CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:22). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-28-22. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 31, 2022. MUSIC – ~12 sec – instrumental. That’s part of “Citizen of the World,” by the Virginia band No Strings Attached.  Since January 12, the 2022 Virginia General Assembly has been doing the business of the citizens of the world that live in the Commonwealth, as the members consider over 2400 bills and resolutions, including the proposed budget for the next two fiscal years. This is Virginia Water Radio’s annual episode giving youa chance to imagine being an Assembly member, and to consider how you’d vote on some measures that directly or indirectly affect water.  I’ll briefly describe eight measures.  After each description, you’ll have a few seconds of a ticking clock sound to decide if you would vote for or against the idea, and then I’ll give the measure’s status, as of January 28. No. 1.  House Bill 1261 would require that members of the Air Pollution Control Board, Waste Management Board, and State Water Control Board be appointed by the governor, Senate Committee on Rules, and Speaker of the House, instead of just by the governor, as done currently; and it would prevent such boards from issuing any permit, or from changing or denying any permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality.  [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a House committee. No. 2.  Senate Bill 532 would repeal the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act, passed in 2020, and require suspension of Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. a market-based carbon-trading program.  [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a Senate committee. No. 3.  House Bill 602 would create a Commonwealth Flood Board and a Department of Flood Control.  [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a House committee. No. 4.  House Bill 899 would direct the State Water Control Board to regulate aboveground storage tanks of over 250 gallons that contain hazardous substances other than oil.  SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a House committee. No. 5.  Senate Bill 538 would establish a Seafood Industry Employment Ombudsman to assist employees and employers understand the rights and processes available to them.  SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a Senate committee. No 6.  House Bill 1011 would direct the Department of Health to study the occurrence in Virginia’s drinking water of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS.  SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a House committee. No. 7.  House Bill 577 would direct the Department of Environmental Quality to compile a list of stormwater systems in the Commonwealth and document the impact of flooding on such systems.  SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was yet to be assigned to a House committee. And No. 8.  House Bill 1200 would prohibit the siting of any new municipal solid waste landfill within one mile upgradient of any existing private well.  [SOUND – ~3 sec – ticking]  The bill was in a House committee. These measures all involve much

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:34). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-21-22. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 24, 2022.  This revised episode from February 2019 is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. MUSIC – ~18 sec – Lyrics: “Now my house is feelin’ empty, and the trees are bare.” This week, that excerpt of “Cold World,” by Blacksburg, Va., musician Kat Mills, opens an episode on the differences among three kinds of frozen precipitation experienced when Virginia’s world turns cold.  We set the stage with some winter-storm mystery sounds, including one of those kinds of precipitation.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds and see if you can guess what kind of falling frozen water you’re hearing. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} SOUND and RADIO VOICE  - ~18 sec – “Rest of tonight: rain or snow until midnight; then snow or sleet or rain or freezing rain.  Snow and sleet accumulation up to one inch; additional ice accumulation around a trace.” If you guessed sleet, you’re right!  You heard sleet falling in Blacksburg on February 17, 2019, along with a NOAA Weather Radio winter storm forecast for Southside Virginia on February 19, 2019.  As the Weather Radio forecast shows, winter storms in Virginia can bring a hard-to-predict mix—some might say, mess—of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.  What’s alike and what’s different among these three precipitation types? All typically start as snow high up in in the atmosphere, where collections of ice crystals combine into snowflakes.  If those flakes encounter only sub-freezing air as they fall, they’ll reach the ground as snow.  If, however, snowflakes encounter a warmer air mass on their way down, sleet or freezing rain can result.   If that warm air mass is relatively narrow and more cold air is encountered below it, the melted flakes can refreeze and fall to the ground as pellets of sleet.   On the other hand, if that warm air mass is wide and reaches relatively close to the ground, cold, liquid raindrops can fall and, upon contact with surfaces at sub-freezing temperature, turn into coatings of ice—that’s freezing rain. Predicting whether a storm will result in snow, sleet, freezing rain, or just rain is complicated for forecasters.  And, of course, it’s crucial for public safety.   While sleet may have relatively less impact, we all know the challenges of snow, and significant accumulations of freezing rain—also called ice storms—can be especially hazardous from slick roads and downed trees and powerlines. Thanks to Kat Mills for permission to use this week’s opening music.  We close with some other music that sounds something like sleet, its composer has said, with a title that fits the reaction of many children to snow.  Here’s about 15 seconds of “Pure Joy,” by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Va. MUSIC – ~ 15 sec – instrumental. SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah”

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:39). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-14-22. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 17, 2022.  This revised episode from January 2016 is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. MUSIC – ~12 sec – instrumental. With a winter storm state of emergency declared by Virginia’s governor on January 14, that excerpt from “Drive the Cold Winter Away,” by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Va., sets the stage for a winter word whirlwind!  Have a listen for about 15 seconds to a series of mystery guest voices, and see if you know what all of these voices would be saying in English.  And if you’ve been shoveling, plowing, or sledding, you probably don’t need a hint! VOICES and INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC- ~15 sec – “Die shney. Der Schnee. Sneg. La neige. La neve. La nieve. Xuĕ. Salji. If you guessed snow, you’re right!  You heard the words for snow in Yiddish, German, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Malay.  Even within individual languages, snow can have many names.  The Inuit people of the Arctic region, for example, have different terms for falling snow, snow that collects on trees, snow on the ground, wind-beaten snow, drifting snow, and many others.  Snow scientists, too, use different terms to distinguish types of snow crystals, snowfalls, and snow conditions on the ground.  Columns, plates, needles, stellar crystals, and irregular crystals are some of the terms used by scientists to describe snowflake types.  And can you guess what term encompasses not only snow and ice on land but all of the frozen water on earth? If you said cryosphere, you’re a snow genius! Thanks to several Blacksburg residents for lending their voices to this episode.  Thanks also to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “Drive the Cold Winter Away.” MUSIC -- ~24 sec – instrumental. SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 300, 1-25-16. “Drive the Cold Winter Away” is a traditional tune performed by Timothy Seaman and Phillip Skeens on the 1998 album “Celebration of Centuries,” copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  More information about Mr. Seaman’s music is available online http://timothyseaman.com/.  This selection was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 553, 11-30-20. Thanks to several Blacksburg, Va., residents for recording snow terms on January 20, 2016. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this epis

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:49). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-7-22. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 10, 2022. VOICES – ~12 sec – “The House will please come to order. Members, please take their seats.” “The Senate will come to order. The senators will please take their seats.” That was House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax calling to order, respectively, the House of Delegates and the Senate as the Virginia General Assembly convened on January 13, 2021.  This week, those sounds open Virginia Water Radio’s annual introduction to the General Assembly, which convenes this year on January 12.  We set the stage with about 40 seconds of music whose lyrics capture some of the efforts and challenges at work in each General Assembly.  Here’s part of “Try to Change It,” by Bob Gramann of Fredericskburg, Va., from his 2001 album “See Farther in the Darkness.” MUSIC – ~41 sec – Lyrics: “Gotta focus, time is growin’ short.  I beg for concentraion, I count on your support.  If it weren’t so difficult, I’d have finished yesterday; ask me just what I need: I need another day.   Try to change it, but I can’t change it; locomotive rolls on through hills and snow and rain.  Try to change it; why can’t I change it?  Strength of will, push and pull, I’m bettin’ on that train.” The Virginia General Assembly—consisting of 100 members of the House of Delegates and 40 members of the Senate—convenes in Richmond each year on the second Wednesday in January.  So-called “long sessions” scheduled for 60 days are held in even-numbered years, while 30-to-45-day “short sessions” are held in odd-numbered years.  A new biennial budget is proposed in each even-numbered year session for the upcoming two fiscal years, while amendments to the current budget may be considered every year. Besides the budget, the General Assembly typically considers two-to-three thousand bills and resolutions.  In recent years about 150 to 200 of those bills and resolutions have related to water resources, either directly through impacts on aquatic environments, fisheries, water supplies, or other water uses, or indirectly through impacts on energy and land uses that, in turn, affect water.  The budget also affects water, particularly through funding of natural resource-related departments, such as Conservation and Recreation, Environmental Quality, Wildlife Resources, and the Marine Resources Commission. Action on measures in the General Assembly involves sub-committees, full committees, and floor debate.  Passed bills go to the governor for approval, veto, or proposed changes, and bills with a governor’s veto or proposed changes return to the Assembly for further consideration during a reconvened session, usually held in April.   All along the way, citizens, interest groups, and other stakeholders vie to have a say through information and opinions.  You can join in by following the Assembly’s work and by communicating with your local delegate or senator about issues of concern. Tools to help you do so are available online at virginiageneralassembly.gov. Thanks to Bob Gramann for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 10 more seconds of “Try to Change It.” MUSIC – ~12 sec – Lyrics: “Strength of will, push and pull, I’m bettin’ on that train.” SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:20). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-31-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 3, 2022.  This revised episode from January 2014 is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. For this first week of 2022, we listen in on one Virginian’s annual New Year’s challenge to the laws of physics and chemistry—water-temperature physics and chemistry, that is.  Have a listen for about 35 seconds. SOUNDS AND VOICE - ~35 sec – “It’s the New Year, on the shore of the New River. It’s 22 degrees and perfect time for a swim. Happy New Year, everyone! Happy New Year! [Series of exclamations about the cold.] Ah, welcome to Antarctica.” You’ve been listening to Blacksburg resident Alan Moore during the 2014 version of his annual New Year’s Day wade into the New River.  The watery welcome to that January 1st—unaided by a wet-suit—lasted only a few seconds, not as much because of the 22-degree air temperature as because of the 39-degree water temperature.  Water that cold can cause exhaustion or unconsciousness within 15 to 30 minutes, and even water at 60 or 70 degrees can be dangerously chilling over one to two hours, depending on a person’s body size and other factors. Water’s capacity to chill a human body is much greater than that of air at the same temperature, for two reasons.  First, liquids generally conduct heat more rapidly than gases, because liquids are denser (that is, the molecules are closer together).  And second, liquid water has chemical attractions between molecules that can absorb high amounts of energy, such as heat energy coming from a person’s body.  These and other interactions among water, heat, and temperature are part of water’s thermodynamics, and they exert a big influence on weather, aquatic environments, biology, and taking a plunge on New Year’s or any other day. Thanks to Alan Moore for lending his voice and wade-in sounds to this episode.  We close this first episode of the New Year with about 45 seconds of music to give a hydrological hello to 2022. Here’s “New Year’s Water,” by Torrin Hallett, a graduate student at the Yale School of Music. MUSIC - ~46 sec – instrumental. SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 195, 1-6-14. Thanks to Alan Moore for allowing Virginia Water Radio to record sounds during his annual New River wade-in on January 1, 2014. “New Year’s Water” is copyright 2016 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  Thanks very much to Torrin for composing the piece especially for Virginia Water Radio.  Torrin is a 2018 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio; a 2020 graduate in Horn Performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York; and a 2021 graduate of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.  He is currently a graduate student at the Yale School of Music. More information about Torrin is available online at https://www.facebook.com/torrin.hallett.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio in Episode 349, 1-2-17. Click here if you’d like to hear

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:31). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-24-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 27, 2021.  SOUND - ~ 5 sec That’s the sound of a Belted Kingfisher at Stroubles Creek in Blacksburg, Va., on December 21, 2021.  The year-end chattering of Virginia Water Radio’s favorite bird sets the stage for our annual look-back on Water Radio’s year.  We start with a medley of mystery sounds and voices from six episodes in 2021.  Have a listen for about 40 seconds, and see how many you recognize. SOUNDS – ~38 sec If you guessed all of most of those, you’re a water-sound world champion! You heard Brimley’s Chorus Frog; Virginia Tech graduate Maddy Grupper discussing her research on public trust in water systems; Virginia Tech’s siren used for tornado warnings; names of some 2021 Atlantic tropical cyclones; Canvasback ducks; and ice on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County, Va. Thanks to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources for permission to use the chorus frog sound; to Lang Elliott for the Canvasback sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs; to Maddy Grupper for the episode on her research; and to Blacksburg friends for the tropical cyclone name call-outs. We close out 2021 with a two-minute sample of music heard in episodes this year.  Here are excerpts of “Wade in the Water,” by Torrin Hallett; “Racing the Sun,” by the Faux Paws; “All Creatures Were Meant to Be Free,” by Bob Gramann; “John Ashe’s Spring,” by New Standard; “The Coming Spring,” by Andrew VanNorstand with vocalist Kailyn Wright; and “On a Ship,” by Kat Mills, with violinist Rachel Handman. Thanks to those musicians for permission to use their music. So long, soon, to 2021, and here’s hoping for a safe, sound, and sufficiently hydrated 2022. MUSIC – ~105 sec From “Wade in the Water” - ~18 sec – instrumental. From “Racing the Sun” - ~20 sec – instrumental. From “All Creatures Were Meant to be Free” - ~10 sec – instrumental. From “John Ashe’s Spring” - ~13 sec – instrumental. From “The Coming Spring” - ~20 sec – Lyrics: “I went outside, the rain fallin’ on the branches bare.   And I smiled, ‘cause I could feel a change in the air.” From “On a Ship” - ~25 sec – Lyrics: “We are riding on a ship.” SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sounds Used and Their Previous 2021 Virginia Water Radio Episodes (Listed in order heard in this episode’s audio) The Belted Kingfisher sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio at Stroubles Creek in Blacksburg, Va., December 21, 2021. The sound of Brimley’s Chorus Frog was from “The Calls of Virginia Frogs and Toads” CD, copyright 2008 by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (now the Virginia Departmen

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:18). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-17-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 20, 2021. MUSIC – ~14 sec - - Lyrics: “When the rains come, when the rains come, is it gonna be a new day?” That’s part of “Rains Come,” by the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Va.-based band The Steel Wheels, from their 2019 album “Over the Trees.”  It opens an update of a previous episode on the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan—an effort to prepare for and adapt to sea-level rise, recurrent flooding, and impacts of climate change.  As in the earlier episode, we set the stage with part of “Cypress Canoe,” by Bob Gramann of Fredericksburg, Va., from his 2019 album “I Made It Just for You.”  The song’s a commentary on the current and potential impacts of sea-level rise, and in the part you’ll hear, the story-teller bemoans a lack of planning and action to avoid or reduce such impacts. Have a listen for about 20 seconds. MUSIC – ~18 sec – Lyrics: “Half of a city awash in the tides; when I think of what happened, it tears my insides. Oh, we could’ve been smarter, we could’ve have planned, but the world caught a fever, infected by man.” Facing current and predicted impacts to coastal areas from sea-level rise and recurrent flooding, Virginia has started planning.   On December 7, 2021, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced completion of Phase One of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan.  Work on the plan started about four years ago accelerated after the November 2020 release of a planning framework identifying guiding principles and specific steps to complete the plan.  Since then, a technical study, the work of a technical advisory committee, and input from some 2000 stakeholders have helped form the plan. The 266-page plan covers the area of Virginia from the Fall Line to the Atlantic coastline, which includes about six million residents.  For those areas, the plan identifies vulnerabilities to, and impacts from, current and expected sea-level rise and increased flooding.  It focuses on ways the Commonwealth can increase resilience, which the plan defines as “the capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards to minimize damage to social well-being, health, the economy, and the environment.”  A Coastal Resilience Database compiled for the plan includes over 500 examples of projects to adapt to changing conditions and of initiatives to build capacity in information, skills, and tools.  Funding for such efforts may come from various sources, but one key source is the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 2020 and using money accrued from the auction of carbon allowances. Implementation of the plan will be managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation in cooperation with the Commonwealth’s Chief Resilience Officer and the Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection.  Phase Two of the plan, with more data and project information, is to be completed by 2024, and updates to the whole plan are supposed to occur every five years. According to the plan’s impact assessment, between now and 2080 Virginia is projected to face large increases in residents exposed to coastal flooding, in flood property damage, in roadway miles exposed to chronic flooding, and in losses of tidal wetlands, dunes, and beaches.  As Gov. Northam stated in a December 7 letter accompanying the plan’s release, the plan provides a “clearer picture of the scope and scale” of these challenges, catalogs current resilience efforts, and identifi

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:08). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-10-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 13, 2021.  This revised episode from December 2015 is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. SOUNDS – 7 sec This week, the sound of Mallard ducks on a December day in Blacksburg, Va., is the call to explore the annual Christmas Bird Count, organized by the National Audubon Society. Since 1900, the Society has helped organize volunteers to hold local daylong bird counts between December 14 and January 5.  On any single day within that period, volunteer counters follow specific routes within a 15-mile diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear.  The count provides a snapshot both of the species encountered and of the numbers of individuals within each species.  According to the Society, this effort is the “longest running community science bird project” in the United States, and it actually takes place now in over 20 countries in the Western Hemisphere.  The results of such a long-term inventory help show the status of bird populations and the impacts of changes in habitat, climate, and other environmental conditions. Of course, birds living around water and wetlands are part of the annual count; in fact, the Audubon Society’s founding in the late 1800s was due largely to concerns over commercial use of plumes from egrets and other wading birds.  [Additional note, not in audio: This refers to the founding in 1896 of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the first state-level affiliate of the National Audubon Society, founded in 1905.  For more information on this history, see the Extra Information section below.] So what kinds of water-related birds might Virginia Christmas bird counters find?  Have a listen for about 20 seconds to this sample of four possible species. SOUNDS - 23 sec The Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Ring-billed Gull, and Greater Yellowlegs are among the many water-related birds that inhabit parts of Virginia during winter, including shorebirds, ducks, herons, and lots of others.  Keeping track of these and other feathered Virginia winter residents is a holiday tradition for many Commonwealth citizens with patience, binoculars, and attentive eyes and ears. Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the eagle, kingfisher, gull, and yellowlegs sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs. Here's hoping that Virginia’s Christmas bird counters find good variety and high numbers this year.  We close with a U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service recording of another Virginia water-related winter resident, the Common Loon, a species that some diligent coastalVirginia counter might spot or hear on a winter day or night. SOUNDS - ~6 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you fo

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:36). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images A Question about Freezing Water and Animals Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-3-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 6, 2021.  This revised episode from January 2018 is part of a series this year of winter-relatedepisodes. SOUND – ~8 sec That’s the sound of ice on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County, Va., during a January day in 2018.  The sounds set the stage for a freezing-water episode written for Virginia science students in early elementary school, that is, about kindergarten to third grade. You’re about to hear two kinds of mystery sounds.  When you do, see if you can answer this riddle: How are the two kinds of sounds the same, but also different?  Here are the sounds. SOUNDS – ~10 sec If you guessed that both sounds were water being put into a glass, you’re right!  But the first sound was water as a liquid, while the second was ice, or water frozen into a solid. Now here are two more kinds of mystery sounds.  Try again to guess what they are. SOUNDS – ~8 sec Those were sounds of liquid water flowing in a creek, followed by pieces of ice on the creek’s edge breaking off and splashing into the flowing water.  Just like a freezer can turn liquid household water into ice cubes, winter weather can often stay below 32 degrees Fahrenheit long enough to freeze some of the water on land or in a pond, creek, river, or even the ocean.  And there are many words for different kinds of ice in those places, like anchor ice, flake ice, needle ice, pancake ice, and sea ice. Let’s try one more pair of mystery sounds, this time about ice safety. SOUND – ~7 sec Any guesses about what you heard?  The first was small rocks bouncing on an ice-covered pond, but the second was that pond’s ice breaking and sinking.  That’s a reminder that thin ice can hold pebbles, but ice has to be solid and at least about four inches thick to hold people, and ice thickness can be different in different spots.  Ice is never 100-percent safe, according to natural resource experts from Minnesota, where they have plenty of experience with ice-covered water.  But even with thin ice, it’s safe—and fun—to stand on the bank and see how far a pebble can bounce! SOUND – ~3 sec – Pebbles bouncing on ice-covered pond. We close with about 45 seconds of music for freezing water.  Here’s “Ice Dance,” by Torrin Hallett, a student at the Yale School of Music. MUSIC – ~47 sec – instrumental. SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 408, 1-15-18. The Claytor Lake ice sounds were recorded at the Sloan Creek inlet of the lake, near Draper in Pulaski County, Va., on January 6, 2018. The st

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:17). Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-26-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 29, 2021.  This episode is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. MUSIC – ~10 sec – instrumental. That excerpt of “Mid-winter Etude,” by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Va., opens our annual episode on winter preparedness.  This coincides with Virginia Winter Weather Awareness Week, which is being observed this year from November 29 to December 3, according to the Wakefield, Va., National Weather Service office. In 2021, winter astronomically begins in Virginia on December 21 at 10:59 a.m.  That’s the Eastern Standard time of the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, when that hemisphere is at its maximum annual tilt away from the sun. At its beginning, middle, or end, winter can bring cold temperatures, hazardous roads, power outages, and fire hazards.  To help you be prepared, here are 10 tips compiled from information provided by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. 1. Avoid traveling in winter-storm conditions if you can. If you must travel, get road conditions from the Virginia 511 telephone system, Web site, or app.   And have an emergency kit for your vehicle, including jumper cables, water, non-perishable food, blankets, a flashlight, and other items. 2. Have battery-powered sources of lighting and information, particularly weather information, along with enough batteries to last through a power outage of several days.  Whenever possible, use flashlights and not candles during power outages.  If you do use candles, put them in safe holders away from anything combustible, and don’t leave a burning candle unattended. 3.  Make a family emergency plan that covers sheltering; evacuation from your area; escape from a home fire; emergency meeting places; communications; a supply of food, water, and medications; and other factors specific to your circumstances; and practice your plan. 4.  Get fireplaces, wood stoves, and chimneys inspected and cleaned. 5.  Install a smoke detector in every bedroom and on every floor level, test them monthly, and replace the batteries at least annually. 6.  Install a carbon monoxide detector in your home and check or replace the battery every six months.7.  If you use space heaters, make sure they’ll switch off automatically if the heater falls over; plug them into wall outlets, not extension cords; keep them at least three feet from combustible objects; don’t leave heaters unattended; and check for cracked or damaged wires or plugs. 8.  Generators, camp stoves, and other devices that burn gasoline or charcoal should be used outdoors only. 9.  Learn where to shut off water valves in case a pipe bursts. And 10.  Be careful of overexertion during snow shoveling. More information on preparing for winter weather, fires, and other emergencies is available online from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, at vaemergency.gov.Next time the forecast calls for snow, freezing rain, or other wintry weather, here’s hoping that y