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The River Blog
Ecosystem-based climate adaptation at… the World Bank?
(03/15/10) | Filed Under: Global Warming , Restoring Rivers , Small Streams & Wetlands , Storage & Stream Flows , Stormwater & Sewage by Will Hewes
“An essential component of adaptation is the protection and restoration of ecosystems and the habitats, natural resources, and services they provide.”
You’re probably assuming this quote was lifted from American Rivers’ latest report on climate adaptation, right?
(Read more)National Flood Awareness Week Brings New Attention to Natural Alternatives
(03/15/10) | Filed Under: Floods & Floodplains , Restoring Rivers by Serena McClain
Today kicks off National Flood Safety Awareness Week, and as I grabbed my umbrella for the fourth day in a row, I couldn’t help but think that mother nature was really trying to hammer this point home. (Read more)
Funding Green Infrastructure in Pennsylvania
(03/09/10) | Filed Under: Clean Water by Katherine Baer
The stimulus spending for water infrastructure has spurred a change in the way that many states are approaching clean water by promoting green infrastructure and water efficiency. American Rivers staffer Liz Garland just finished a report “Funding Green Infrastructure in Pennsylvania,” and she writes...
(Read more)Unsafe Dams Threaten Communities Nationwide
(03/08/10) | Filed Under: Dams & Dam Removal , Restoring Rivers by Brian Graber
There are few things as scary as a dam failing in the middle of the night, with vulnerable communities just downstream. But that’s exactly what happened last week in Massachusetts. Luckily nobody was harmed when the 300 year old dam in Freetown breached, but it is a sober reminder of the threat unsafe dams pose to thousands of communities across the country.
(Read more)And the Oscar goes to…the effort to remove Matilija Dam!
(03/08/10) | Filed Under: Dams & Dam Removal , Restoring Rivers by Amy Souers Kober
Imagine my surprise watching the Oscars last night when, during a break from the glitz and the gowns, there was Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, in a commercial talking about dam removal!
(Read more)Building Smart to Protect Clean Water
(03/08/10) | Filed Under: Clean Water by Katie Swartz
The way we build and develop has a major impact on clean water and the health of our rivers. Low Impact Development (LID) is a method of designing and planning that promotes the natural flow of water. For example, components of LID can include rain gardens and green roofs – features that naturally filter out pollution.
(Read more)The Al Gore of Water?
(03/04/10) | Filed Under: Global Warming by Amy Souers Kober
Author Steven Solomon has suggested our country needs an Al Gore for water – an advocate who will do for water what the former vice president has done for climate change. Solomon just might be the voice we need to focus public attention on the problems – and solutions – for the future of clean water.
(Read more)Clean Drinking Water At-Risk
(03/04/10) | Filed Under: Clean Water , Water Supply by Katherine Baer
Over a year ago, I wrote that passing the Clean Water Restoration Act was one of the top priorities for clean water – and it still is. Already it’s been clear that we are losing protections for our small streams and wetlands that provide drinking water for 117 million Americans. As a result of confusing Court cases that place environmental officials in the position of proving again and again and again that small streams flow downstream and are connected to our big rivers, the scope of clean water safeguards has declined significantly.
(Read more)American Rivers Receives Grant to Restore Two of the Nation’s Largest Rivers
(03/03/10) | Filed Under: Restoring Rivers by Amy Souers Kober
I’m excited to officially announce that American Rivers is the recipient of a 2010 Conservation Grant from Orvis. Through matching donations from its customers, Orvis has pledged up to $120,000 to help with restoration projects on California’s Sacramento River and the Yellow Breeches watershed in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River basin.
(Read more)A renewed call for climate action
(03/02/10) | Filed Under: Global Warming by Will Hewes
In recent months, many have been preparing the eulogy for climate legislation in the U.S. Senate. Especially in the wake of a Massachusetts election that saw Democrats slip below the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, there has been little hope of late for a meaningful climate bill. As legislation has stalled, climate skeptics have stepped up their attacks on the science of climate change and have worked feverishly to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
(Read more)
