Stories from the Floodplain

Stories from the Floodplain

By Prairie Rivers NetworkSociety & Culture
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Stories from the Floodplain episodes

  • The Transition

    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.


    Links:

    Prairie Rivers Network (http://www.prairierivers.org/)

    National Wildlife Federation (https://www.nwf.org//)


    Take Action:


    Become a member of Prairie Rivers Network and connect with a community dedicated to protecting water. And sign up for our emails so you don’t miss new podcast episodes.


    Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/

    48 min
  • Shock to the Food System

    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.


    Links:


    Prairie Rivers Network (http://www.prairierivers.org/)

    PrairiErth Farm (https://www.prairierthfarm.com/PrairiErth_Farm/Home.html)

    Illinois Stewardship Alliance (https://www.ilstewards.org/)

    Men of Power-Women of Strength (https://www.facebook.com/mopwosinc/)



    Take Action:


    Become a member of Prairie Rivers Network and connect with a community dedicated to protecting water. And sign up for our emails so you don’t miss new podcast episodes.


    Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/

    32 min
  • Water Transcends Boundaries: A Conversation with Commissioner Kimberly Neely du Buclet

    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.


    Links:


    Prairie Rivers Network (www.prairierivers.org/)

    MWRD of Greater Chicago (www.mwrd.org)

    Kimberly Neely du Buclet (www.kim4water.com), Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

    Article: Enforcement around the Great Lakes (Chicago Tribune)


    Take Action:


    Become a member of Prairie Rivers Network and connect with a community dedicated to protecting water. And sign up for our emails so you don’t miss new podcast episodes.


    Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/

    36 min
  • Long Live the Great Lakes Republic: A Conversation with Dr. Rachel Havrelock

    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.


    Links:


    Prairie Rivers Network (www.prairierivers.org)

    Freshwater Stories (www.freshwaterstories.com)

    Freshwater Lab (www.freshwaterlab.org)

    International Joint Commission (https://ijc.org/en)

    Blacks in Green (www.blacksingreen.org/)

    Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (www.lvejo.org)

    Healing Our Waters (https://healthylakes.org/)

    Freshwater Future (https://freshwaterfuture.org/)


    Take Action:


    Become a member of Prairie Rivers Network and connect with a community dedicated to protecting water. And sign up for our emails so you don’t miss new podcasts.


    As Dr. Havrelock said, the closest thing we have to a vaccine right now is washing. No one should have their water shutoff. Urge your governor to enact a moratorium on water shutoffs during the pandemic by going here.


    Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

    41 min
  • An Engineering Paradigm
    Throughout history, humans have made efforts to control nature. We’ve built structures to keep rivers at bay and farmland and towns dry. But these structures have proven themselves to be far from perfect, and attempting to engineer America’s largest river has only made for worse flooding events.
    On this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, PRN staff member and host Ryan Grosso speaks with Army Corps engineers to discuss how we can return natural function to rivers and their floodplains while adapting to climate change and exacerbated flooding.
    Supplement Audio:
    CBS News
    KCTV News
    KHQ TV
    MSNBC
    PBS Newshour
    Music:
    Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com)
    “Cylinder Three” by Chris Zabriskie (Licensed under an Attribution License)
    Emotional Ambient - bdProductions
    When the Levee Breaks - Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie
    14 min
  • That Lawless Stream
    Mark Twain once wrote, “ten thousand River Commissions, with the mines of the world at their back, cannot tame that lawless stream, cannot curb it or confine it.” These words are immortalized in his book Life on the Mississippi, and it’s no argument the prolific author had a close relationship to the Mississippi River. But in a way, his warning has been lost with time. The Mississippi River is more constricted than ever by levees and flood protection measures.
    In some areas, agriculture and levee districts have raised their levees beyond authorized heights. If there is a severe flood, their land would stay dry while other places across the river, upstream, or downstream could experience up to 1.5 feet of extra water. This is an equity issue, one that must be told through the people affected by unlawful levees from their neighbors.
    On this episode of Stories from the Floodplain, join PRN staff member and host Ryan Grosso as he journeys to Hannibal, Missouri, to hear from people who are fearful of an age of ‘levee wars.’
    Supplement Audio:
    The Valley of the Giant - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    Life on the Mississippi - John Greenman, Librivox
    Music:
    Mississippi River Blues - Tommy Duncan and his Western All-Stars
    Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com)
    “Bumbler” by Andy G. Cohen (Released under a Creative Commons Attribution International License)
    Clocks - Adigold
    When the Levee Breaks - Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie
    20 min

About Stories from the Floodplain

From the publisher's feed

Stories from the Floodplain brings you stories and voices from the frontlines of the fight to protect our environment. Over the next few months, Prairie Rivers Network will talk with experts in many different fields, including water, climate, food, and environmental justice issues.