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On the Water Front
Hosted by Lynn Broaddus, Ph.D. MBA | Director, Environment Programs
Taking One's Own Advice
Last week I had the opportunity to join a number of my Johnson Foundation colleagues for the annual dinner of the Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce (RAMAC). Racine is home to a number of manufacturers - RUUD Lighting, Emerson (parent company of Insinkerator), and Case Manufacturing, to name a few, as well as SC Johnson and Diversey, the two companies that generously provide the bulk of our foundation's budget.
Read MoreWater Conservation For Real
How many times have you seen a list of water-conservation tips that includes "Turn off the water when brushing your teeth"? I'm not sure about you, but when I read that I think "Really? Can't we do a little better?" Turning off the water while brushing or scrubbing is the least we can do. I say, let's take it up a notch. Here are a few rambling thoughts to get started:
Read MoreWater Infrastructure Report Resonates
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
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.
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Recycling Works: A Riff on Urban Mining
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.
Read MoreWe All Live on an Island - Part II
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.
Read MoreIs it Really Worth the Trouble?
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.
Read MoreHydraulic Fracturing Comes to Wisconsin
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.
Read MoreWhat's Food Got To Do With It?
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.
Read MoreWater Conservation at Wingspread
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
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