Alabama Rivers Alliance

Beat the tortuous summer heat and join us from the comfort of your own home or office for our Water Is Life Summer Reading Zoom Series! We are excited to feature two local Alabama authors and one Southeastern author as we discuss their newly published books. The topics will range from restoring rivers to the poetry of sustainable home building to the muddy story of environmental injustice in the Mississippi River Delta. Head out to your favorite local bookstore or your local library and pick up a copy or purchase from our friends at Thank You Books in Birmingham! We can’t wait to see you on Zoom! https://lnkd.in/eQMfD5z5 TUESDAY, JULY 16 Water is Life: Southern Rivers with R. Scot Duncan Southern Rivers explores the Southeast’s imperiled river systems and solutions for preserving them in the face of habitat loss, climate change, and extinction. The region’s rivers are the epicenter of North American freshwater biodiversity and are the top global hotspot for important aquatic animals including mussels, turtles, snails, crayfish, and fish, many of which have made important contributions to southern life and culture. As threats increase, it may seem necessary to choose between nature conservation and human needs, but Duncan persuasively demonstrates that this is a false choice. Conservation enhances human life. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TUESDAY, JULY 30 Water is Life: Glass Cabin with James Braziel and Tina Mozelle Braziel GLASS CABIN chronicles the thirteen years Tina Mozelle Braziel and James Braziel spent building their home out of secondhand tin, tornado-snapped power poles, and church glass on a ridge in rural Alabama. Their alternating voices support one another like parts of their cabin—every board needs its nail, every window needs its frame. These poems explore the work it takes to measure cuts for stairs, to haul water — one ton at a time — up the side of the mountain, and to write. It reads as a meditation on hope, on frustration, and on people’s places in the wilder parts of the world. TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 Water is Life: Muddy Thinking in the Mississippi River Delta with Ned Randolph Muddy Thinking in the Mississippi River Delta: A Call for Reclamation uses the story of mud to answer a deceptively simple question: How can a place uniquely vulnerable to sea level rise be one of the nation's most promiscuous producers and consumers of fossil fuels? Organized around New Orleans and South Louisiana as a case study, this book examines how the unruly Mississippi River and its muddy delta shaped the people, culture, and governance of the region. It proposes a framework of "muddy thinking" to gum the wheels of extractive capitalism and pollution that have brought us to the precipice of planetary collapse. Muddy Thinking calls upon our dirty, shared histories to address urgent questions of mutual survival and care in a rapidly changing world. #SummerReading #WaterIsLife #DefendRivers #ZoomTalk #AlabamaRivers

We 💚💙🩵 working with The Nature Conservancy's Jason Throneberry! Read all about him and the work he is doing to ensure fish passage on the Alabama River, which would lead to "the most significant ecological restoration in North America.” #fishpassage https://lnkd.in/egyqVJUB Learn more about the project by watching MUSSEL MEMORY: https://lnkd.in/epjdxi93

Access to affordable, clean drinking water is only getting harder for Alabama residents in the face of extreme weather, pollution and inadequate infrastructure. We are encouraged to see Alabama House Representative Tracy Estes acknowledge the lack of a statewide water plan. We have been calling on Alabama leaders to revive the conversation around comprehensive water use planning since Governor Ivey halted the effort. Now is the time! https://lnkd.in/eauFqw_i

We are so so proud to announce the selection of five talented documentary filmmakers for the 2024 Southern Exposure Film Fellowship, kicking off on June 17! During the innovative six-week summer program, the film fellows will create short documentaries that tell impactful stories about Alabama’s unique people and places. The films amplify the vital work of Alabamians dedicated to preserving our rich biodiversity, offering audiences an intimate glimpse into the solutions and actions essential for ensuring a thriving environment for everyone. Meet the 2024 Film Fellows and learn about the films they will be creating here: https://lnkd.in/ePshGW6J

Today at noon! We're excited to be a part of UAB School of Public Health's Summer Advocacy Workshop! Tune in to hear ARA's Charles Miller and Victoria Miller talk with public health advocates about how they can get involved in civic engagement by talking with their elected officials throughout the year. https://lnkd.in/eaYzp9Ev

Congratulations to the Auburn University Rural Studio and the academic and governmental partners involved with the wastewater pilot project in Newbern, Alabama! We were thrilled to be invited to the ribbon-cutting yesterday and to be a part of the discussions about bringing wastewater solutions to this area. This is a great step towards solving the long-running waste treatment issues in the Black Belt and beyond. Thank you to the Alabama legislature for devoting a significant portion of Alabama's ARPA dollars to solving wastewater issues!

ARA is grateful to be involved with the Southern States SRF project led by PolicyLink and River Network! Water advocates from Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee gathered in Houston this week to kick off the project with planning and power mapping. Joining ARA from Alabama are , The Capacity Collaborative and the Southern Poverty Law Center. These folks will work together over the next year to learn about water infrastructure funding mechanisms and how to advocate for our communities! Joining the efforts across the South are: Alabama Rivers Alliance, Harpeth Conservancy, Fisherman Interested in Sustaining our Heritage, NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN ASSOCIATION OF TENNESSEE, Young, Gifted & Green™, Water Collaborative of NOLA, Protect Our Aquifer West Street Recover, Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience, Rio Grande International Study Center (RISK), Bayou City Waterkeeper and Alliance for Affordable Energy

Looking for something to listen to over lunch -- or tea -- this week? Check out this great conversation between Corinne and Charles during H2O Tea Time! ARA's Young Professional River Defender Corinne Baroni and ARA's Policy Director, Charles R. Miller, over delicious tea, discuss water policy in Alabama! "This episode, we discuss (the lack of) water policy in Alabama within the context of national water policy and specifically cover the SHOR Act for Safe & Healthy Outdoor Recreation that was proposed to require Alabama to test fish for contaminants and release consumption advisories to the public along major rivers across the state. Current public outreach - whether a lack of resources or political will - is not meeting the needs of communities that are relying on our waterways for supper, and people deserve the right to know what they are consuming and make informed decisions." Listen on Spotify now! https://lnkd.in/eaXB2feK

JUST PUBLISHED: ARA and our Wastewater Equity Fellowship has launched a new Alabama water infrastructure resource website, which will help communities address their wastewater needs. The Alabama Water Hub website provides opportunities to learn about how water infrastructure is funded in Alabama. From the website, users can learn more about water infrastructure in general, see a list of funding options for water infrastructure projects, learn more about commonly used water funding terms, and find contacts for further assistance with water infrastructure funding. “This work is one of many in a larger, ongoing effort to strengthen collaborations between institutes of higher education and community-based partners to develop more effective water-related solutions for local communities.” Dr. Jillian Maxcy-Brown, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Alabama who participated in the Alabama Rivers Alliance fellowship, said. “We are also working on installing pilot-systems to test innovative low-cost water treatment technologies, conducting regional wastewater needs studies, and developing resource guides to holistically address historic infrastructure challenges in the Alabama Black Belt. We are planning to expand upon the work begun in this fellowship with more in-depth analyses of infrastructure funding mechanisms across the U.S.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e2DbRt6T University of Alabama at Birmingham