Rachel’s Network will gather in Milwaukee in October to learn how we might address serious water challenges as funders and advocates. We are privileged to host some of the top advocates and scholars on water issues at this Fall Retreat. In advance of our Retreat, Rachel’s Network members shared their favorite books on water.
June 8th marks World Oceans Day, finally designated by the UN in 2010 to recognize the needs and contributions of 70% of the planet. Nowhere can we see more clearly the effects of the multiple stressors of a changing planet than in the shifting currents, changing chemistry, and warming waters of our global ocean. Ocean acidification (OA) is the term we have given to the changing chemistry. So what does it mean and how does it happen?
As a mother of two “20-something” daughters in a time of global warming, Rebecca Wodder is deeply worried about their future. Rising temperatures and sea levels, extreme floods and droughts, devastating forest fires and landslides, and other climate-related catastrophes will stress our communities and threaten our society. Given the global magnitude of the problem and the reluctance of our nation’s leaders to take timely action, what’s a mother to do? Rebecca turns to lessons from her 40 years as an environmental advocate and courageous stories from others to find hope.
Most of the discussion about coal’s negative impacts revolves around carbon emissions, but coal ash – the solid byproduct of burning coal – is a significant problem in its own right. The US produces 130 million tons of heavy metal-laden coal ash every year, in communities around the country, and the dump sites are not consistently or adequately regulated. That’s why Rachel’s Network member Mary Bookwalter teamed up with fellow member and Earth Focus producer Raisa Scriabine to produce America’s Dirty Secret: Coal Ash. You can watch the full episode here.
While doing field work in the Bahamas for her master’s degree in marine conservation, Martha Davis experienced firsthand the alarming decline of the islands’ queen conch population, a species of edible mollusk. Her nonprofit, Community Conch, conducts conch population surveys and advocates for conservation efforts to preserve this vital species. “With the support of the Department of Marine Resources and the Bahamas National Trust, we are using the information we collected at stakeholders meetings to reform regulations. It has been very rewarding to present our data at conferences and have scientists from the Bahamas and other Caribbean countries thank us for our work,” Martha says.
