About this website
The People’s Environmental History presents an important and unacknowledged environmental justice perspective on the history of Madison, Wisconsin. It is the result of years of research by long time Madison resident and activist Maria C. Powell, PhD, founder of the Midwest/Madison Environmental Justice Organization (MEJO).
Maria and MEJO worked tirelessly to uncover and address environmental problems in the Madison area and beyond, especially those that impacted poor and marginalized people with little access to power and information regarding the environment in which they lived.
This site is dedicated to those people and covers a wide array of issues that Maria investigated and wrote about for almost thirty years years.
The centerpiece of this site is Maria’s unpublished, exhaustively researched book-length manuscript, “Poisoning Paradise: An Environmental History of Madison.”
It also features dozens of articles Maria wrote on a wide array of environmental topics, spotlighting specific polluted sites throughout Madison and with an overarching focus on Madison’s waterways and water supply system.
The hope is that all that Maria uncovered through her work and research will be helpful for future activists and those who are interested in how nature’s beauty is ruined by mankind’s hubris and arrogance.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding usage of this site’s contents: Maria was plagued during her lifetime by others appropriating her work. She was so generous with her time, talked with anyone and inspired many–some of whom unfortunately did not always credit her or cite her when appropriate. Please do not repeat this! If you discover something that you find interesting or important to share, full credit and citations are requested. Please respect Maria’s work and memory.
About Maria C. Powell, PhD
Maria Powell, co-founder of the Madison Environmental Justice Organization (MEJO) and author of the work featured on this site, was born in Green Bay, WI and grew up next to the polluted waters of the Fox River. In 1998, Maria and her family moved to Madison, WI, where Maria earned her PhD in environmental studies and communication and, more importantly, spent more than 20 years fighting for environmental justice in her community. In 2023, she was recognized with the Bill Iwen Environmental Justice Award. Maria passed away in November 2023.
Learn more about Maria’s story and background in her powerful Introduction and Prologue to her manuscript Poisoning Paradise.
See the full list of Maria’s academic publications in her CV here.
Maria was exceptionally good at connecting with and relating to absolutely anyone, and making people laugh and care. (She also scared off some people who had a hard time dealing with people different from themselves!) What follows is a gallery of photographs that demonstrate the force of nature that was Maria.
