Column=002 OK,0010.00||||||| Overset= 00050|||||^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^sources and increasingly complex environmental issues, efforts to improve environmental protection will depend on the ability of lawmakers and others to effectively focus limited resources. Participants will identify their top environmental priorities for the next four years and share ideas for addressing those priorities.
Imes figures those outside government might have some good ideas, too, so everyone at the forum has a chance to register their views. About 125 representatives of government, business, and non-profit organizations will join the discussion and will be asked to identify their top environmental priorities, which will be tallied and compared to priorities identified by political leaders at the event.
By tapping dozens of creative and sometimes conflicting mindsets on energy, agriculture, and land use, the Environmental Policy Forum may very well find innovative ways to enhance Wisconsin's environment and economy.
As difficult as it is to strike a balance between Wisconsin's need for a healthy environment and a vibrant economy, WEI is establishing a strong track record. Give the outstanding results of WEI's energy forum, lawmakers and the governor should be eager to examine and act on the findings.