Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Practical solutions for improving rural communities

September 2012

Fracking film starring Matt Damon set for release in December

Posted Thu, 2012/09/27 - 11:15am by RCAP

Summary: A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.

Director: Gus Van Sant (directed Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting")
Writers: John Krasinski (screenplay), Matt Damon (screenplay)
Stars: Matt Damon, Frances McDormand and John Krasinski

Watch the trailer:

How much "invisible" water do we consume every day?

Posted Wed, 2012/09/26 - 9:39am by RCAP

Here's a fun an interative website that shows that we actually consume large amounts of "invisible" or virtual water in the food we consume.

Go to the site

Note: This site was created by Europeans, and so units are provided in metric measurements. As a rule of thumb, there are roughly 4 liters in a gallon (the exact conversion is 1 U.S. gallon of liquid = 3.8 liters)

Infographic: An Elemental Concern—Arsenic in Drinking Water

Posted Wed, 2012/09/26 - 9:08am by RCAP

Circle of Blue has created a helpful interactive infographic about where arsenic comes from, how human health is affected, and how each state stacks up in terms of public water systems in violation of the federal standard for arsenic.

See the infographic

Circle of Blue: Paul Ryan: A Great Lakes Lawmaker Not Terribly Interested in Water Quality

Posted Wed, 2012/09/26 - 9:02am by RCAP

In mid-August, when Mitt Romney chose Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) as his running mate, Circle of Blue took at look at his voting record on water issues.

The article begins:

"The newly announced Republican running mate of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has a voting record that tilts heavily toward favoring development and reducing federal investment over environmental conservation and improving water quality."

EPA launches revamped septic website

Posted Tue, 2012/09/25 - 11:46am by RCAP

Nearly one in four households in the U.S. depends on an individual septic system or small community cluster system to treat its wastewater. EPA has recently revamped its septic website to better serve homeowners, state and local officials, industry professionals, and its partner organizations. The website includes a suite of new case studies demonstrating what communities across the country are doing to effectively manage their decentralized wastewater infrastructure and find solutions to meet their own unique wastewater infrastructure needs.

New York Times blog: Via YouTube, a New Conservation Genre

Posted Mon, 2012/09/24 - 4:42pm by RCAP

The New York Times Green blog, a blog "about energy and the environment," reports on Sept. 20:

"The drought of 2012, which continues to spread westward, is making its mark on the national consciousness in many ways. Rising food prices. Interrupted livelihoods. Fields of stunted, desiccated crops.

"All of this dryness has resonance in our video culture. Just go to YouTube and look at the proliferation of public service announcements on water conservation. Making one of these seems to be the school project du jour."

NPR: Poll Shows Rural Battlegrounds Backing Romney

Posted Mon, 2012/09/24 - 3:27pm by RCAP

National news outlets, including NPR, reported Sept. 24 on the results of a poll showing the majority of rural areas are supporting Mitt Romney for president.

The NPR story, which aired on Sept. 24, begins:

"The nation's smallest and most remote places are providing Mitt Romney's biggest margins in battleground states as the 2012 presidential race enters its final weeks.

Resources on protecting source water and wellhead protection

Posted Thu, 2012/09/20 - 2:43pm by RCAP

SMART About Water helps America's small communities protect their source water

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Benjamin Franklin famously stated more than 250 years ago. This simple philosophy informed an environmental program—SMART About Water—designed to protect drinking water quality.

While the program ran from 2008 to 2009, the resources produced during its time of operation are still available on the program's website (see link below).

Format:

Website (with more resources)

Topic:

Operations (technical)

Source water

Source:

RCAP

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

National Environmental Services Center

Other nonprofit/organization

Other government entity

Audience:

Operator

Board/council member

Mayor/town manager/elected official (local)

Plant manager

Financial manager/accountant/bookkeeper

State/federal decision-maker

Here's a good explanation of the issue of arsenic in rice

Posted Thu, 2012/09/20 - 2:18pm by RCAP

Rice getting a rise out of you these days because of concerns of arsenic?

Mother Jones posted an article on its website recently that provides some explanations concerning the recent reports of arsenic in rice. The relation of rice to water issues is two-fold:

Rural grants available

Posted Thu, 2012/09/20 - 12:10pm by RCAP

THE LAURA JANE MUSSER FUND wants to encourage collaborative and participatory efforts among residents in rural communities that will help to strengthen their towns and regions in a number of civic areas including, but not limited to: economic development, business preservation, arts and humanities, public space improvements, and education.

PRIORITY IS PLACED ON PROJECTS THAT: