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On the Water Front
Hosted by Lynn Broaddus, Ph.D. MBA | Director, Environment Programs
Life Before the Clean Water Act
Two days ago, just in time for the American high holy day of Halloween, Marc and I returned from a vacation spent with my mother and her husband, Helen and Bob Payne. They now live in coastal South Carolina, but both are natives of Charleston, West Virginia. Having just reflected on the Clean Water Act's 40th anniversary, I thought I'd ask them what they remembered of West Virginia's waters before the Act came to pass.
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Clean Water Act - What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Today's the day. The 40th anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act. Among those of us professional environmentalists, there has been a lot of attention given to this anniversary, perhaps in no small part because of the intense pressure from some sectors to repeal or at least eviscerate the Act. Last week I joined about 180 celebrants at Milwaukee Riverkeeper's anniversary event, and tonight I will stop by a similar shindig in Madison, Wisconsin hosted by River Network, River Alliance of WI, Interfluve, and others.
Read MoreGreen Infrastructure Moves Toward the Center
Fall is always a busy season which, for me, generally includes a disorienting amount of travel and meetings, all of which is intensified by the exciting conversations and insightful people I meet along the way.
Read MoreSewer Scalping - Is the Fresh Coast ready for it?
At a recent Wingspread meeting, David Sedlak of UC-Berkeley made mention of "sewer scalping". My ears twitched, adjusting to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Read MoreThey Don't Know What They're Missing
Lake Michigan is beautiful year 'round, but there's only a short window of time when it's warm enough for enjoyable swimming. This summer, with its record-high temperatures, that window cranked open a bit early. This hit home for me on Saturday when my husband and I went kayaking. Wading into the water with my boat, the warm water lured me in. We'd had a fair amount of rain in the preceding days and Bender Park, where we put in, was closed for swimming due to the high bacterial count, but I made a mental note that the season had arrived.
Read MoreTaking 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.
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