Monday, July 29, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Episode 171 (7-22-13): Plankton and "The Sunshine Bankers" by Teresa Whitaker and Frank Schwartz
Click to listen to episode (2:54).
TRANSCRIPT
Application to Virginia State Science Standards of Learning (SOLs), January 2010 edition:
This episode may be useful to support Virginia Science SOLs 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5.
Recent Virginia Water News and Other Information
TRANSCRIPT
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is
Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 22, 2013.
This week we feature a song written by “The Bard of the Chesapeake Bay,” with an easily digested lesson about aquatic food chains. Have a listen for about 55 seconds.
MUSIC.
You’ve been listening to “The Sunshine Bankers,” written by the late Tom Wisner and performed by Teresa Whitaker and Frank Schwartz on “Singing the Chesapeake,” a 2012 songbook and CD from Finding Home Productions. As the song describes, plankton are the foundation of many aquatic food chains or webs. Plankton are primarily microscopic, floating organisms, and this group includes phytoplankton, which are plant-like algae; zooplankton, which are animals; and bacteria. Phytoplankton capture the sun’s energy through photosynthesis, and this captured energy in turn provides food for zooplankton, oysters, fish, and other aquatic organisms. Just as financial banks are crucial to the economic health of many human communities, planktonic “sunshine bankers” are key parts of the ecological health of aquatic communities in the Chesapeake Bay and many other water bodies. Thanks to Ms. Whitaker and to Mr. Schwartz for permission to use this week’s music.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
This week we feature a song written by “The Bard of the Chesapeake Bay,” with an easily digested lesson about aquatic food chains. Have a listen for about 55 seconds.
MUSIC.
You’ve been listening to “The Sunshine Bankers,” written by the late Tom Wisner and performed by Teresa Whitaker and Frank Schwartz on “Singing the Chesapeake,” a 2012 songbook and CD from Finding Home Productions. As the song describes, plankton are the foundation of many aquatic food chains or webs. Plankton are primarily microscopic, floating organisms, and this group includes phytoplankton, which are plant-like algae; zooplankton, which are animals; and bacteria. Phytoplankton capture the sun’s energy through photosynthesis, and this captured energy in turn provides food for zooplankton, oysters, fish, and other aquatic organisms. Just as financial banks are crucial to the economic health of many human communities, planktonic “sunshine bankers” are key parts of the ecological health of aquatic communities in the Chesapeake Bay and many other water bodies. Thanks to Ms. Whitaker and to Mr. Schwartz for permission to use this week’s music.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
[All Internet
addresses mentioned were functional as of 7/18/13]
 |
Phytoplankton
in New York Bight area, photographed in about 1973. Photo made available for public use by the
NOAA Photo Library (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/U.S.
Department of Commerce), online at http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/index.html, accessed 7/18/13.
|
Acknowledgments:
“The Sunshine Bankers” and “Singing the Chesapeake” are copyright by Teresa Whitaker and Frank Schwartz, used with permission. “Singing the Chesapeake" is songbook and CD collection of songs by Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner, and Teresa Whitaker, published by Finding Home Productions and by C.H.E.A.R.S, an environmental arts and education organization. More information is available online at at www.findinghomeproductions.com and at http://www.frankandteresa.net/Welcome%20.html. “The Sunshine Bankers” was previously recorded by Ms. Whitaker and Mr. Wisner on “We’ve Got to Come Full Circle: Chesapeake Song and Story for Young Hearts,” a 1984 album on Smithsonian’s Folkways Records (http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.aspx).
A Washington, D.C., native and long-time Maryland resident, Mr. Wisner dedicated his life to learning, singing, and teaching about the Bay and its protection. More information about Mr. Wisner is available from the Smithsonian Folkways “Artist Spotlight” at http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/tom_wisner.aspx; from Thomas A. Wisner, 79: 'Bard of the Chesapeake' sang about the bay he loved, Washington Post, 4/4/10; and from Tom Wisner, his love of Chesapeake, will carry on in his songs, Bay Journal, May 2010.
This episode’s music and information were used previously in Episode 31 (week of 8-30-10), now archived. Please contact Virginia Water Radio to request access to the audio for Episode 31.
Sources:
Chesapeake Bay Program, online at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/plankton.aspx?menuitem=19401;
“The Bridge” marine-education Web site of the Virginia Sea Grant Marine Extension Program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, online at http://web.vims.edu/bridge/plankton.html?svr=www.
“The Sunshine Bankers” and “Singing the Chesapeake” are copyright by Teresa Whitaker and Frank Schwartz, used with permission. “Singing the Chesapeake" is songbook and CD collection of songs by Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner, and Teresa Whitaker, published by Finding Home Productions and by C.H.E.A.R.S, an environmental arts and education organization. More information is available online at at www.findinghomeproductions.com and at http://www.frankandteresa.net/Welcome%20.html. “The Sunshine Bankers” was previously recorded by Ms. Whitaker and Mr. Wisner on “We’ve Got to Come Full Circle: Chesapeake Song and Story for Young Hearts,” a 1984 album on Smithsonian’s Folkways Records (http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.aspx).
A Washington, D.C., native and long-time Maryland resident, Mr. Wisner dedicated his life to learning, singing, and teaching about the Bay and its protection. More information about Mr. Wisner is available from the Smithsonian Folkways “Artist Spotlight” at http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/tom_wisner.aspx; from Thomas A. Wisner, 79: 'Bard of the Chesapeake' sang about the bay he loved, Washington Post, 4/4/10; and from Tom Wisner, his love of Chesapeake, will carry on in his songs, Bay Journal, May 2010.
This episode’s music and information were used previously in Episode 31 (week of 8-30-10), now archived. Please contact Virginia Water Radio to request access to the audio for Episode 31.
Sources:
Chesapeake Bay Program, online at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/plankton.aspx?menuitem=19401;
“The Bridge” marine-education Web site of the Virginia Sea Grant Marine Extension Program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, online at http://web.vims.edu/bridge/plankton.html?svr=www.
Application to Virginia State Science Standards of Learning (SOLs), January 2010 edition:
This episode may be useful to support Virginia Science SOLs 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5.
Recent Virginia Water News and Other Information
For
news, events, and resources relevant to Virginia's water resources, grouped
into categories, please visit the Virginia
Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Episode 170 (7-15-13): Hydroelectric Power
Click to listen to episode (2:51).
TRANSCRIPT
Application to Virginia State Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):
Information in this episode can support Virginia Science SOLs 6.5 and PS.6 (Physical Science).
Sources:
“2010 Virginia Energy Plan,” Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, online at http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DE/VEP_TitlePage.html.
“Dam relicensing acknowledges that with power comes responsibility,” by Karl Blankenship, Bay Journal, June 2013, online at http://www.bayjournal.com/article/dam_relicensing_acknowledges_that_with_power_comes_responsibility.
“Hydroelectric Power: How it Works,” U.S. Geological Survey, online at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html.
“Hydropower/Complete List of Issued Licenses,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), online at https://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower.asp.
Relicensing document for Claytor Hydroelectric Project, December 27, 2011, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, http://www.claytorhydro.com/documents/2012/Claytor_New_License122711.pdf.
“Virginia Electricity Profile 2010,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, online at http://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/virginia/.
“Virginia Energy Patterns and Trends,” Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, online at http://www.energy.vt.edu/vept/renewables/hydro.asp.
TRANSCRIPT
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is
Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 15, 2013.
This week, we feature another mystery sound. Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess where these flowing and buzzing sounds were recorded, and what they have to do with each other. And here’s a hint: if you’re well hydrated, you can power through this mystery.
SOUNDS.
If you guessed a hydroelectric power facility, you’re right. That was water flowing through the Claytor Hydroelectric Project dam on the New River in Pulaski County, followed by the buzz of power lines carrying electricity from the facility. As of 2013, Virginia has 28 hydropower facilities. They range from the large—such as the 2400 megawatt-capacity, pumped-storage project on Little Back Creek in Bath County—to the relatively small, like the 0.4 megawatt-capacity, Big Island plant on the James River in Bedford County. Whether from a large or small facility, all hydropower ultimately results from solar energy transferred to evaporated water, then to flowing water, then to mechanical turbines, and finally to electrical generators. Collectively in 2010, Virginia’s hydropower plants produced about 1.5 million megawatt-hours of power, about two percent of the total electricity generated in the Commonwealth that year. Most of Virginia’s hydropower plants are licensed for 30, 40, or 50 years by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The relicensing process, therefore, is a key time for various groups and interests to comment on water levels, fish passage, shoreline development, and many other environmental and human effects of hydropower dams and the lakes they create.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
This week, we feature another mystery sound. Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess where these flowing and buzzing sounds were recorded, and what they have to do with each other. And here’s a hint: if you’re well hydrated, you can power through this mystery.
SOUNDS.
If you guessed a hydroelectric power facility, you’re right. That was water flowing through the Claytor Hydroelectric Project dam on the New River in Pulaski County, followed by the buzz of power lines carrying electricity from the facility. As of 2013, Virginia has 28 hydropower facilities. They range from the large—such as the 2400 megawatt-capacity, pumped-storage project on Little Back Creek in Bath County—to the relatively small, like the 0.4 megawatt-capacity, Big Island plant on the James River in Bedford County. Whether from a large or small facility, all hydropower ultimately results from solar energy transferred to evaporated water, then to flowing water, then to mechanical turbines, and finally to electrical generators. Collectively in 2010, Virginia’s hydropower plants produced about 1.5 million megawatt-hours of power, about two percent of the total electricity generated in the Commonwealth that year. Most of Virginia’s hydropower plants are licensed for 30, 40, or 50 years by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The relicensing process, therefore, is a key time for various groups and interests to comment on water levels, fish passage, shoreline development, and many other environmental and human effects of hydropower dams and the lakes they create.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
[All Internet
addresses mentioned were functional as of 7/15/13]
 |
| Claytor Hydroelectric Project on the New River, Pulaski County, Virginia, October 11, 2012 |
 | ||
Side view of Claytor Hydroelectric Project, Pulaski County, Virginia, July 13, 2013.
|
 | ||
Turbine at Claytor Lake Hydroelectric Facility, Pulaski County, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Appalachian Power Company, 7/26/13.
|
 |
| A glimpse into the manufacture of hydroelectric-power equipment is shown in this 1997 view of the American Hydro Manufacturing Plant in York, Pennsylvania. This plant manufactured the turbine shown in the previous photo being delivered to Virginia's Smith Mountain Lake facility. American Hydro is now Weir American Hydro, part of the Weir Power and Industrial company. Photo courtesy of Zack Stair, Harlesyville, Penn. |
Application to Virginia State Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):
Information in this episode can support Virginia Science SOLs 6.5 and PS.6 (Physical Science).
Sources:
“2010 Virginia Energy Plan,” Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, online at http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DE/VEP_TitlePage.html.
“Dam relicensing acknowledges that with power comes responsibility,” by Karl Blankenship, Bay Journal, June 2013, online at http://www.bayjournal.com/article/dam_relicensing_acknowledges_that_with_power_comes_responsibility.
“Hydroelectric Power: How it Works,” U.S. Geological Survey, online at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html.
“Hydropower/Complete List of Issued Licenses,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), online at https://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower.asp.
Relicensing document for Claytor Hydroelectric Project, December 27, 2011, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, http://www.claytorhydro.com/documents/2012/Claytor_New_License122711.pdf.
“Virginia Electricity Profile 2010,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, online at http://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/virginia/.
“Virginia Energy Patterns and Trends,” Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, online at http://www.energy.vt.edu/vept/renewables/hydro.asp.
Recent Virginia Water
News and Other Information
For
news, events, and resources relevant to Virginia's water resources, grouped
into categories, please visit the Virginia
Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Episode 169 (7-8-13): Music for Marshes and Other Wetlands in "The Prettiest Marsh," by Teresa Whitaker
This episode has been replaced by Episode 429, 7-16-18.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Episode 168 (7-1-13): Revolutionary War Waters
Click to listen to episode (2:27).
TRANSCRIPT
Acknowledgments: Thanks to
neighbors in Blacksburg, Virginia, for their June 30, 2013, recordings of names
of water bodies involved in the Revolutionary War.
The water bodies mentioned are as follows: New York Harbor, Boston Harbor, Charleston Harbor, Brandywine Creek, Delaware River, Hudson River, Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River, Wabash River, and York River.
Sources and more information:
Information on the life of George Rogers Clark, from the Web site of the Indiana Historical Bureau, “George Rogers Clark Biography, http://www.in.gov/history/2958.htm.
List of parks related to the American Revolution or colonial America, from the National Park Service, online at http://www.nps.gov/revwar/contact/park_info.html.
List of Revolutionary War battles compiled by Joseph Logan, “The American Revolution” Web site, at http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/battles.aspx.
Timelines of the American Revolution from the National Park Service, online at http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/timeline_of_events_06_10.html; and from the Independence Hall Association of Philadelphia, online at http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/revwartimeline.htm.
For a previous Virginia Water Radio episode on the role of the York River in the battle of Yorktown, please see “History on the York River—‘The Surrender of Cornwallis’ by Bobby Horton (Episode 103, 3-19-12, 2 minutes/51 seconds), at http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/2012/03/episode-103-march-19-2012-history-on.html.
TRANSCRIPT
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is
Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 1, 2013.
This week, in honor of the upcoming Independence Day holiday, we travel back in time to a public gathering house where evening diners were passing along the water news of the American Revolutionary War. Sound like historical fiction? Well, just have a listen for about 25 seconds.
SOUND.
You’ve been listening to the names of 11 water bodies where important events took place during the American Revolution and war for independence from Great Britain, fought between 1775 and 1783. These water bodies and many other rivers, creeks, and coastal areas were battle sites, important harbors, strategic transportation routes, gateways to cities, or obstacles to the movement of troops or supplies. Virginia is the location for a few key sites, the most famous being the York River and Yorktown, where the large army under British General Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, essentially ending the war. And Virginian soldiers played leading roles on many of the waters of the Revolutionary War, from George Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River to the water-logged march of soldiers under Albemarle County native George Rogers Clark to capture Fort Sackville, way down along the Wabash River in present-day Indiana.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
This week, in honor of the upcoming Independence Day holiday, we travel back in time to a public gathering house where evening diners were passing along the water news of the American Revolutionary War. Sound like historical fiction? Well, just have a listen for about 25 seconds.
SOUND.
You’ve been listening to the names of 11 water bodies where important events took place during the American Revolution and war for independence from Great Britain, fought between 1775 and 1783. These water bodies and many other rivers, creeks, and coastal areas were battle sites, important harbors, strategic transportation routes, gateways to cities, or obstacles to the movement of troops or supplies. Virginia is the location for a few key sites, the most famous being the York River and Yorktown, where the large army under British General Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, essentially ending the war. And Virginian soldiers played leading roles on many of the waters of the Revolutionary War, from George Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River to the water-logged march of soldiers under Albemarle County native George Rogers Clark to capture Fort Sackville, way down along the Wabash River in present-day Indiana.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
[All Internet
addresses mentioned were functional as of 7/1/13]
 |
| “The Wabash—Through Wilderness and Flood,” a mural by Ezra Winter on display at the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes, Indiana. Image accessed at the National Park Service’s Web site, http://www.nps.gov/gero/historyculture/wabash.htm, 7/1/13. |
The water bodies mentioned are as follows: New York Harbor, Boston Harbor, Charleston Harbor, Brandywine Creek, Delaware River, Hudson River, Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River, Wabash River, and York River.
Sources and more information:
Information on the life of George Rogers Clark, from the Web site of the Indiana Historical Bureau, “George Rogers Clark Biography, http://www.in.gov/history/2958.htm.
List of parks related to the American Revolution or colonial America, from the National Park Service, online at http://www.nps.gov/revwar/contact/park_info.html.
List of Revolutionary War battles compiled by Joseph Logan, “The American Revolution” Web site, at http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/battles.aspx.
Timelines of the American Revolution from the National Park Service, online at http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/timeline_of_events_06_10.html; and from the Independence Hall Association of Philadelphia, online at http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/revwartimeline.htm.
For a previous Virginia Water Radio episode on the role of the York River in the battle of Yorktown, please see “History on the York River—‘The Surrender of Cornwallis’ by Bobby Horton (Episode 103, 3-19-12, 2 minutes/51 seconds), at http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/2012/03/episode-103-march-19-2012-history-on.html.
Recent Virginia Water
News and Other Information
For news, events, and resources relevant to
Virginia's water resources, grouped into categories, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper,
available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/
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