Much muddy water escaped beyond the silt fence onto the ice of Lake Mendota.
Findorff Construction was illegally pumping unfiltered water down the eroding slope, close to the lake.
More photos:
Edgewater Hotel reconstruction
On the ice in fog
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Construction industry--a major threat to water quality
.
Much muddy water escaped beyond the silt fence onto the ice of Lake Mendota.
Findorff Construction was illegally pumping unfiltered water down the eroding slope, close to the lake.
More photos:
Edgewater Hotel reconstruction
On the ice in fog
Much muddy water escaped beyond the silt fence onto the ice of Lake Mendota.
Findorff Construction was illegally pumping unfiltered water down the eroding slope, close to the lake.
More photos:
Edgewater Hotel reconstruction
On the ice in fog
Monday, January 21, 2013
Puddle play
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Children love to play in the rain. But today, the average American child spends only about 40 minutes per week playing outdoors.
Nature is the most complex, information-rich environment for children.
Nature is the most complex, information-rich environment for children.
Paint in the rain
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It was a mistake to paint this median with rain forecast.
All our mistakes run downhill to the lakes, where they accumulate--creating a scorecard for how clean and careful we are. Lake Wingra is a block away.
I carry a good pocket camera with me wherever I go. It's a chance to document events about town that most people don't see.
All our mistakes run downhill to the lakes, where they accumulate--creating a scorecard for how clean and careful we are. Lake Wingra is a block away.
I carry a good pocket camera with me wherever I go. It's a chance to document events about town that most people don't see.
Rivers on sidewalks
.
In springtime, the maple blossoms cover the streets and sidewalks for just a day or two.
When it rained, the blossoms showed where the runoff had flowed on the sidewalks and driveways.
As trees on the terraces mature, their roots expand, pushing up the soil around sidewalks. The raised soil channels the runoff within the sidewalk, turning sidewalks into streams. Periodically, the sidewalk streams empty into the streets via driveways. From there, the stormwater flows directly to the lakes.
If sidewalk runoff can be captured in rain gardens, it helps to restore the natural hydrology. Drinking water is restored, springflow is improved, while nearby lakes are cleaner.
More photos
In springtime, the maple blossoms cover the streets and sidewalks for just a day or two.
When it rained, the blossoms showed where the runoff had flowed on the sidewalks and driveways.
As trees on the terraces mature, their roots expand, pushing up the soil around sidewalks. The raised soil channels the runoff within the sidewalk, turning sidewalks into streams. Periodically, the sidewalk streams empty into the streets via driveways. From there, the stormwater flows directly to the lakes.
If sidewalk runoff can be captured in rain gardens, it helps to restore the natural hydrology. Drinking water is restored, springflow is improved, while nearby lakes are cleaner.
More photos
Erosion harms lakes
.
Photo by Jamie Saul
This photos shows erosion under way on a street under reconstruction, close to Lake Wingra. The rainstorm was brief but intense--the kind that can occur during the summer in any Midwestern state.
The erosion control measures were insufficient, allowing much muddy runoff went into the nearby lake. Runoff like this carries phosphorus, which stimulates the growth of noxious algae or weeds in lakes.
More photos
More photos
Northern Wisconsin--vertical panorama
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I've been experimenting with vertical panoramas. With my Sony DSC-RX100, it's very easy. You just pan the camera vertically, and you've got it. Panoramas are hard to visualize in advance, but this camera is so easy that you can just take them, and discard the ones you don't like.
The only hard part is were to begin and end the panorama. I wish I had started slightly further down on this one.
What I like about this photo is the unusual emphasis on the frozen foreground. At the top, you see the clouds and water in the vapor form; while below, you see it frozen on the ground. I like the contrast,and the balance between the two forms. The liquid phase is missing--mostly invisible now, although present under the soil and under the ice, here and there.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 30
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On that day, the peak gust recorded at Truax Field in Madison, WI was 91 mph. Madison was at the far western edge of the monster storm. Over a thousand miles wide!
On that day, the peak gust recorded at Truax Field in Madison, WI was 91 mph. Madison was at the far western edge of the monster storm. Over a thousand miles wide!
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