Johnson Foundation blog posts

Water Infrastructure Report Resonates

Lynn — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:29:57 +0000

I don't often use the term "resonance" with regard to my work, but we definitely struck a chord with the report we released yesterday.

We All Live on an Island - Part I

Lynn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:48:45 +0000

My husband and I just had the extremely good fortune to have spent a week on St. John, US Virgin Islands. If you’ve been there you know what a treasure it is. With no airport, it’s a bit off the beaten path. The US Virgin Islands National Park, with its campgrounds, snorkeling trails, hiking trails, and historic sugar mill ruins, makes up about 60% of the island and drives the local economy.

Recycling Works: A Riff on Urban Mining

Lynn — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:40:38 +0000

Earlier this fall, I blogged about the taconite (iron) mine proposed for a beautiful section of northern Wisconsin that borders Lake Superior, and is bisected by the poetically stunning Bad River. ("Is it Really Worth the Trouble?" Sept 26th, 2011) In that post, I closed with "As I see it, it doesn't have to be jobs vs.

We All Live on an Island - Part II

Lynn — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:25:29 +0000

The “Smart Guide to Island Housekeeping” also has guidance about water conservation, probably with stateside tourists in mind. On St. John, fresh water is supplied by the skies. There is no groundwater, no glacier, no roaring river. Homes and businesses collect rainwater in large cisterns. From there, an electric pump circulates the water through the building’s plumbing as needed. Many homes, like the one we stayed in, have state-of-the-art filtration systems to ensure that the water is safe for drinking.

Test Blog Post

testblogger — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:26:51 +0000

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Test Blog Post

testblogger — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Test Blog Post

testblogger — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:52:42 +0000

Qui zzril dolor decima feugiat mazim. Ii vero cum nonummy me sollemnes. Ut soluta ullamcorper dynamicus claritatem doming. Anteposuerit ullamcorper quod quis clari veniam. Dolore enim decima autem adipiscing legere. Erat eleifend iusto nam putamus insitam.

Is it Really Worth the Trouble?

Lynn — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:09:25 +0000

Some things are hard for me to understand. Like why it's easier to dig iron ore from deep within the earth than to mine our nation's refuse heaps and scrap piles for discarded iron.

Hydraulic Fracturing Comes to Wisconsin

Lynn — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:11:35 +0000

As someone who follows U.S. water issues fairly closely, especially those associated with the water-energy "collision" as the Union of Concernced Scientists so aptly calls it, I thought that hydraulic fracturing was a distant concern for those of us who live in Wisconsin. The latest newsletter of the River Alliance of Wisconsin has corrected my error.

What's Food Got To Do With It?

Lynn — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:43:42 +0000

What does access to healthy food have to do with clean water? Bear with me for a minute, but hopefully you'll agree that there's a link.

Water Conservation at Wingspread

Lynn — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:38:15 +0000

Those of you who live in arid climates may find this hard to believe, but in the parts of Wisconsin that lie along Lake Michigan, water conservation isn't talked about much. Milwaukee is working hard to be an international water technology hub, supplying innovation to industry around the globe. But at the same time, the city is trying to attract water intensive industry by greatly reducing the price of its water for new industrial users and the closest that we come to hear

The Value of Clean Water: A Superior Perspective

Lynn — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:27:51 +0000

What’s water worth? It’s a frequent topic of conversation in my professional circles and perhaps yours as well.

Why Isn't Our Water That Clean?

Lynn — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:38:47 +0000

I recently returned from one of those magical summer vacations, this one catalyzed by the goal of reconnecting with Ingrid and Signe, our exchange student ‘daughters’, in their home countries of Norway and Denmark. I’m embarrassed to say that, with our family’s hectic schedules, the only advance planning we did focused on fundamentals like plane tickets and passports. The rest of our research was done literally ‘on the fly’, hovering over the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately for us, it all worked wonderfully well.

Big Vision: Re-inventing America's Urban Water Infrastructure

Lynn — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:21:31 +0000

I can't help but be hopeful about our ability to solve our country's overwhelming water challenges when I see the extraordinarily gifted and committed people trying to tackle these problems. It's one of the great parts of my job - to find these experts and to try to figure out how to help them advance their ideas.

Water-related Illness at Home

Lynn — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:52:10 +0000

If Janisse Ray was ‘poetry on fire’, Marc Gorelick was science on fire. Last Monday night, to a crowd of about 40 river lovers (aka, supporters of Milwaukee Riverkeeper®), Marc presented an overview of his research on whether or not the quality of our water and our infrastructure are making kids sick.

With Thanks to Janisse

Lynn — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:34:40 +0000

Poetry on fire. That’s the way Janisse Ray caught our attention, we 450 water warriors and river rats, assembled for the 2011 River Rally in Charleston, South Carolina. She stopped us cold with her poem, accelerated by passion. Seated with our lunches in the Charleston Convention Center ballroom, forks arrested mid-way to mouths, it would have been blasphemous to chew while the oracle dispensed manna from the river gods.

Slogging Through My Water Bill

Lynn — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:43:05 +0000

I’ve got water rates on my mind. I recently heard Sheila Olmstead, Fellow at Resources for the Future, speak on water pricing and she reminded me of Circle of Blue’s recent update of their survey on US water rates. And recently I was in Denver, having conversations about long-term water planning – something that is very much on Governor Hickenlooper’s mind.

So I got to thinking about my own water use, and dug out my most recent water bill from the City of Wauwatosa, WI where I live. I know that the city gives a nod to water conservation, but it isn’t high on the list of priorities for our municipal leaders, nor for the Milwaukee Water Works that supplies Wauwatosa’s water, and it is evident in the way we get billed for water. For starters, we are billed only once every three months: in May I received the bill for my water use from mid-December to mid-March. Definitely not designed to give the kind of feedback that gets customers to modify their behavior.

Good Guy Wins Big - Steve Carpenter Awarded Stockholm Water Prize

Lynn — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:00:33 +0000

I love it when the good guy wins, and today a very good guy won big. This morning I learned that Stephen R. Carpenter, Professor of Zoology and Limnology and faculty member in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is being awarded the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize.

Steve’s input and wisdom, gained from a lifetime of work on the ecology of aquatic systems, has been fundamental to The Johnson Foundation’s freshwater work. Despite his very busy schedule, he agreed to join us for one of our initial convenings in March, 2009 when we assembled a group of (mostly) scientists to address questions such as “What key problems are we facing in the US with freshwater systems and services?” and “which of these challenges are driven or exacerbated by climate change?”

Bringing Water to the Desert

Lynn — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:57:24 +0000

Las Vegas may not be the place you’d expect to go for a meeting on water and agriculture, but that’s where I was last week. The Family Farm Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated the preservation and enhancement of Western irrigated agriculture, was hosting its annual meeting there last week and invited me to moderate a panel on Charting New Waters. And since agriculture is the second largest user of water in the country (after power generation), this was an invitation I quickly accepted.

The four panelists who joined me each had been involved with The Johnson Foundation’s Freshwater Forum in recent years, and each had a different perspective on why the recommendations and process behind Charting New Waters are critical to achieving freshwater sustainability for the United States.

Water Smart, Energy Smart: Griffiths-Sattenspiel is both

Lynn — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:42:03 +0000

When you drive by an empty office building at night and see lights left on, you probably think about the energy that’s being wasted, but do you also think about the water that’s wasted while the electric meter spins? When you weigh your transportation options, you probably think about convenience, cost, and energy impacts, but do you think about water impacts?

Earlier this week, Bevan Griffiths-Sattenspiel, co-author of “The Carbon Footprint of Water”, a report on the tight relationship between water and energy consumption released last year by River Network, addressed a crowd at Wingspread. Like a hydrant opened on a hot summer day, Bevan poured forth with numbers, charts, trends, and images.

Water Scarcity and Municipal Bond Markets (or, Why it's Important to Talk to Strangers)

Lynn — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:37:14 +0000

GUEST POST BY WINGSPREAD'S ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM ASSOCIATE, SUSIE SEIDELMAN

As an environmentalist, I don’t often see other environmentalists actively partnering with financial management groups. Although I can’t be certain, I have a hunch financial managers would report similar findings – generally speaking, we operate in separate spheres, and don’t really pay attention to one another. Our worlds have some confluence, of course, but we don’t frequently have lunch together. Maybe we should work a little harder to make connections.

On the Waterfront

Lynn — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:55:27 +0000

On the waterfront – isn’t that where we all want to be? Riverfront, lakefront, oceanfront: this is always the most desirable, highest value real estate there is. We love to gaze upon it, swim in it, and fish its depths. Our lives, our businesses, and our souls depend on it. Why, then, aren’t we doing more to make sure that we’ll be able to count on it for generations to come?

Actually, a group of national leaders IS doing something about it. Four weeks ago The Johnson Foundation presented “Charting New Waters: A Call to Action to Address U.S. Freshwater Challenges” to the Obama Administration and to the public. The report is the culmination of an intensive two-year collaboration exploring solutions to U.S. freshwater challenges. The report identifies serious challenges to both water quality and water quantity in the U.S.

Setting it Straight on Wind Energy

Lynn — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:52:25 +0000

Wind farms are a common sight here in Wisconsin, and Milwaukee recently landed a contract to manufacture wind turbine components, so I naturally thought my adopted state was a leader in wind energy. Wrong.

Jeff Anthony of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently spoke to a packed house at Wingspread and set me straight. While the US is currently the lead nation in wind energy generation (with China predicted to surpass us shortly), Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for “installed capacity” relative to other U.S. states. The leading state is, not surprisingly, T. Boone Pickens’ home state of Texas. But I was surprised to learn that next in line is Iowa. Yes, Iowa. Iowa captures more wind energy thanCalifornia!

Stormwater: Up-Close and Personal

Lynn — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:42:04 +0000

Guest post by Wingspread's Graduate Fellow, Laura Maker

I've had the pleasure and fortune to spend my summer working at the Johnson Foundation, where for the last two months I've accumulated a great cache of hands-on learning experiences to take with me when I go. But last week I was able to take experiential learning to a new level when the subject of a Wingspread Briefing, stormwater, came literally flooding into my life and home.

On Wednesday the foundation hosted a briefing on Stormwater and Climate Change, presented by David Liebl, Stormwater Specialist with the UW-Cooperative Extension. David talked about the impacts climate change is expected to have on coastal communities, including the many Wisconsin cities and towns on the Great Lakes, as well as those on rivers and smaller lakes throughout the state. Although it's impossible to predict exactly how a warming planet will affect local areas, one thing that seems certain is rain events will become less predictable and more extreme. In the coming years and decades we can expect to see more droughts and more severe rain events and floods than ever before.

Remarks on Climate Change Adaptation

Lynn — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:04:39 +0000

On July 15th, 2010 I had the opportunity to address the White House's Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force during their meeting in Chicago. Here are my remarks, based entirely on the input we've heard through The Johnson Foundation Freshwater Forum:

Good afternoon, and thank you Chair Sutley and members of the task force for the opportunity to speak to you. I’d like to first commend you for taking on this critical issue of climate change adaptation, and leading our federal agencies to ensure we get out in front of this challenge.

The Johnson Foundation recognizes that water – in all its shapes and forms – is absolutely fundamental to the security and wellbeing of our nation. To some extent, water has become invisible to us – especially when, compared historically or to developing nations, ours is relatively clean, safe, plentiful and cheap. Hence we take it for granted, ignore the warning signs, and assume it will always be there for us.

Contaminants of Emerging Concern: Sound science, personal choice

Lynn — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:54:05 +0000

People who have worked with me long enough have heard me say “There’s perfect, and there’s done,” usually followed by “and I want ‘done.’” If they could read my internal voice, they’d also know that another of my mantras is “it’s never as simple as you think it’s going to be.” Both of these “isms” apply to the work of a group of scientists that met at Wingspread earlier this week.

Seventeen leading experts, from universities, manufacturing, and government, each of whom studies some aspect of the new chemicals being introduced into our environment, met for four days to develop a research framework that will address contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in a comprehensive, integrated way, and to coordinate research plans, engage the scientific community, and move toward real solutions to this problem.

Groundwater-borne Diseases Here at Home

Lynn — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:37:19 +0000

When it comes to water, we’re pretty lucky. If you’re reading this, you probably have access to toilets and adequate sewage treatment, and ready access to drinking water that doesn’t make you sick. Somewhere in the early to middle parts of the last century, we solved most of those problems, and then took it up a notch after the Clean Water Act was passed in 1973 so that our sewage wouldn’t (usually) reach our rivers and lakes. There are many members of our human family who don’t enjoy such privileges.

Earth Day Memories

Lynn — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:29:46 +0000

Here it is - Earth Day. This is the 40^th anniversary, which means that forty years ago today I was out picking up litter with my 5^th grade class in front of Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia where I grew up. If my teacher had simply told us it was Earth Day, I doubt I would still remember what I was doing on April 22^nd, 1970. But because we learned this date with our hands, it stuck.

Water Efficiency Makes Sense no Matter Where We Live

Lynn — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:33:58 +0000

Yesterday The Johnson Foundation had the pleasure of hosting Mary Ann Dickinson, President and CEO of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, for a presentation to a packed house of nearly 100. The audience was a mix of regional professionals working in water-related endeavors, elected officials, and interested citizens. From the engaged discourse that followed the formal presentation, it seemed that everyone left a little more knowledgeable than they were when they arrived.

I first came to know Dickinson when she presented at a national River Rally a few years ago. It was one of those ‘wow’ experiences

World Water Day, National Water Year

Lynn — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:55:15 +0000

The calendar may say that today is World Water Day, but at The Johnson Foundation it has been National Water Year for quite some time. As you may know, in 2009 we hosted a series of meetings with experts of all stripes, trying to discern the scope of freshwater problems in the U.S., and the various suggestions for how to better manage our water resources. We are now turning from this first phase, focused primarily on problem scoping and information gathering, to a second phase focused on action.

Phosphorus by the Numbers: Boston's Charles River

Lynn — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:18:45 +0000

It seems like everywhere we turn, there’s too much phosphorus in our waters. The resulting algal blooms are unsightly and frequently toxic. And of course, when the algae die and decompose, offensive odors and dead fish ensue. But you knew that.

Last week at the 2010 Marquette University Law School Conference on “Water and People” 300 of us had the pleasure of listening in on a presentation on how Boston can best combat the phosphorus problem in its beloved Charles River. Bob Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Charles River Watershed Association, led us through their analysis of phosphorus loadings in the Upper Charles River.

Water Hits the Bottom Line - Corporate Reporting on Water

Lynn — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:29:32 +0000

Let’s face it - water is a big concern for a lot of corporations. Beverage companies need it to make their product, power companies rely on for efficient cooling, energy extraction companies use it for forcing natural gas and tar sands out from bedrock, clothing manufacturers rely on water indirectly through their supply chains, and so on.

Getting Started

Lynn — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:14:55 +0000

Sort of a like a dog preparing to lie down, I’ve been circling around this blog thing for some time. When it was first suggested to me, I probably gave a verbal response that reflected my spirit of adventure about the concept. However, anyone able to read the thought bubble above my head would have seen something along the lines of “Are you freakin’ crazy?” But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I needed to make it happen.