***JUST ANNOUNCED!***
Alabama Water Rally 2020
SPEAKERS, TOPICS & SPECIAL EVENTS INCLUDE:
- BRINGING LIGHT TO IMPACTED COMMUNITIES led by Colette Pichon Battle, The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy Friday evening by the fire!
Communities across Alabama have been battling environmental and public health threats due to injustices in our state political, business, and government systems for decades. Residents of these communities are living on the front lines of these problems everyday. This is an opportunity to hear their stories and learn from their experiences.
- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING OUR WATER AND HOW CAN WE INFLUENCE THEM? led by Cindy Lowry, Alabama Rivers Alliance (and featuring the debut of our new Policy & Advocacy Director!) Friday afternoon in depth session from 1 – 3:30 pm
In the current federal political landscape, more and more of the responsibility to protect and regulate our environment is being moved to the states. There is a complex web of state and federal (and even local) agencies who have some responsibility over our waterways in Alabama. This in-depth session will provide an overview of those agencies and their responsibilities, review the history of our environmental movement’s interactions with some of the most important agencies (including efforts to reform certain agencies), and provide opportunities for group discussions and brainstorming about how we, as a movement, can be the most effective in our interactions with these agencies moving forward to protect our environment. This session is designed to benefit both the experienced environmental advocates and the novice concerned citizens as we must build these strategies together to effectively #DefendRivers in Alabama.
PLUS:
- REGENERATIVE DESIGN with Alan Booker, Institute of Integrated Regenerative Design
- ALABAMA’S BIODIVERSITY with Scot Duncan, Birmingham-Southern College
- TRANSPARENCY & NOTIFICATIONS with Eva Dillard, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Haley Lewis, Gasp & Steven Dudley, Coosa Riverkeeper
- POINTS OF LEVERAGE: HOW TO INFLUENCE YOUR ELECTRIC UTILITY with Daniel Tait, Energy Alabama
- BUILDING STRONG BOARDS AND JUNIOR BOARDS with Beth Stewart & LaTanya Scott, Cahaba River Society
- WETLANDS IN OUR ENVIRONMENT with Cleo Stubbs, WELP
- GEOLOGY OF MCDOWELL with Camp McDowell staff
- A CLOSER LOOK AT PFAS/PFOS with Michael Freeman, Auburn University & Amble Johnson, Southern Environmental Law Center
- A STORY ABOUT HURRICANE CREEK with Eric Courchesne
- SOCIAL SCIENCE AT THE GRASSROOTS with Ryan Thompson, Auburn University
- ORGANIZING 101 with the Poor People’s Campaign & Sunrise Movement
- STREAM WALK & TALK with Camp McDowell staff
- RIVER AWARDS CELEBRATION featuring Scot Duncan, keynote speaker