Karen Sands, Manager of Sustainability for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, sends out a regular digest of links to sustainability resources that we at the Fund find very useful. Karen has graciously agreed to share her most recent compilation with our readers.

We welcome guest authors on Great Lakes topics. If you are interested, contact Amy Elledge – aelledge(at)glpf(dot)org.

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Here are some cool happenings in the world of water sustainability for the month of May.

 Green Infrastructure/Watersheds:

• GI as adaptation: Communities Use “Green Infrastructure” to Adapt to Climate Change by Rebecca Williams, Michigan Radio
• Making room for the river!: A Dutch City Makes Room for Its River — and a New Identity by Letty Reimerink, citiscope.org
• Planning to Build a Rain Garden? There’s an app for that!: from Connecticut NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials)
• D.C. goes greener: D.C. Will Use Roof Gardens — Among Other Things — to Clean City Waterways by Abigail Hauslohner, The Washington Post
• P3s and GI: Community Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3s) and Alternative Market-Based Tools for Integrated Green Stormwater Infrastructure prepared by US EPA Region 3, Water Protection Division, April 2015

 Renewable Energy/Conservation/Water-Energy Nexus:

• WERF to fund 3 new studies: Water Environment Research Foundation Launches Energy Studies
• Here’s something for your bucket list (poop-powered bus painted like a cow, breaking a speed record on a racetrack): Britain’s Poo-Powered Bus Hits a Land Speed Record by Maddie Stone, gizmodo.com

 Storm Change/Climate Change/GHG (not so cool):

• If you’re going to talk about it, do it right:  15 Ways to Powerfully Communicate Climate Change Solutions from theguardian.com
• It happened; the earth’s atmosphere hit 400ppm CO2: Climate Change Alert: Global Carbon Dioxide Tops 400 ppm for First Time by  Justin Wm. Moyer, The Washington Post
• Soil and climate connection: THE DIRT ON DIRT The world’s soil helps us grow food and store carbon. So why are we letting it waste away? by Brian Palmer, onearth.org

 Great Lakes:

• Report: Great Lakes better protected than 10 years ago by Keith Matheny (Detroit Free Press), Duluth News Tribune
• Plastics: Plastics blamed for many Great Lakes woes by Wilson Ring (Associated Press), mpnnow.com

 Bonus Sustainability Topics:

• Sustainable water sources should be a national priority (thanks, Chris!): Americans Agree – Sustainable Water Supplies Should be a National Priority by Derek Prall, American City and County
• Fog harvesting: MIT’s Fog Harvester Is a Better Way To Get Water From Thin Air by Andrew Liszewski, gizmodo.com
• Flexible floating farms: Smart Floating Farms (SFF) by Javier F. Ponce, forwardthinkingarchitecture.com
• I’m a big fan of worms, but – like weeds – they do have their downside: Earthworms Rob Forests of Key Nutrients; Pave Way for Other Invaders by Chris Symons, Great Lakes Echo
• Minimum density standards could help improve urban sustainability: It’s Time to Talk About National Minimum Urban Density Standards by Eliot Allen, planetizen.com
• Green districts, can we scale them up?: Building the Cities of the Future with Green Districts by Shannon Bouton, David Newsome, and Jonathan Woetzel, McKinsey and Company
• Plastics in our oceans L: Spiraling Out of Control infographic by CustomMade
• New EPA water rule: With New EPA Water Rule, Obama Again Takes Executive Action on Environment by William Yardley, LA Times
• Public health + urban planning = good quality of life: Public Health + Urban Planning = Quality of Life by Nancy O’Neill and Garlen Capita (WRT), Sustainable City Network
• Regional Conservation Partnership Program, round two: USDA Announces $235 Million Available for Innovative New Conservation Partnerships USDA News Release No. 0122.15

I hope you enjoy these short, forward-looking water resource articles. I read and then share them in the hope that they can help us better manage water now and inspire a more sustainable water environment for future generations. Thank you if you’ve sent me any of these!

Karen L. Sands, AICP, ENV SP
Manager of Sustainability
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
ksands@mmsd.com