Robin Madel
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Robin Madel is a Research and Policy Analyst for the GRACE Water and Energy Programs. She has worked in the water and wastewater industry and helped close the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology. Robin earned a B.A. in Geology and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from CU-Boulder and a M.S in Environmental Science and Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. She is an actor and photographer living and working in the center of the universe and enjoys politics, plays and chocolate.

Environmental Writing:Ecocentric blog

Photography:Whirligig of Life

Blog Entries by Robin Madel

Earth Day 2012: Harder to See, Harder to Catch

0 Comments | Posted April 20, 2012 | 4:42 PM

Co-authored with Robin Madel.

Given the recent billion-dollar sale of Instagram, it's clear that the look of those faded, yellowed photos from the 1970s are all the rage. EPA, not usually known for having its finger on the pulse of pop culture, recently posted hundreds of its "

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Nixon's Clean Water Act Impoundment Power Play

1 Comments | Posted March 22, 2012 | 3:53 PM

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). You might know that this major piece of legislation was passed by Congress in 1972 with much credit given to Richard Nixon. You might not know that it almost didn't happen because after it was passed by Congress,...

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Cleaning Up the Chesapeake Bay, One Electric Motor at a Time

0 Comments | Posted December 28, 2011 | 10:00 AM

When Sally Reuther was eight, she and her cousins built a raft on the four acres behind their grandmother's house in Kentucky, intending to float it on a little land-locked pond. They spent two days building it out of whatever wood they could find, even 'borrowing' one of her grandmother's...

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Visualizing Respect for Groundwater

0 Comments | Posted November 7, 2011 | 1:46 PM

Like Rodney Dangerfield, groundwater gets no respect. So says Michael 'Aquadoc' Campana. Groundwater is being depleted at an unsustainable rate and since many people don't know where their water comes from they're not aware that this is a problem. Visualizing.org wants to change that with its latest data...

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Through Art, the Value of Water Expressed

0 Comments | Posted October 6, 2011 | 3:27 PM

The most common chemical compound on earth, water, is everywhere. We're familiar with water's diverse natural expressions from fog, rain, streams and rivers to oceans, lagoons, groundwater and springs. In a special appearance, water flows through the Cathedral of St. John the Divine's The Value of Water: Sustaining...

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World Water Week and Urban Water Infrastructure

0 Comments | Posted August 31, 2011 | 11:53 AM

Did you know that last week was World Water Week? Every August, aqua enthusiasts from around the world celebrate -- and voice concerns -- about water, and every year, World Water Week takes on a different theme. This year's theme was "Responding to Global Changes: Water in an Urbanising...

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A Burning Question: Should Waste-to-Energy Qualify as Renewable?

0 Comments | Posted August 18, 2011 | 7:01 PM

When you think about renewable energy sources, what comes to mind? Solar panels or wind turbines, maybe even hydropower? You're probably NOT thinking about trash, or to be more precise, municipal solid waste.

Covanta Energy wants you to think differently. They already turn your trash into energy and New...

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No More Sea Shells by the Seashore -- New Evidence of the Impacts of Rising CO2 Levels

0 Comments | Posted October 8, 2010 | 6:17 PM

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Sometimes I think the planet would be much better off without us. At least it would be much healthier.

Last week, I was eating a nice cup of New England clam chowder for lunch when a journal article in the Proceedings of the National...

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Clean Water, at Any Rate

0 Comments | Posted March 19, 2010 | 3:02 PM

Cross Posted from The GreenFork Blog

In this week's New York Times Charles Duhigg detailed the problems public drinking water and wastewater utilities face when they attempt to raise rates to upgrade and repair infrastructure. Duhigg cites an EPA estimate that "$335 billion would be needed...

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Water On The Moon: When Do We Move?

0 Comments | Posted January 20, 2010 | 4:24 PM

Crossposted with Green Fork.

Charles Duhigg's recent New York Times article, "That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy," was certainly scary. It let us know that drinking water systems in the United States are in sorry shape and, with over 60,000 chemicals in our industrial inventory,...

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No Impact Week: Free to Be Plastic Free

0 Comments | Posted October 20, 2009 | 6:40 PM

Think you're sustainable in your plastic use? You use cloth shopping bags and recycle all the plastic you can, so you're good right? Try this exercise. Pick a room in your home or office and stand in the middle of it. Now look around and see how much plastic there...

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Take Back the Tap and Keep Supporting Municipal Water Systems

0 Comments | Posted September 20, 2009 | 10:34 PM

Cross-posted with Green Fork Blog.

Noting the problems associated with large scale consumption of bottled water, the Take Back the Tap campaign asks people to choose tap water over bottled water, but a recent New York Times article by Charles Duhigg, Toxic Waters: Clean...

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