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Story Archives of 'rivers'
River Scientists Offer New Way to Prevent Flooding
By Amy Quinton on Monday, November 23, 2009.A federal court recently ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers failed to maintain a navigation channel in New Orleans.
A resulting levee breach caused devastating floods during Hurricane Katrina.
That court case highlights what some engineers would call a human conceit.....the belief that we can indefinitely control something as powerful as water.
In fact some scientists believe that all the engineering behind building levees and dams only exacerbates the problem it was meant to solve.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Amy Quinton reports on the unconventional techniques scientists are using to reduce flooding along the state's rivers.
The Charles River Didn't Kill Me
By Elliott Memmi on Friday, September 4, 2009.Youth reporter Elliott Memmi tests the Charles River for dangrous bacteria. But will his exposure to the river's water poison him?
StoryCorps: Paul "Poof" Tardiff - Web Extra
By Andrew Parrella on Sunday, June 7, 2009.In his visit to the StoryCorps Mobile Booth, Paul "Poof" Tardiff explains what Berlin's "river drivers" did, once upon a time.
How To Tame a Wayward River
By Amy Quinton on Thursday, May 7, 2009.Almost three years have passed since the flood-swollen Suncook River jumped its banks and formed a new channel. Since then, the river’s path continues to move east, eroding land and threatening roads and homes.
The Department of Environmental Services planned to stabilize the river to prevent future damage and flooding. But as New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, the Department now has no money to pay for the project.
A Little Less Flood Control Might Help Save Unique Forests
By Amy Quinton on Thursday, April 30, 2009.Dams that control flood waters across the state may be harming a unique type of forest.
Floodplain forests --once abundant along river corridors-- now account for less than two percent of New Hampshire. The Nature Conservancy and the US Army Corps of Engineers are studying these forests to learn how to protect them while still safeguarding cities and towns from floods.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports on the forests’ distinctive ecology.
How might rising oceans affect freshwater lakes and rivers?
By EarthTalk on Sunday, January 4, 2009.
Rising sea levels cause major problems as they erode and flood coastlines and as they mix salt water with fresh water. (Getty Images)
Redefining Rivers
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, December 3, 2008.
Here's a geography fact I wasn't aware of: there are some rivers you can't always see because much of the time they run underground. Until two years ago, most of these seasonal waterways were protected by the Clean Water Act, but a homeowner who wanted to build on a marshy site challenged the federal restrictions and took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. The court changed some definitions in the act, and that pleased developers – but now environmentalists are making waves.
Flooding The Yangtze Valley
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, October 9, 2008.Filmmaker Yung Chang was raised in Montreal by first-generation Chinese immigrants. Growing up, his grandfather told him stories about the mythical Yangtze River.
A third of China’s population lives along the river. It’s the lifeblood of the country. Peasants have farmed the Yangtze River Valley for millennia.
But the entire valley is currently being flooded to create the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. And it’s expected to provide one-tenth of China’s energy needs. But it’s also driving as many as four million people from their homes.
Yung Chang travelled up the Yangtze and found a river far different than the one his grandfather described. His documentary, Up the Yangtze, follows two young people who find work on a luxury cruise ship, ferrying wealthy foreigners on “farewell tours” of the valley. He joins Word of Mouth on the phone from Los Angeles.
Watch the trailer for Up the Yangtze:
(Photo by Jonathan Chang)
A Brief History of Fishladders
By Jon Greenberg on Sunday, July 20, 2008.The first in a series of Merrimack River Minutes.
Nashua Looks Again to Its Rivers
By Sheryl Rich-Kern on Monday, December 11, 2006.From Nashua's earliest days in the 17th century, the city's rivers drove its economy.
They carried fur boats downstream.
And later they powered mills and factories.
Over the past several decades, Nashua has been looking away from its rivers for commercial development.
But that focus is changing again.
The City of Nashua has embarked on its largest redevelopment project ever.
And it's taking place along the river.
NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich Kern reports..
