
Gregg Hoffman: Lasting importance of Earth Day
What’s important now, in 2026, is to not let Earth Day as an institution become stale and something we just do out of tradition and obligation.
Visit WisPolitics-State Affairs for premium content,
keyword notifications, bill tracking and more
Submit columns for consideration to wisopinion@wispolitics.com

What’s important now, in 2026, is to not let Earth Day as an institution become stale and something we just do out of tradition and obligation.

If Earth Day is truly about protecting our shared home, then everybody living in that home deserves to be part of the conversation. Protecting the Earth is a shared responsibility, but any vision of sustainability that leaves people behind is incompetent from the start.

On the fifty-something anniversary of Earth Day it’s time for the environmental movement to grow up. More accurately, it’s important to admit that we have grown up and grown into the establishment.

As if Silicon Valley didn’t have enough power over the lives of Wisconsinites, big tech CEOs are coming for more.

Wherever politicians gather enough power to cheat by drawing unfair district lines, count on them to do just that. Republican. Democrat. It’s always wrong.

The city of Waukesha just elected another Democrat mayor. How do you think that’ll work out? The safest prediction is that homelessness, street crime, burglaries and robberies will all continue to go up.

As negotiations continue between the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers, Republicans remain focused on doing two things well: funding our schools responsibly and making sure Wisconsin stays affordable for the taxpayers who make those investments possible.

Better design of public gathering spaces can reduce risk.

Noting that some billionaires actually get by without paying any income taxes — Donald Trump being the most infamous — there have been several attempts to enact a surtax on their assets.

When Democratic voters cast ballots in August, they should ask themselves which gubernatorial candidate is most likely to win in November.

The clumsy firing of Jay Rothman might discourage some top candidates.

How GOP legislators got away with spending $26 million on private attorneys and charging taxpayers.

As increased political polarization has eroded norms of political cooperation, an increased role for the courts should be welcomed. At the same time, the proposed amendment is incomplete and unnecessarily grants the court more authority then appropriate.

Within Wisconsin, 14 cities, including Madison, have ordinances on the books that ban the practice.

In both February and April, I had the privilege of officially facilitating the voting process in several Green Bay senior care centers.

A society that values justice cannot allow good intentions to override the rule of law, especially when safer, lawful avenues for change exist.

Something’s brewing in Wisconsin and other states as local people stand up for their communities. It may be too early to call it a new age of citizen environmental activism, but it’s starting to look like it. And it’s uniting people across traditional political divides.

Public officials, regardless of party or ideology, have a duty to condemn violence with consistency and integrity. Terrorism must be defined by actions, not based on religion, race or identity.

President Donald Trump, a very angry man, must get up every morning having figured out 1. How to piss off another segment of people in the country and across the world and 2. How to further screw up the U.S. and world economies.

Healthy skepticism is part of a strong democracy, but so is a willingness to engage directly with the facts. The more we learn about those who run our elections and the systems they oversee, the more our confidence in election integrity can grow.

What’s important now, in 2026, is to not let Earth Day as an institution become stale and something we just do out of tradition and obligation.

If Earth Day is truly about protecting our shared home, then everybody living in that home deserves to be part of the conversation. Protecting the Earth is a shared responsibility, but any vision of sustainability that leaves people behind is incompetent from the start.

On the fifty-something anniversary of Earth Day it’s time for the environmental movement to grow up. More accurately, it’s important to admit that we have grown up and grown into the establishment.

As if Silicon Valley didn’t have enough power over the lives of Wisconsinites, big tech CEOs are coming for more.

Wherever politicians gather enough power to cheat by drawing unfair district lines, count on them to do just that. Republican. Democrat. It’s always wrong.

The city of Waukesha just elected another Democrat mayor. How do you think that’ll work out? The safest prediction is that homelessness, street crime, burglaries and robberies will all continue to go up.

As negotiations continue between the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers, Republicans remain focused on doing two things well: funding our schools responsibly and making sure Wisconsin stays affordable for the taxpayers who make those investments possible.

Better design of public gathering spaces can reduce risk.

Noting that some billionaires actually get by without paying any income taxes — Donald Trump being the most infamous — there have been several attempts to enact a surtax on their assets.

When Democratic voters cast ballots in August, they should ask themselves which gubernatorial candidate is most likely to win in November.

The clumsy firing of Jay Rothman might discourage some top candidates.

How GOP legislators got away with spending $26 million on private attorneys and charging taxpayers.

As increased political polarization has eroded norms of political cooperation, an increased role for the courts should be welcomed. At the same time, the proposed amendment is incomplete and unnecessarily grants the court more authority then appropriate.

Within Wisconsin, 14 cities, including Madison, have ordinances on the books that ban the practice.

In both February and April, I had the privilege of officially facilitating the voting process in several Green Bay senior care centers.

A society that values justice cannot allow good intentions to override the rule of law, especially when safer, lawful avenues for change exist.

Something’s brewing in Wisconsin and other states as local people stand up for their communities. It may be too early to call it a new age of citizen environmental activism, but it’s starting to look like it. And it’s uniting people across traditional political divides.

Public officials, regardless of party or ideology, have a duty to condemn violence with consistency and integrity. Terrorism must be defined by actions, not based on religion, race or identity.

President Donald Trump, a very angry man, must get up every morning having figured out 1. How to piss off another segment of people in the country and across the world and 2. How to further screw up the U.S. and world economies.

Healthy skepticism is part of a strong democracy, but so is a willingness to engage directly with the facts. The more we learn about those who run our elections and the systems they oversee, the more our confidence in election integrity can grow.