waterloop

Venky Raghavendra is Vice President of Advancement for the Safe Water Network. In this episode Venky discusses social entrepreneurship and why it has a vital role in addressing water challenges around the world. He explains how the Safe Water Network emphasizes market-based solutions to provide access to water for people in India and Ghana. Venky also talks about a virtual global convening of youn...

Fred Tutman is the Patuxent Riverkeeper. In this episode Fred discusses his experiences as a Black man working in the overwhelmingly white environmental field and shares his perspective on the increased attention from organizations on people of color and diversity. He explains why he refers to it as environmental injustice and why ensuring clean water is part of delivering equity broadly for Black...

Erin Savage is Central Appalachian Senior Program Manager for Appalachian Voices. In this episode Erin explains the practice of mountaintop removal for coal mining, which has destroyed more than 500 mountaintops, 1.2 million acres of forest, and 2,000 miles of streams in the Appalachians. She discusses the harmful impacts to communities including contaminated drinking water, increased flooding, an...

Howard Neukrug is the Executive Director of The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania. In this episode Howard discusses why there is always activity and innovation around water in the Philadelphia area. He says that The Water Center at Penn is focused on applied research to solve urban water challenges, with faculty, staff, and students all contributing. Howard explains why integrated wat...

Sharee Williamson is Associate General Counsel at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In this episode Sharee discusses the wide range of historic places and national treasures that are connected to water. She explains that impacts of climate change such as sea-level rise, stronger coastal storms, and flooding from intense rainfall are threatening many historic sites like Charleston, S.C....

Dan Shapley is the Water Quality Program Director at Hudson Riverkeeper. In this episode Dan discusses various challenges the Hudson River faces as it flows from the Adirondack Mountains to New York City, which include legacy PCB pollution and emerging PFAS problems. He explains how the movement to protect the Hudson eventually spawned the global Riverkeeper program. Dan also talks about the impor...

Fay Hartman is the Conservation Director of the Colorado River Basin Program at American Rivers. In this episode Fay talks about the federal government’s history of investing in river and water projects that damage rivers and perpetuate injustices against people of color and low-income communities. She discusses how rivers are powerful economic drivers, particularly through recreation and tourism,...

Travis Thompson is the Communications Manager at Denver Water. In this episode Travis discusses the utility’s ambitious plan to remove between 64,000 to 84,000 lead water pipes over the next 15 years. He explains the decision to take a proactive approach to protecting customers from lead and why replacing pipes was chosen over changes to water chemistry. Travis also talks about the extensive outre...

Steve Davis is Senior Ecologist and Communications Director at the Everglades Foundation. In this episode Steve describes the unique landscape, hydrology, and wildlife of the Florida Everglades. He talks about the need to restore water flow and improve water quality in the Everglades, as well as build the ecosystem’s resilience to climate change. Steve says there are positive signs of restoration...

Marleah LaBelle is Owner of Turning Pages Consulting and a Tribal member of the Native Village of Port Graham, Alaska. In this episode Marleah discusses the place of water in Alaska Native culture and how the lack of running water in many villages negatively impacts health and well-being. She talks about Alaska Natives feeling marginalized and struggling for environmental justice. Marleah also exp...

Anne Schechinger is Senior Economics Analyst at the Environmental Working Group. In this episode Anne discusses new research from EWG that shows nitrate contamination of drinking water increasing across 10 states. She explains that nitrate is a health risk for infants and is tied to increased risk of several types of cancer. Anne says nitrate is a primary component of fertilizers and manure that c...

Tim Wheeler is Associate Editor and Senior Writer for the Bay Journal. In this episode Tim discusses the current health of the Chesapeake Bay and the status of key indicators of nutrients, underwater grasses, and blue crabs. He talks about progress toward meeting the “pollution diet” for the Chesapeake by 2025 and the politics among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and states of Maryland,...

Julia Stein is Project Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. In this episode Julia discusses the scope of single-use plastic production and pollution, why recycling isn’t an adequate solution, and the importance of source control. She explains the various laws found at the local level on plastic, including...

Chad Nelsen is the CEO of the Surfrider Foundation. In this episode Chad discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted beach access and surfing, and how the Surfrider Foundation assembled an expert task force to provide recommendations on public access. He explains that this is also a challenging time for the organization’s federal policy goals as it mostly plays defense against...

Ramiro Diaz is Senior Project Designer with Waggonner & Ball, an architecture and environment firm based in New Orleans. In this episode Ramiro explains the firm’s Living With Water approach to design that revolves around water sustainability, climate resilience, and community livability. He discusses projects including the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, Mirabeau Water Garden, and Dutch...

John Deignan is Lead Free DC Program Manager at DC Water. In this episode John says there are more than 20,000 lead drinking water lines on private property in Washington, DC and the utility’s new program provides funding for replacement and requires disclosure of lead by landlords and property sellers. He discusses the financial and logistical challenges of replacing lead lines and how DC Water b...

Rob Puentes is the President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation. In this episode Rob discusses various intersections of water and transportation, including the challenges and opportunities with both types of infrastructure simultaneously in need of massive investment to modernize and expand. He talks about the impact that paved surfaces such as highways and roads have on stormwater pollu...

Carla Burns is a Research and Database Analyst with the Environmental Working Group. In this episode Carla discusses the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens, including EWG’s review of more than 1,300 products that found only 25 percent offer sufficient protection and don’t contain ingredients of concern such as oxybenzone. She explains that the best sunscreens are mineral-based and offer broad-...

Nancy Stoner is the President of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network. In this episode Nancy describes how the health of the “Nation’s River” has significantly improved over the past several decades and how it is doing today. She discusses the continued sources of pollution to the Potomac River, which includes agriculture in the rural part of the watershed and stormwater in the urban areas, particularl...

Tiffani Ashley Bell is the Executive Director of The Human Utility. In this episode Tiffani talks about the impacts on a person when their water is shut off and how The Human Utility pays water bills to restore service in Detroit and Baltimore. She explains how families, elderly, and those with health issues are among the priorities for assistance and the positive feeling when they can be helped....

Mathew Hauer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Florida State University who studies the impacts of climate change on society. In this episode Mathew explains that an estimated 13 million Americans will need to move because of rising sea levels by the end of the century. He discusses how these climate refugees from coastal areas in states like Florida, Louisiana, the Carolinas, and Virginia...

Kara Meyer is the Managing Director of + POOL, a nonprofit working to build a swimming pool in the East River in New York City. In this episode Kara discusses the vision for + POOL including how it would filter river water and provide a recreational resource for New Yorkers. She explains the time-consuming process of gaining various approvals and building necessary support that is underway. Kara a...

Vaughn Hagerty is the Public Information Officer for the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in Wilmington, North Carolina. In this episode Vaughn discusses the discovery that GenX, a PFAS chemical, was dumped into the Cape Fear River for nearly 40 years by Chemours, a DuPont spin-off company, and ended up in local drinking water. He talks about the community’s response, the agreement reached with...

La’Meshia Whittington-Kaminski is Deputy Political Director for Advance Carolina and Organizing Campaigns Director for the NC Black Alliance. In this episode La’Meshia explains how the environmental justice movement began in North Carolina and the disproportionate impacts that low-income communities and communities of color have faced in the state, including GenX in drinking water, pollution from...

Rob Bilott is an environmental attorney and author of Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont. In this episode Rob details his two-decade legal fight to reveal the harm done by PFAS to people in Parkersburg, W.V. and to call widespread attention to the unique threat the “forever chemicals” pose to human health. He discusses how it feels to be t...