Wisconsin Bans State Workers From Discussing Climate Change

Wisconsin state officials have banned employees who work for an agency that oversees a Wisconsin public land trust from discussing climate change.

Enacted this week by a vote of Wisconsin’s Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, it includes prohibitions on even responding to emails on the subject.

On the board is State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk. He has stated clearly that he wants employees to focus on their core responsibility – to “make money for our beneficiaries.” He is concerned that at least one employee has previously used their position to engage in climate change activism. The board stewards the land it owns for the public benefit, including helping to support public school libraries. It claims  not a “penny of general-purpose tax revenue” is used as a result of its investments.

Climate change, Adamcyk told Bloomberg, is “not a part of our sole mission.” Another board member, Wisconsin Secretary of State Douglas La Follette, has objected to the move, claiming it was “nonsense”. He was outvoted two to one on the decision.

The ban may come as a relief to some, however, given that climate change is spuriously linked to almost everything from human obesity to whale weight loss.