As the global community meets in Glasgow for the latest UN climate talks, we spoke with the Union of Concerned Scientists’s Dr. José Pablo Ortiz Partida about climate change in California.
Category: Blog
Water Hub blog sharing water communications resources, spotlights and musings.
Communicating at the water-climate nexus
Communicating at the Water-Climate Nexus lays out the latest research and best practices to communicate at the intersection of water, climate, and justice!
Rising Voices: California adapts to water change
As the global community meets in Glasgow for the latest UN climate talks, we spoke with the Union of Concerned Scientists’s Dr. José Pablo Ortiz Partida about climate change in California.
Rising Voices: Water affordability and shrinking wells
In our October Maven’s Notebook column, we check in with Clean Water Action’s Program Associate, Cristal Gonzalez & California Director, Jennifer Clary, about how the state and it’s communities are responding to a shrinking water supply.
5 takeaways: Testing water infrastructure and jobs messages
New Water Hub digital campaign sheds light on the water infrastructure and jobs messages that move policymakers and “purple” voters.
Rising Voices: Realizing the human right to water
In this September issue, we spoke with Community Water Center’s Senior Policy Advocate, Uriel Saldivar, about the expiration of California’s water shut off moratorium, water debt and protecting the human right to water.
Water Hub Staff Q&A: Briget Arndell
New Water Hub Communications Associate Briget Arndell shares her journey and connection to environmental justice work.
5 tips to walk the talk on ethical imagery
Survival Media Agency and Resource Media join the Water Hub for an “Ask Me Anything” discussion about how to create and source images ethically as cause communicators.
Water Hub Staff Q&A: Sade Moore
New Water Hub Communications Associate Sade Moore shares her experiences and passions for environmental justice and storytelling. What’s your name, pronouns, and title? Sade Moore, She/Her/Hers, Communications Associate Where do you call home? Richmond, Virginia What brought you to this work and why does water matter to you? I’m a city girl who wasn’t always passionate about the environment. As a poet, [...]
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Rising Voices: Pacoima Beautiful, water and heat in the San Fernando Valley
Rising Voices is a column the Water Hub pens for Maven’s Notebook listening to advocates and organizers in California talk about water issues impacting local communities. This month, as we’ve seen as extreme heat radiates across the West, we checked in with Pacoima Beautiful’s policy director, Andres Ramirez, and lead project planner, Dora Frietze-Armenta, to talk about what’s going on in Los [...]
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Reflecting on digital comms and nonprofit grantmaking
Last year, our team set out to pilot a small digital grants program for groups working in the Los Angeles area. The goal of the program was to help groups ramp up digital organizing at a time when the COVID-19 crisis had constrained traditional tactics like canvassing, rallies, lobby days, and more. We hoped this funding would be a useful complement to the hands-on, [...]
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Ethical imagery: using photos and videos for good
I was drawn to work in communications because I love words–– there are so many, and such a variety! Over the past 15 years, I’ve learned a lot about messaging environmental and social issues in a way that is both powerful and accessible. But I still have a lot to learn about imagery. We all do, as a field. Sure, nonprofits have [...]
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Navigating the media as a BIPOC-focused organization
Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) community organizers, movement leaders, grassroots staff–– have you ever felt like you weren't being heard in interviews, or wondered how to approach a reporter who misrepresented your issues? Whether the media has ever made you feel tone policed, erased, or that your community’s experience wasn’t being authentically reflected, you are not alone. Coverage of [...]
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Staff spotlight: Jessica Jewell
Hi there. Jessica here, the Water Hub’s new digital director. I’m incredibly humbled to introduce myself and to have the opportunity to be of service to folks fighting for water justice in the West and to support them to tell their stories. I’ve always been deeply passionate about the protection of the Earth and other living things whom we share our wild [...]
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How to craft soundbites that stick
More people than ever before are turning to social media and TV for news, scrolling and channel surfing to get the gist of the day’s top stories. In this short attention span world, we have to draw people in with bite-sized content that packs a punch. That’s where soundbites come in: they’re short and striking, designed to catch people’s attention and connect to [...]
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How to look good on video
The pandemic has changed the way many nonprofits are doing communications and outreach. Meeting on Zoom and video has become more the norm as we increasingly rely on social media to get our message out. But comms folks aren't the only ones on camera. People on the frontlines, including community members and program staff, are increasingly being asked to share their experiences [...]
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The opportunity on water
In my 10+ years of work on water, I've seen a steady increase in the amount of attention this vital resource receives in the press and in politics. This is partly driven by crises like Flint and Winter Storm Uri, but we wouldn't see the current level of awareness without organizing from every corner of the country. Advocates have been pushing relentlessly [...]
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Voters want U.S. to invest in water
More than 9 in 10 voters (93%) believe fixing America’s outdated and unsafe drinking water systems should be a top priority for President Biden’s economic recovery plan, according to our new national poll. The American Rescue Plan, passed earlier this month, is sending billions to Tribes, cities, and states to fund critical drinking and wastewater upgrades and provide lower-income families help paying their [...]
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Tracking water news in the West
Following up on last summer's analysis of water news in COVID times, the Water Hub team just completed a February 2021 Western water media scan to see how coverage of our issues has been impacted by recent events like the election, administration change, etc. We found that political news had indeed crowded out many water stories in the period from November to February, but that the [...]
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To op-ed or not … what’s the alternative?
If you're in comms, submitting op-eds is probably part of your go-to arsenal of tactics. And if you're an advocate, you've probably written one or tried to place one. But are they really an effective tool? Last month, a panel of media experts from Water Hub and Climate Nexus led To Op-Ed or Not: How to Be Heard In an Increasingly Noisy [...]
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