Stories from the Floodplain

Providing safe, clean drinking water to all people is one of the most basic roles and responsibilities for a functioning civil society. Yet, 50 years after passing the Clean Water Act, the United States–the richest country in the history of the world–often falls short of this rather modest goal. Aging infrastructure, rising costs, and ineffective governance structures all impede the ability to deliver safe water to everyone in America. And, although it seems like drinking water should be non-partisan, it too can become a prisoner of the political and cultural fights that have woven their way into seemingly every aspect of American life.

In this episode, we speak with Anna-Lisa Castle, Policy Director, Clean Water & Equity at the Alliance for the Great Lakes about the challenges that communities face in ensuring clean water is available to all and the potential solutions.

Note for listeners–we recorded this before passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, so you will hear us lamenting the inability to move infrastructure legislation through Congress. That said, I don’t think anything we discussed has been made irrelevant as there’s still much to do with implementation of the law and there remains a long list of unfunded infrastructure projects that have to be addressed if we’re going to have clean water for all.

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The recent West Virginia v. EPA Supreme Court ruling has left the environmental community fearing the worst: a conservative Court hamstringing the EPA’s ability to tackle climate change. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the ruling with Professor Eric Freyfogle, legal scholar, author, and former Prairie Rivers Network board member. The conversation includes some spirited back-and-forth about the Court’s rationale for its decision, the legitimacy of the Court’s reasoning, and the broader implications for the environmental movement.

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The Mississippi River–America’s most iconic and storied river, and the lifeblood of human civilizations and cultures dating back centuries–has again been named to a list of the nation’s Most Endangered Rivers. In this episode, we speak with Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers’ Director of River Restoration in the Midwest about why the Mississippi is endangered and how a new proposal in Congress could unite Mississippi River states and kickstart much-needed environmental restoration across the region.

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Ethanol is promoted by industry as an environmentally-friendly renewable fuel source, but in reality, it’s actually fueling climate change.

In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, Prairie Rivers Network speaks with Dr. Tyler Lark from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He discusses his recent report on ethanol’s contribution to higher carbon emissions and how the nation’s landscape has been changed to satisfy its false promise.

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Illinois may not be the Sunshine State, but after last year’s monumental legislative achievement - the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act - renewable solar energy is more available and affordable than ever. And there are dedicated people throughout the state working to bring solar projects to communities and rooftops. That includes our latest guest.

In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, Prairie Rivers Network speaks with Bejeray Morrison, Solar for All program manager at Sunrun. PRN’s Robert Hirschfeld talks with her about her work, what shaped her path, and what the new solar opportunities in Illinois mean for Black communities.

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Each year, Prairie Rivers Network honors an individual whose on-the-ground efforts to protect the state’s rivers and streams inspire us. We present that person with the River Steward Award.

In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, Prairie Rivers Network speaks with this year’s River Steward Award winner Tracy Fox, a Peoria-area activist who got started by her interest in birding and who has now put her mark on Illinois’ energy future. We do a deep dive into the recently signed Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and what it means for Illinois communities.

There are many dedicated volunteers around our state who spend countless hours working to protect Illinois’ rivers. They educate us; they do the legwork; they speak the unpopular truths; they go above and beyond. We were humbled by our conversation with Tracy Fox and are extremely grateful for the work she has done to protect our environment.

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Could the answer to the climate and biodiversity crises be a new, more inclusive model for locally-led conservation of America’s lands and waters? In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, Prairie Rivers Network speaks with Tonyisha Harris, Chicagoland Conservation Manager at the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC). She talks about growing up and becoming an environmentalist on Chicago’s South Side and describes the importance of the 30x30 program, a nationwide effort to conserve 30 percent of the land and water of the United States by 2030.

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In April, the Illinois Pollution Control Board issued new rules on dealing with coal ash in the state. In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, Prairie Rivers Network discusses the implications for this new rule, how we got to where we are on coal ash, and why this new rule will help protect our water from the dangers of coal ash.

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The natural world is under multiple threats, many of which are complex and difficult to measure. Landowners, farmers, municipalities, and industries across the country apply pesticides at an alarming rate, attempting to conquer nature, maximize yields, and eliminate “pests” and “weeds.” These invisible chemicals often do not just harm the intended pests, they can cause enormous harm to native plant and wildlife species and can pose real threats to human health and water quality.

In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, we talk with Dr. Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity about the overuse of pesticides and the complexity of this problem. Dr. Donley describes how the regulatory system is rigged on behalf of the chemical companies and calls for environmental and public health advocates to have a say in setting the rules for whether and how poisons are applied to the land and water.

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Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is a renowned thought leader, internationally known speaker, policy maker, and the National Wildlife Federation Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization. He spoke at last year’s Prairie Rivers Network virtual annual dinner in October.

In this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, Dr. Ali discusses the new paradigm the country finds itself in, awakened to social and environmental justice, inclusion, and new opportunities to reconnect with what matters most.

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Prairie Rivers Network sits down to talk with Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. We discuss what the Biden administration and a new Congress mean for the environment and climate, the intense divide in the US, and how environmental groups and advocates are rethinking their identities at a time of social and political turbulence.

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Prairie Rivers Network sits down to talk with three different organizations making an impact on our food system: Dave Bishop’s PrairiErth Farm, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and Men of Power-Women of Strength. We discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed severe vulnerabilities in our food system, and how this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the system for the better.

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Prairie Rivers Network sits down to talk with Kimberly Neely du Buclet, a commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). We discuss what MWRD is currently doing to improve the lives of all Chicagoans, including addressing environmental racism. Commissioner du Buclet also talks about her experience as a life-long resident of the city, and how swimming in Lake Michigan and repeated household flooding inspired her to take up public office and improve water quality for all.

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Prairie Rivers Network sits down to talk with Dr. Rachel Havrelock, founder of the Freshwater Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago. We discuss why the US EPA is failing in its duty to enforce environmental protections and how new, watershed-based political institutions could fill the vacuum. We also touch upon how the COVID-19 crisis echoes and amplifies the legacy of industrial pollution in America.

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