Water Notes: A Few of Our Favorite Things

We read a lot of stuff about water, and sometimes we forget to pass the fun along to you. This week, we’re starting a new tradition and making up for that oversight by sharing a few of our favorite blogs, websites, and tools. If you have great additions to our list, be sure to share in the comments or on Twitter @IllinoisWater or Facebook.

by Irene Miles

• Unwantedmeds.org hosts the UpClose series in which they interview scientists about their research. You know how much we love chatting about science, and this is fun and accessible. Since Unwantedmeds focuses on safe disposal of unwanted or expired medicine, the interviews generally deal with what happens to the environment when pharmaceuticals escape. The collection so far includes an engineer, a toxicologist, and a microbial ecologist. We hear rumors that there will be more soon.
• Did you know that Illinois has sister lakes and rivers?  We do, in Brazil, Mexico, Ireland, and China, to name a few. The goal of the Sister Rivers and Lakes initiative is to share innovative solutions to the problems these water bodies share with those in Illinois. Some of the strategies used by Illinois to address state water resource dilemmas include the Mud-to-Parks program and the Clean Water Initiative. 
• One of the most helpful sites we follow is the blog of State Climatologist Jim Angel. Dr. Angel keeps us up-to-date on drought, tornado drought, the average temperatures of the season we’re in, and lots of other useful information about Illinois weather and climate. We highly recommend adding Illinois State Climatologist to your blog roll.
• Speaking of weather, the Midwest Regional Climate Center’s webpage is also fantastic. Not only can you look up the maximum snow in one month in Champaign County (it was 32 inches in March of 1906), but you can also look up extreme temperatures, past weather events, drought, and the weather on the day you were born!