As I write this, it is about a week after a smoky, orange haze coated New York City, drifting south from more than 230 Canadian wildfires. Elsewhere, some of the Great Lakes region also experienced haze and smoke from the fires. My social media feed quickly filled with memes from New Yorkers cracking jokes and blaming Canadians for the eerie, apocalyptic orange haze that had settled over their city. U.S. West Coasters quickly came to the defense of Canadians, saying, they too, were no stranger to the orange haze and there is not much to be done until the fires are contained. And some used the orange haze seemed to remind their social media followers that this is climate change. It is happening now.
As this friendly bickering between countries and coasts played out on social media, it reminded me why it is so vital that the industry comes together to share ideas and solutions. With these intensifying weather events that are happening in areas they historically have not, a national look at weather trends is becoming more necessary.
This is a big reason why I am really looking forward to this year’s StormCon. From August 29 to 31, we are inviting stormwater and erosion control professionals from all over the country to join us in Dallas for three days of networking, education and idea sharing. From tours and our keynote session to our education tracks and networking reception, there is no shortage of opportunity at this year’s event. For the full preview, please visit page 12.
Also in this issue, we’re tackling coastal risk reduction with two different articles – one, about a research project being conducted by Rutgers University looking at oyster habitats for coastal defense, and the other a case study on two Connecticut coastal communities. With hurricane season upon us, it seemed fitting to cover the coast and its erosion challenges. Read these stories on page 24 and 28, respectively. Speaking of hurricanes, we turn our focus to oceans and other waterways with a feature on microplastics. As new BMPs and capture technologies are tested and developed, the country can be poised to tackle plastic pollution. For the full story, visit page 20
Katie Johns
Katie Johns, editor-in-chief of Stormwater Solutions, graduated from the University of Missouri in 2016 with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. Johns joined the Stormwater Solutions team in September 2019. Johns also helps plan the annual StormCon conference and co-hosts the Talking Under Water podcast. Prior to entering the B2B industry, she worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in Sarasota, Florida, and a magazine assistant editor in the Chicago suburbs. She can be reached at [email protected].
