Lynn's blog

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.

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.