What About Water? with Jay Famiglietti
70 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 19 ratings"What About Water? with Jay Famiglietti" connects water science with the stories that bring about solutions, adaptation, and action for the world's water realities. Presented by Arizona State University and the University of Saskatchewan, and hosted by ASU Professor and USask Professor Emeritus Jay Famiglietti.
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Episodes
Drilling Deeper Won't Fix This
August 16, 2023 04:00 - 55 minutes - 81.8 MBPeople in the lower Colorado River basin are now witnessing drastic cuts to their allotments. In many cases, developers find alternate sources of water by drilling into underground aquifers. But in places like Pinal County, Arizona, that groundwater is already becoming scarce. We hear from Stephen Q. Miller, who sits on both the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and the board for the Central Arizona Pipeline. Without sufficient water for crops, and facing some of the highest temperatures on ...
The Colorado River's Alfalfa Problem
July 14, 2023 15:16 - 48 minutes - 67.5 MBThe meat and dairy industries are some of the biggest water users in the American West, thanks to one of cows' favorite foods – alfalfa. As aridification continues across the American southwest, water is becoming far more scarce on the Colorado River. A critical source of water for roughly 40 million Americans, we look at why so much of the Colorado River's freshwater goes toward growing water-intensive hay crops, and at what can be done to significantly scale back consumptive use in the fut...
World Water Day 2023 with Autumn Peltier
March 22, 2023 04:00 - 18 minutes - 33.4 MBWhen Autumn Peltier was eight, she learned the tap water on a neighbouring reserve wasn’t safe to drink, or even to use for hand-washing. That injustice triggered her decade-long advocacy campaign for safe drinking water. She made headlines as a 12 year-old, admonishing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at an Assembly of First Nations event for the choices his government had made for her people. In this bonus episode for World Water Day 2023, Peltier and Jay discuss the way her life shift...
Will Sarni: Can We Tech Our Way Out of Wicked Water Problems?
March 01, 2023 05:00 - 30 minutes - 41.9 MBCan we really “tech” our way out of freshwater shortages, scarcity, and pollution? In our Season 4 finale, we’re asking the big question of the season – will new water technology be enough to solve wicked water problems? Will Sarni joins Jay for a look back at the bright ideas and inventions we’ve heard about this year, sharing his view on technology’s ability to solve problems around water quality and scarcity. Jay and Will discuss what a “disruptor” like Uber could do for the wate...
What Lurks Beneath: How Robots Can Save City Plumbing with Vanessa Speight
February 15, 2023 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBIn this episode, we’re going underground, undersea and into your water and sewer pipelines with science fiction’s favorite problem-solvers…robots! Jay sits down with Vanessa Speight, a professor of Integrated Water Systems at the University of Sheffield, to learn how new, spider-like robots have the potential to locate and fix leaks in aging water pipes. Jay and Vanessa discuss when we might actually see these pipe-traveling bots in action and what they can realistically do for deve...
An AI Fix for Aging Water Systems with Seyi Fabode
February 01, 2023 05:00 - 27 minutes - 26.9 MBOn this episode of What About Water? an entrepreneur in Austin, Texas turns his dishwasher sensor into a tech startup that’s feeding water utilities snapshots of their water quality in real time. Jay sits down with Seyi Fabode, the CEO and co-founder of Varuna, to discuss how his company’s cloud-based software is helping cities keep track of their drinking water quality by the minute, allowing them to respond to spills, contamination, and fluctuations before it’s too late. Jay a...
Chemical Cocktails: What’s in our Groundwater? with John Cherry
January 18, 2023 05:00 - 30 minutes - 30.8 MBIf it’s not stuck in glaciers or polar ice, 99 per cent of the world’s freshwater is groundwater. Water underground supplies nearly half of the world’s drinking water. But what happens when dangerous chemicals and waste – polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), oil, gasoline and road salts – percolate down into that supply? On this episode of What About Water? Jay sits down with the father of contaminant hydrogeology, Dr. John Cherry, to talk about the water under our feet, and how we can ...
Dirty Laundry: Water and the World of Fast Fashion
December 21, 2022 05:00 - 34 minutes - 48.2 MBCall the fashion police! In this special holiday edition of What About Water? we dive into the apparel industry’s dirty secret: its water use. Behind oil and gas, fashion is the single most polluting industry on the planet. It accounts for 8 per cent of all carbon emissions and 20 per cent of global wastewater. We start by catching up with shoppers at the Picker’s Hullabaloo Flea Market in Charleston, South Carolina. They tell us about the clothes on their wish lists this year and why the...
Into Thin Air: A Smarter Way to Water Crops, with A.J. Purdy
December 07, 2022 05:00 - 26 minutes - 36.9 MBHow can we measure water when it disappears into thin air? On this episode of What About Water? we’re looking at evapotranspiration, or “ET” for short. It’s the combination of water evaporating from the soil, combined with the measure of water transpiring through crops’ leaves. Accounting for this water loss helps farmers know exactly how much water they should apply across their fields, and new agricultural technologies and satellites are making it much easier. Jay sits down with C...
Submerged
November 23, 2022 05:00 - 40 minutes - 43.6 MBIn the quest to find clean, renewable sources of energy, we turn to a familiar method: hydroelectricity. Today, the ancient method of harnessing the power of flowing water is hitting enormous new heights. Hydroelectric dams are some of the biggest human-made structures in the world. As humans dam more and more rivers, the scale and sheer size of these structures continues to grow. But in trying to meet our future electrical demand, are we pursuing a technology that is harming communi...
Field Smarts: Protecting Farmers’ Wallets and Our Water, with Bruno Basso
November 09, 2022 05:00 - 30 minutes - 41.8 MBIt’s estimated that by 2050, we’ll have over 9 billion people on earth. To feed everyone, we will need to produce 60 per cent more food - and we'll need to grow it using less water. On this episode of What About Water? we’re looking at new technology that can make that shift possible. Jay sits down with colleague and friend Bruno Basso, an agro-ecosystem scientist at Michigan State University and the co-founder and chief scientist of CIBO Technologies. Basso walks through the remote sens...
Under the Sea: Hidden Freshwater Reserves with Brandon Dugan
October 26, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 41.1 MBBy 2025, experts predict over half the world’s population will live in water-stressed areas. With a number of our freshwater resources on land receding, is it time to look to the ocean - or, rather, underneath it for fresh water? Jay sits down with Brandon Dugan, the Associate Department Head and Baker Hughes Chair in the Department of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines, to find out. Brandon Dugan tells us about an aquifer off the coast of New Jersey that could provide access to ...
Running Dry: Nik Kowsar on Iranian Censorship and Water Scarcity
October 12, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 41.5 MBFor Nik Kowsar, civil unrest in Iran is not new. As a geologist and journalist, he's been sounding the alarm about water shortages and censorship in his home country for decades. After being arrested and jailed for one of his cartoons and receiving death threats from pro-regime Islamists, Kowsar fled Iran in 2003. Today, he is an award-winning Iranian-Canadian journalist and water issues analyst. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. where he produces and broadcasts 'Abangan; a weekly...
Water Affects Your Pension: Cate Lamb at World Water Week
September 28, 2022 04:00 - 28 minutes - 46 MBCan water risk disclosure move the needle on corporate water stewardship? And what does that risk mean for our own retirement funds? In this very special episode of What About Water? - recorded on location at World Water Week - Jay sits down with Cate Lamb in Stockholm, Sweden to discuss valuing water. We hear how companies with high water-related risks affect our own bottom line, and how pensions hang in the balance when the value of those companies erodes in the face of climate chang...
Don't Mess With the Data: Virginia Burkett on Louisiana's Vanishing Coastline
September 14, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 24.3 MBIn the first episode of our fourth season, Jay sits down with renowned scientist and IPCC author, Virginia Burkett, to talk about technology, its pitfalls and its promises for a water-secure future. Burkett is the Chief Scientist for Climate and Land Use Change at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where she’s worked for over three decades. She is based in Louisiana and is an expert in global change and low-lying coastal zones. We also get an update from Jay after a busy summer and a...
Season 4 Trailer
August 24, 2022 12:00 - 1 minute - 1.98 MBOur planet is in crisis. When it comes to water, there are many promising solutions. But in a world full of new technologies, what innovations should we pay attention to? And will they be enough? On Season 4 of What About Water? we're diving into New Technologies, Water Realities. Host Jay Famiglietti will sit down with the experts, innovators and big-picture thinkers who are helping preserve and protect our freshwater. Each new episode, we'll look at how human-made solutions can...
Can Peace and Prosperity Flow from Water?
August 17, 2022 10:00 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBWhat happens when tensions over water reach their boiling point? In our final bonus episode of the summer season, we explore the causes of water conflicts and what we can do to stop them. We start with the Middle East, a water-scarce region where conflict brews over shared water resources. We then turn to Latin America, where migrants are spurred by climate change, and the lack of water rights in Chilé has created conflict between the government and its people. We revisit conversations wit...
Engineering a New Water World
July 13, 2022 06:05 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBIn our third bonus episode of the summer season, we look back at the innovative ways people are sourcing their freshwater, from building home water systems on the Navajo Nation to engineering a state of the art wastewater treatment facility in Orange County. We hear what improvements need to be made to America's aging water infrastructure. And we look at the damage that over-engineering has done through dams and diversions, turning our attention to nature-based solutions to help restore the ...
Going to Extremes: Heat, Water Scarcity and Food
June 15, 2022 04:05 - 17 minutes - 24.2 MBFrom farmer’s fields to the high arctic, from your morning cup of coffee to a glass of wine – everything we eat and drink depends on water. In the second episode of our summer mini season, we draw from our past interviews about water scarcity and its effect on our food supply. We take a look at last year’s drought and withered crops on the Canadian prairies, and how melting permafrost in the arctic threatens traditional knowledge about food from the land for the Inuit of Iqaluit. We he...
At Its Essence: What Indigenous Teachings Tell us About Water
May 18, 2022 04:00 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MBIn our first mini-episode of the summer season, we turn to three guests from our past seasons to explore Indigenous ways of knowing, and to look more closely at the sacred nature of water -- how various people understand it, conserve it and co-exist with it. Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster shares how climate change is affecting Indigenous reconciliation efforts in Canada and what melting permafrost means for the Inuit of Iqaluit. Deon Hassler gives hope to a new generation of Indigenous water ...
Summer Season Trailer (Bonus Episodes)
May 16, 2022 17:23 - 1 minute - 1.97 MBThis summer on What About Water? we bring you some of our most compelling interviews from the past three seasons. We're releasing four mini episodes spanning four different themes that continue to resonate in the world of water. This special summer edition of What About Water? launches May 18, with one episode dropping each month.
Summer Season Trailer
May 16, 2022 17:23 - 1 minute - 1.97 MBThis summer on What About Water? we bring you some of our most compelling interviews from the past three seasons. We're releasing four mini episodes spanning four different themes that continue to resonate in the world of water. This special summer edition of What About Water? launches May 18, with one episode dropping each month.
The Girl Who Wanted To Swim: Tackling Sewage At The Source
March 30, 2022 14:17 - 26 minutes - 36.6 MBOn our final episode of Season 3, we hear how a 6th grade science fair project led to receiving the Order of Nova Scotia for youth environmentalist and clean water advocate, Stella Bowles. At just 11 years old, Stella learned about the 600 straight pipes flushing unprocessed sewage from homes directly into the LaHave river behind her home. What started as a science fair project catapulted her community - and all three levels of government - into action to clean up the LaHave. Now 18 years ol...
Water Pipes to Water Rights: Protecting Water with Newsha Ajami and Carolina Vilches
March 16, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 46.9 MBThis week on What About Water?, we look at water infrastructure – from broken water pipes across America to the redistribution of water rights in Chilé – and what role governments play in fixing the systems that distribute our water. Newsha Ajami, Chief Development Officer for Research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, joins us as our first return guest of the podcast. Newsha and Jay cover the state of America’s aging water systems and innovative solutions at play from 50L Homes to o...
Good To The Last Drop? Coffee & Climate with Aaron Davis
March 02, 2022 05:00 - 29 minutes - 41.6 MBCoffee is one of the most widely-consumed beverages in the world. But with climate change threatening the world's two main coffee species, will that change? Coffee scientist and researcher Dr. Aaron Davis says even with rising temperatures, and more drought -- that doesn’t have to be the case. This week on What About Water? we hear why reintroducing forgotten wild coffee species will be the key to growing enough coffee in the future. In this episode, Jay learns about the professional coffe...
Tasha Beeds: Walking With Water
February 16, 2022 05:00 - 29 minutes - 42.4 MBOn this episode of What About Water? we’re learning from traditional knowledge. Jay sits down with Tasha Beeds, a grassroots Indigenous academic and Water Walker. She takes us through the origins of Water Walking - an Indigenous ceremony recognizing and connecting with water. Beeds enters into ceremony for the water - discussing what it means to raise consciousness about water as a living entity. On the Last Word, we hear from Josée Street, a young Indigenous woman who shows ho...
The Sea Also Rises
February 02, 2022 05:00 - 30 minutes - 41.3 MBOn this episode of What About Water? we take a look at the state of our rising seas from space, and learn what coastal communities on the ground are doing to adapt. Jay speaks with long-time colleague Dr. Steve Nerem, a principal investigator on NASA’s Sea Level Change team. We learn that by 2100, we could see around one meter of global sea level rise, but there is still time to stop the worst-case scenarios for future generations. On the Last Word, we hear from Matt Osler about the Ci...
From Toilet to Tap, with Mike Markus
January 19, 2022 05:00 - 30 minutes - 41.5 MBWith climate change threatening freshwater sources, water demand across the globe is likely to increase by 20 - 30% between now and 2050. In this episode, we’re looking at two promising solutions to create clean drinking water from surprising places: our sewers and our oceans. We speak with General Manager of the Orange County Water District, Mike Markus, about debunking the “toilet to tap” fear and how turning our wastewater into clean drinking water can be a closed-loop solution to mount...
Debunking 'Toilet to Tap', with Mike Markus
January 19, 2022 05:00 - 30 minutes - 41.5 MBWith climate change threatening freshwater sources, water demand across the globe is likely to increase by 20 - 30% between now and 2050. In this episode, we’re looking at two promising solutions to create clean drinking water from surprising places: our sewers and our oceans. We speak with General Manager of the Orange County Water District, Mike Markus, about debunking the “toilet to tap” fear and how turning our wastewater into clean drinking water can be a closed-loop solution to moun...
Boiling Point: Water, Borders and Conflict with Aaron Wolf
January 05, 2022 05:00 - 28 minutes - 39.5 MBTransboundary waters - the rivers, lakes, and aquifers shared by two or more countries - are found in 153 of the world’s 192 countries. They account for an estimated 60 per cent of global freshwater flow. As a critical component of our survival, water has long been a source of conflict between nations. The stakes are higher with a rapidly increasing population and threats of water scarcity. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Aaron Wolf, a trained mediator and facilitator and Professor of Ge...
'Portfolios will tank': Mindy Lubber, money and water
December 08, 2021 05:00 - 26 minutes - 36.9 MBWe’re already reaping the financial repercussions of climate change. Four Twenty Seven projects that by 2040, roughly $78 trillion, equivalent to about 57% of the world’s current GDP, will be exposed to flooding. On this episode of What About Water? we ask the question: can market incentives align with climate priorities? And how do we hold big corporations accountable? We speak with Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit driving climate solutions through ...
Replenishing a Broken Water Cycle with Sandra Postel
November 24, 2021 05:00 - 30 minutes - 44.3 MBFor centuries, we have built big dams, reservoirs, and levees. Humans have steered and shaped the flow of water to irrigate deserts, prevent floods and access groundwater. But through big engineering, we’ve also created breaks in the natural flow of freshwater from source to sea. The good news is: we can look back to nature for solutions. In this episode we speak with Sandra Postel, one of the world’s leading freshwater experts, about how solutions rooted in nature - like cover cropping a...
Replenishing a Broken Water Cycle
November 24, 2021 05:00 - 30 minutes - 44.3 MBFor centuries, we have built big dams, reservoirs, and levees. Humans have steered and shaped the flow of water to irrigate deserts, prevent floods and access groundwater. But through big engineering, we’ve also created breaks in the natural flow of freshwater from source to sea. The good news is: we can look back to nature for solutions. In this episode we speak with Sandra Postel, one of the world’s leading freshwater experts, about how solutions rooted in nature - like cover croppi...
Growing Food in Dry Times: Drought in the West
November 10, 2021 05:00 - 25 minutes - 35 MBIt’s no surprise growing food uses lots of water. One cow needs anywhere from 3 to 30 L of water a day. It takes 3200 L of water to grow one pound of lentils. In this episode we ask, what do we do when there's not enough water to feed our food? Here in Canada, 2021 made history as prairie farmers experienced one of the worst droughts Western North America has seen in the last 1200 years. After three years of reduced precipitation, prolonged dry spells change everything from the crops we...
On Thin Ice: Iqaluit’s Water Crisis
October 27, 2021 04:00 - 27 minutes - 39.3 MBIn this episode, we visit the city of Iqaluit in Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut, which is battling a water crisis on multiple fronts. This month, residents were alerted not to drink or cook with water due to contamination. But for years, the city’s main water supply - Lake Geraldine - has experienced dropping levels. And overall, climate change is impacting everything from the city’s water supply, to thawing permafrost. Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster served as Deputy Mayor of Iqaluit, a...
Climate Change Hope with Katharine Hayhoe
October 13, 2021 04:00 - 27 minutes - 44.1 MBOn this episode: Katharine Hayhoe’s new book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, is a practical and compassionate guide for talking about climate change across differences. Combining her research with thousands of conversations with everyday people, Hayhoe shows us how shared values can activate ordinary citizens to become climate change champions. Hayhoe joins us for our first episode of the third season to discuss reframing the climate conver...
Season 3 Trailer
October 12, 2021 15:05 - 1 minute - 1.52 MBWater is one of the main ways we experience the effects of a changing climate. As flooding, drought, and climate extremes grow widespread, the way we use every drop counts. This season, join What About Water with host Jay Famiglietti, as we meet the people adapting to our planet's new water realities, with innovative ideas, strategies, and most importantly -- a sense of hope. Whether it's traditional knowledge or cutting-edge technology, this season is all about the way humans adapt and ...
DamNation!
October 04, 2021 16:20 - 22 minutes - 34.2 MBJoin our guest host, Professor Graham Strickert, as he hosts a panel of experts to discuss the pitfalls and problems of hydropower dams. Inspired by our screening of the award-winning Patagonia film "DamNation."
DamNation! (Bonus Episode)
October 04, 2021 16:20 - 22 minutes - 34.2 MBJoin our guest host, Professor Graham Strickert, as he hosts a panel of experts to discuss the pitfalls and problems of hydropower dams. Inspired by our screening of the award-winning Patagonia film "DamNation."
Oh crap! COVID-19 In Our Wastewater?! (Bonus Episode)
August 28, 2021 13:46 - 23 minutes - 23 MBJoin us as some of Canada's leading water scientists and experts discuss how testing wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 can help us detect emerging community outbreaks. It's a dirty subject that is saving lives.
The Cost of Climate Migration (Bonus Episode)
June 11, 2021 16:40 - 33 minutes - 23.8 MBClimate change has a price. In this bonus episode (recorded on Earth Day) our host Dr. Jay Famiglietti has a live virtual roundtable with three experts - Abrahm Lustgarten, Robin Bronen, and Jesse Keenan - each with a unique perspective on this multifaceted topic.
Valuing Water (Bonus Episode)
May 22, 2021 16:00 - 35 minutes - 30.3 MBValuing water is about much more than price. In this bonus episode (a condensed version of our Let's Talk About Water virtual forum on World Water Day), Jay talks with three individuals each with a unique perspective on valuing water.
Best of Season 2
March 11, 2021 17:34 - 5 minutes - 7.83 MBWe've had a great second season on Let's Talk About Water, diving deep into some of the planet's most pressing water concerns. We looked at disadvantaged communities who don't have access to safe drinking water, and at the activists fighting to change that. We talked about how the politics of 2020 impacted water rights. And we confronted the climate crisis, examining the many ways rising sea levels and polluted waters endanger us all. Have a listen to some of our best moments of Season Two.
Towards a Better World with Jeffrey Sachs: Director's Cut
March 11, 2021 17:30 - 43 minutes - 59.7 MBMark World Water Day on March 22 by checking out our extended director's cut of "Towards a Greener, Better World with Jeffrey Sachs". Tune in as Dr. Sachs dives deeper into how humanity's 50,000-year-old dependence on conflict and suspicion keep us from enjoying the full benefits of our technological revolution. When we forget about territory or division and focus on innovation and exchange, Dr. Sachs argues, we can accomplish great things – to heal the planet and change the world.
Towards a Greener, Better World with Jeffrey Sachs
March 08, 2021 18:44 - 27 minutes - 38.3 MBWorld-renowned economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs believes humanity can leap forward with science and technology – but only if we drop our primeval addiction to war and conflict. We can create new vaccines in less than a year or measure water below ground using satellites in spaces, but political institutions are still locked in a 50,000-year-old "Us vs. Them" mindset that prevents global cooperation and advancement. With a broader, more inclusive worldview, Dr. Sachs says, we can create a more sust...
Liquid Assets: Water on Wall Street
February 22, 2021 19:54 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBColorado water lawyer James Eklund and California water policy expert Ellen Hanak talk to Jay about the future of water -- or rather, about water futures. Water futures and securities are increasingly valuable investments. Some may feel anxiety at letting financial markets commodify such a basic human essential, but Eklund and Hanak, whose states have unique systems of water rights, say it's a legitimate resource management tool and way forward for landowners struggling to monetize their assets.
Broken Promises, New Solutions
February 10, 2021 08:15 - 27 minutes - 37.7 MBFor thousands of years Indigenous North Americans drank some of the world's purest drinking water. Then came colonization and government neglect. First Nations' water quality fell and, with it, their health. But as Jay learns, change is coming thanks to Indigenous Water Protectors, like Deon Hassler, a teacher of water treatment plant operators for the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council, and helpers, like Bob Patrick, a water expert at the University of Saskatchewan.
A Conversation With Felicia Marcus
January 26, 2021 22:06 - 24 minutes - 33.2 MBIn this episode, Jay talks with an old friend about hope: hope for cleaner and safer water in America. Felicia Marcus is an attorney/consultant who has served in government, the non-profit world, and the private sector. She's been a board member on numerous national and international bodies, including one that oversees Canada-U.S. water issues. She is currently the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Woods Institute Water in the West Program.
Plastics Are Forever
January 11, 2021 22:05 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MBDr. Chelsea Rochman, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, says plastic, everyone's favourite cheap and easy resource, comes with a high price. Microscopic pieces of plastic flake off every time we wield a disposable bag, or wash a polyester sweater, or any number of things. They permeate our water, air, soil, bodies, even unborn foetuses. It's a problem that will plague humans for untold generations unless, she says, we take aggressive action to control our plastic addiction.
Slippery Slopes: Canadian Recreation Meets Climate Change
December 14, 2020 16:21 - 31 minutes - 43.4 MBThis week climatologist Micah Hewer and economist Pat Lloyd-Smith tell Jay about the good, the bad, and the ugly effects of global warming on Canada's outdoor recreation sector. On the bad side of the ledger: shorter downhill skiing and skating seasons and slime-covered lakes in the summer. On the good side: longer, better seasons for outdoor pursuits like hunting, bird watching and cross-country skiing. And one of the best of all: better, more widespread winemaking, especially of fine red wine.