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In This Series

  • How to restore the Colorado River

    Jonathan Waterman, author of Running Dry: A Journey from Source to Sea Down the Colorado River, brought together two experts from either end of the river to talk about what's happened to the Colorado over the years, and how to get more water flowing in the future.

    Grist staff Culture

  • Photo contest winners: Waste on the water

    Grist readers once again sent us photos of the watery wilderness close to their hearts and homes. This time around: polluted waterways. We all know water pollution is a serious problem -- this collection of five photos and video highlights the reasons why we should be wary of our wasteful habits. Take a dip with us -- if you dare.

    Grist staff Culture

  • Mighty Colorado River dribbles through Mexico [EXCERPT]

    In his effort to paddle the entire length of the Colorado River, author Jonathan Waterman had to walk the last 60 miles of delta and infected his feet in the polluted remains of the drying river. Here is the second of two excerpts from Waterman's book, Running Dry.

    Jonathan Waterman Culture

  • Running dry on the Colorado [EXCERPT]

    Author Jonathan Waterman followed the Colorado River from its headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park to where it trickles away in the Mexican desert. Here is the first of two excerpts from his book, Running Dry.

    Jonathan Waterman Culture

  • How a river went from diversity to dumpsite

    A sign near the Cal Sag channel, part of the Calumet River System, warns against “any human body contact.”Photo courtesy Tom Gill via FlickrThe Grand Calumet River is about 13 miles long and flows through one of the most industrialized areas in the United States. At one time, the river’s branches and tributaries flowed throughout […]

    Leslie Dorworth Culture

  • Cleanup efforts bring life back to Grand Calumet River

    Grand Calumet River near Gary AirportLeslie DorworthThe first time I saw the Grand Calumet River, I was driving down the Indiana Toll Road. It was 1996, and I had just arrived in northwest Indiana from North Carolina to take a new job as an aquatic ecology extension specialist with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program. All […]

    Leslie Dorworth Culture

  • Passaic riverkeeper sees signs of hope despite the slow pace of cleanup

    Andy Willner, activist and advocate of the Passaic.Photo courtesy of al-ICE g via FlickrOn Jan. 2, 1990, a leaking pipeline at Bayonne, New Jersey’s Exxon Bayway oil refinery sent 567,000 gallons of heating fuel into the surrounding waterways and marsh. Andy Willner volunteered to help the affected wildlife. He wound up collecting a truckload of […]

    Mary Bruno Culture

  • “Follow a Drop of Water” photo contest winners

    Taunton River in Bridgewater, Mass.Photo: Corrie Collin Water covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, but chances are there’s a body of water close to home that’s also close to your heart — a fjord that strikes your fancy, a beautiful bayou, or a river that gives you shivers. Grist asked our Facebook fans to […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • How we poisoned the Passaic

    In June 1983, Newark’s close knit Ironbound community was overrun by investigators in Hazmat suits after EPA officials found dioxin at the Diamond Alkali chemical plant site.Photo: wirednewyork.comOn the morning of June 2, 1983, the governor of New Jersey declared a state of emergency. Speaking at a press conference in his Trenton office, then Governor […]

    Mary Bruno Culture