Author Archives: Dave Dempsey


About Dave Dempsey

Dave Dempsey is a writer active in conservation for more than 25 years. A frequent freelance contributor and newsweekly columnist, Dave is the author of four award-winning books on the environment and a biography of Michigan’s longest-serving Governor, William Milliken. A native of Michigan who now lives in the Twin Cities metro in Minnesota, Dave served as environmental advisor to Michigan Governor James J. Blanchard from 1983-89. President Clinton appointed him to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in 1994. Dave has also held numerous administrative, policy and consulting positions for nonprofit conservation and environmental organizations in Michigan and Minnesota. He was both policy director and executive director at the Michigan Environmental Council and Great Lakes policy consultant for Clean Water Action. Dave has a bachelor of arts degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in natural resource development from Michigan State University, and has served as an adjunct university instructor at MSU in environmental policy.

Paper or Plastic? Neither

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[social_buttons] Green Cities California (GCC) announced today the release of its Master Environmental Assessment (MEA) on Single Use and Reusable Bags. The MEA, commissioned by GCC and developed by ICF International’s Sacramento office, summarizes existing studies on the environmental impacts of single use plastic, paper, compostable and reusable bags, as well as the impacts of policy options such as fees and bans on bags. Meanwhile, proposed Minnesota legislation would tax plastic bags, adding to momentum … Read More

DE bottle refund law: Mend it, don’t end it, say advocates

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A volunteer poses with the bottles and cans collected at a Massachusetts watershed cleanup. [social_buttons] A month after the governor of Delaware proposed dumping the state’s beverage container refund law in favor of a new tax for community recycling, in-state and national environmental groups have come out against the recommendation.  Delaware is one of 11 states that has a law providing for beverage container refunds, which are strongly opposed by the beverage industry and some … Read More

Is A Pill Take-Back Law in Our Future?

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[social_buttons] As the product stewardship movement gains steam, attention is turning to the issue of unsafe disposal of residue or unwanted consumer pharmaceuticals.  The widespread detection of pharmaceutical residues in public waters and fish has raised biologists’ concerns.  In Minnesota, the popularity of public-sponsored take-back days and a coming legislative proposal in the 2010 session to create a network of collection facilities, funded by pharmaceutical makers, adds a new twist to the problem. … Read More

Asian Carp Near Great Lakes: Are They So Bad?

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists with a bighead carp, one of two species whose entry into the Great Lakes is sparking widespread concern. [social_buttons] Last week’s edition of Great Lakes Asian carp news brought both a U.S. Supreme Court decision and disclosure of the species’ environmental DNA in Lake Michigan.  But as members of Congress, state officials and Great Lakes advocates scramble to prevent a self-sustaining Asian carp population in the Great Lakes, a … Read More

MN Solid Waste Reform Could Sharply Reduce Greenhouse Emissions

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A new Minnesota stakeholder report identifies 38 solid waste reform recommendations that could dramatically reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. [social_buttons] A report submitted December 31 to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) outlines 38 ways the state could achieve a 20-year reduction of 52.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions through changes in solid waste policy and practices. Coordinated by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative (MEI), a nonprofit organization, the report contains 22 … Read More

Barn Owl’s Wisconsin Appearance A Rare Event

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The Common Barn Owl is not so common in Midwestern states where it’s considered vulnerable. A recent surprise appearance in Wisconsin highlighted the species’ fragile status in the region. [social_buttons] A raptor listed as an endangered or threatened species in seven Midwestern states made a rare appearance in Wisconsin late in 2009.  The ailing barn owl, which couldn’t fly or stand when rescued in Mequon, is being rehabilitated in the Pine View Wildlife Rehabilitation Center … Read More

Michigan Offshore Wind Proposal Stirs Waves

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A map prepared for Michigan’s Great  Lakes Offshore Wind Council shows areas of high wind power production potential in the state’s offshore waters. [social_buttons] One of the first proposals for a major offshore wind project in America’s freshwater has surprised Michigan regulators and begun to stir opposition from onshore property owners. But the company behind the proposal says it has the potential to help right Michigan’s struggling economy with new jobs and leadership in wind … Read More

Coalition Says MN Climate Solution Includes Nukes

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The Prairie Island nuclear plant at Red Wing, Minnesota, on the Mississippi River.  Nuclear power advocates want to repeal the state’s 15-year-old ban on new nuclear plants. [social_buttons] The state that enacted one of the nation’s most farsighted clean energy laws in 2007 may be a battleground over nuclear power in 2010.  A coalition of interest groups wants to repeal Minnesota’s 15-year-old moratorium on new nuclear plants. Like pro-nuke interests elsewhere, the Minnesota coalition is … Read More

Curbside Vs. Deposit and GHG Reduction

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[social_buttons] The beverage container industry continues to fight state and national container legislation despite evidence that such laws could contribute significantly to greenhouse gas reduction while providing energy, recycling and litter control benefits. The industry says community recycling programs, which put the cost burden on communities rather than container manufacturers, are a superior system for processing bottles and cans. The latest weapon in the industry’s arsenal is a report commissioned by itself; the American Beverage … Read More

Gender-Bending Chemicals in Minnesota Waters

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The discovery of malformed frogs in the Minnesota River watershed in the 1990s touched off field and lab research on endocrine disrupters that is continuing to yield findings. [social_buttons] Minnesota, the state that made national headlines with the discovery of malformed frogs in the 1990s, has found endocrine disrupting chemicals and traces of pharmaceuticals even in some of its most remote and otherwise cleanest waters.  Armed with substantial state funding, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency … Read More