Happy Halloween!

In celebration of Halloween 2008, the Water Library has compiled a list of resources with a spooky theme or twist.

Did you know 36 million children between the ages of 5 and 13 went trick or treating last year? The US Census Bureau puts out statistics on Halloween each year. To find out how many pounds of candy Americans consumed last year, click here.

For the morbid, Harvard Law School library has a collection for you: Dying Speeches and Bloody Murders. Published in British towns and cities by printers who specialized in this type of street literature, a typical example features an illustration (usually of the criminal, the crime scene, or the execution); an account of the crime and (sometimes) the trial; and the purported confession of the criminal, often cautioning the reader in doggerel verse to avoid the fate awaiting the perpetrator.

It wouldn't be Halloween at Wisconsin's Water Library without some spooky water facts.

Keeping those in mind, remember to stay green this Halloween:
Greenhalloween.org has everything from green costume ideas to activities for kids and parents.
Before trick or treating, be sure to check out The Green Guide.

Happy Halloween from the Water Library!

Recent water-related awards

Congratulations to the Village of Trempealeau, Wisconsin and the Wisconsin-based Kohler Corporation! Both recently received accolades for their efforts in water quality and conservation:

National award honors Trempealeau’s commitment to clean water
Kohler is a EPA WaterSense 2008 Partner of the Year

Web Resource: Informational tools aim to protect wetlands, help landowners

The Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (WDNR) has worked with the Wisconsin Realtors Association and the Wisconsin Wetlands Association to develop a real estate addendum that people can complete with their offer to purchase. The Addendum W – Wetlands is a legal document that allows buyers an opportunity to verify that wetlands are present on a property and to negotiate a mutual remedy with the seller, which might include the ability to rescind or modify the offer terms, if wetlands are confirmed.

Read more....
Learn how to locate wetlands....

Clean Marina workshop fights pollution

MUSKEGON, MI -- A workshop for marina operators interested in earning a Clean Marina designation from the state of Michigan will be 1-4 p.m. Nov. 7, at Bayside Centre in Muskegon. The workshop will show marina owners how to avoid problems that could cause fuel and other chemicals used in boats to cause water pollution.

To read more about this workshop, click here.
To read more about Michigan's Clean Marina project, click here.

Event: Second Water Matters lecture 10/28

Please come and enjoy the 2nd in a series of lectures called WATER MATTERS. This talk is entitled "Conversations on Race, Privilege, and the Environmental Movement” by Carolyn Finney, assistant professor of geography, University of California at Berkeley, and Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees, artist/activist. The lecture will take place Tuesday October 28 at 6 p.m. The Water Matters lecture series is happening as part of the Mami Wata exhibit at the Chazen Museum of Art. The galleries housing the Mami Wata exhibit will remain open until 6 p.m.

Read more...

Event: First Water Matters lecture

Patty Loew is presenting the first lecture in the Waters Matters lecture series tonight, Tuesday October 21, at 6pm at the Chazen Museum of Art. Admission is free. The title of her talk is "THE SACREDNESS OF WATER."

Read more....

Event: Mami Wata Opening weekend

The Mami Wata exhibit opens tonight at the Chazen Museum of Art. A lecture by exhibition curator Henry Drewel begins at 6 pm, followed by a costume reception with food, music and dancing at 7 pm. The lecture is free. Admission to the reception is $8 for members, $12 for nonmembers and $5 for UW students with I.D.

Saturday afternoon is Celebrate Water Spirits: A Family Day from 12 pm to 4 pm. This event will also have music and dancing, as well as a paper mask-making workshop and guided exhibition tours. The event is free.

For a full schedule of events, click here.

Climate change strategy to help manage water resources

Washington, D.C. – Oct. 2, 2008 To assist in responding to potential effects of climate change, a new strategy focuses on 40 specific actions for the national water program to take to respond to climate change. EPA's "National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change" describes steps for managers to adapt their clean water, drinking water, and ocean protection programs.

Read more...

Event: Henry Drewal and Baba Wague Diakite: Meet Mami Wata

Meet UW-Madison Professor Henry Drewal and Contemporary Artist Baba Wague Diakite tonight 5pm -6:30pm at Madison Public Library-Main Branch.

The Mami Wata exhibition opens Saturday, October 18 at the UW-Madison Chazen Museum of Art. In conjunction with the exhibition, UW Aquatic Sciences Center and the Department of Art History have organized a Water Matters: A Lecture Series. Look for future posts on each lecture in the series which is free and open to the public.

Tonight's event details...

Reservoirs promote spread of aquatic invasive species

The latest "damming" evidence suggests that manmade reservoirs are facilitating the spread of invasive species in Wisconsin lakes.

In a comparison of natural lakes and impoundments — reservoirs created by damming rivers — the impoundments were up to 300 times more likely than lakes to harbor invasive aquatic species, according to a study published last month in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Read more...

Sturgeon fishing 2008

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- Sturgeon spearers who want to participate in the 2009 Lake Winnebago system sturgeon spearing season need to purchase their sturgeon spearing license before the Friday, Oct. 31 sales deadline. That is the last day sturgeon spearing licenses will be sold for Lake Winnebago and the three Upriver Lakes -- Buttes des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan seasons.

Read more...

Wisconsin Book Festival this week!

The seventh annual Wisconsin Book Festival begins this Wednesday, October 15th. To see schedule of events, presenters and venues, go to http://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/ for information.

Web resource: Science Research

From the Internet Scout Project:

Everyday, research sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) turns up a new discovery, an interesting facet of a scientific endeavor, and sometimes, just something that might delight and amaze even the casual observer. Recently the NSF created this website to serve as a clearinghouse of information about the work they sponsor. The "Discoveries" site can be searched in its entirety, or visitors can just peruse the chronological list that's front and center on their homepage. Over in the "Research Areas" section, visitors can wander through "Biology", "Education", "Nanoscience", and eight other topical areas. Some summaries that might be of particular interest include "Mysteries of the Unregulated Internet" and "The Bizarre Creatures of Madagascar". Also, it's worth nothing that parties who enjoy the site can sign up for their RSS feed here.

There several water-related items in the database.
Read more...

Forum to focus on climate change in Wisconsin

Regional impacts of global warming will be the topic of the third annual Wisconsin Climate Change Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The public is invited, and admission is free.

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UW Arboretum Runoff Solutions Combine Ecology And Engineering

Article discusses Arboretum's ecosystems: projects and plans of learning now and in the future.

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Waterborne disease risk upped in Great Lakes

An anticipated increased incidence of climate-related extreme rainfall events in the Great Lakes region may raise the public health risk for the 40 million people who depend on the lakes for their drinking water, according to a new study.

In a report published today (Oct. 7, 2008) in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a team of Wisconsin researchers reports that a trend toward extreme weather such as the monsoon-like rainfall events that occurred in many parts of the region this past spring is likely to aggravate the risk for outbreaks of waterborne disease in the Great Lakes region.

Read more...

UW effort in Kenya

A group of UW-Madison students who are part of the university's chapter of Engineers Without Borders are working to solve a Kenyan village's water-quality issues.

more: UW