What About Water? with Jay Famiglietti
Global Institute for Water Security
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"What About Water" connects water science with the stories that bring about solutions, adaptations & actions for the world's water realities. Hosted by Jay Famiglietti and presented by the Global Institute for Water Security and The Walrus Lab. Formerly known as "Let's Talk About Water".
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5 days ago
World Water Day 2023 with Autumn Peltier
When 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 shifted, as she started campaigning for clean water. Peltier also shares what it was like to shoot her documentary The Water Walker, and lets us in on her plans for the future now that she’s finished high school.
On a day devoted to improving the way we manage, consume, and use water, the message is ‘Be The Change’ – something Peltier takes to heart. Two billion people still live without clean water, and the United Nations says member countries have fallen behind on their goal to bring everyone safe water and sanitation by the year 2030.
“The message is so much more powerful and so much more stronger when it's coming from a young person,” said Peltier, the chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation. “That's when you know something is wrong, and something has to be done.”
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Mar 1, 2023
Will Sarni: Can We Tech Our Way Out of Wicked Water Problems?
Can 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 water sector and what it will take to get the public sector to respond to innovation. And if you’ve ever wondered why piping water from a wet part of the country to areas hit by drought is a hot-button issue, you’ll want to stick around for our last ‘Ask Jay’ segment of the season.
Will Sarni is the CEO of Water Foundry and the founder and general partner of Water Foundry Ventures, a technology venture fund focused on addressing water scarcity, quality and equitable access to water. Will is a podcaster, an internationally recognized thought leader on water strategy and innovation, and the author of numerous books. You can check out his children’s book, Water, I Wonder here.
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Feb 15, 2023
What Lurks Beneath: How Robots Can Save City Plumbing with Vanessa Speight
In 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 developing nations, where drinking water loss can be as much as 70 per cent due to aging and unmaintained systems.
In our Last Word, professor Lucian Busoniu tells us about SeaClear, a project funded by the European Union, building the first fleet of autonomous robots to collect litter from the ocean floor.
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Feb 1, 2023
An AI Fix for Aging Water Systems with Seyi Fabode
On 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 and Seyi dream up a new tech idea together and trace Seyi’s entrepreneurial roots from his childhood in Nigeria to his post-grad in the UK. They discuss the $100,000 investment from the Google for Startups Black Founder Fund that opened new doors for Varuna, and what needs to change to get more black-owned businesses like Seyi’s off the ground.
At the end of the episode Jay answers a few questions about the Tri-State Water Wars and water privatization from our listener Mark, who’s based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Got a question for Jay? Write to him at ideas@whataboutwater.org and you may hear your question in an upcoming episode. Voice memos like Mark’s are also welcome!
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Jan 18, 2023
Chemical Cocktails: What’s in our Groundwater? with John Cherry
If 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 better monitor it. In the 1970s, Cherry wrote the foundational textbook on groundwater with his colleague, Al Freeze. And we hear how one of his students paved the path for his successful career in the field.
To find out what’s actually being done to stop industry polluters from dispersing PFAS chemicals into our waterways, producer Erin Stephens speaks with Marc Yaggi, CEO of the global nonprofit Waterkeeper Alliance. Yaggi shares what Waterkeeper is advocating for in Congress, brands eliminating PFAS from their production lines, and how everyone can get involved in the effort to get these “forever chemicals” out of our rivers. Check out their surface water quality survey here to learn more.
Got a question for Jay? Write to us at ideas@whataboutwater.org and you may hear your question in an upcoming episode. Voice memos are also welcome!
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Dec 21, 2022
Dirty Laundry: Water and the World of Fast Fashion
Call 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 they choose to shop second-hand.
Jay talks water overuse and about changes for garment designers and manufacturers with Andrea Kennedy, Vice-President of Sustainability for Material Exchange. From Shein to Patagonia, Jay and Andrea dive into the pollution “fast fashion” creates, as well as the certifications and brands you can look out for when you’re trying to shop more sustainably.
Charleston vendor Madeline of Gaia’s Hearth shares the secrets to her natural dyeing process: backyard plants, recycled water and a giant lobster pot. We also turn to two technologies that are paving the way for sustainable textile production at-scale.
Ernst Siewers, Chief Technology Officer of DyeCoo, tells us about his groundbreaking invention - the world’s first waterless textile dyeing machine. We also hear from Shahriare Mahmood, Chief Sustainability Officer for Spinnova. This Finnish company is harnessing the secrets of spiders to spin natural textile fibres out of wood pulp without using any harmful chemicals. This process uses minimal water and creates zero waste.
That’s it from us at What About Water? for 2022! We’re taking a holiday break, but we’ll be back January 18 with some exciting news and a brand new episode for you. Got ideas for the show? Something you’d like to ask Jay? Write to us or send a voice memo to ideas@whataboutwater.org.
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Dec 7, 2022
Into Thin Air: A Smarter Way to Water Crops, with A.J. Purdy
How 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 California State University at Monterrey Bay Senior Research Scientist – and former student – A.J. Purdy, whose doctoral thesis looked at the advancement and applications of satellite-derived ET algorithms.
We also hear what this looks like in real life, with Brett Baker, a sixth-generation California pear farmer and lawyer. With the ever-present risk of flood on his family’s land in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Baker explains how OpenET is helping farmers like him and his father take better measurements of consumptive use.
Robyn Grimm, Interim Director of OpenET, tells us how this open-source platform is making big waves.
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Nov 23, 2022
Submerged
In 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 communities, rivers and the environment?
In our first-ever documentary “Submerged”, we hear the different ways Indigenous communities bear the brunt of mega hydroelectric projects. What happens when land is flooded, waterways diverted, and dangerous neurotoxins like methylmercury are released?
Featuring Inuk Labrador Land Protector Amy Norman and Aimée Craft, co-editor of In Our Backyard: Keeyask and the Legacy of Hydroelectric Development, the documentary by Farha Akhtar gives us a first-hand and insightful account of the long-lasting legacies created by hydroelectric projects.
Daniel Macfarlane then shares his perspective on the outsized environmental effects of super-sized hydroelectric projects. The asssociate professor of Environmental and Sustainability Studies at Western Michigan University sits down with Jay to discuss what actually happens when a free-flowing river is turned into a lake – from changes in species, to changes in local climates. They also discuss “hydraulic imperialism” and the colonial subjugation of Indigenous people and land.
The Canadian registered charity Raven Trust weighs in on its work supporting Indigenous communities pursuing the often-expensive and painful process of challenging large-scale dams and developments in court.
We round out the episode with the moving song “A Thousand Years” by Silver Wolf Band, a four piece Indigenous folk-rock band from Labrador, Canada.
This documentary and episode of What About Water? is supported by the Uproot Project, which is operationally and financially supported by Grist, its founding partner. Uproot supports journalists of colour who are underrepresented in the journalism industry, to help them tell stories like this one.
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Nov 9, 2022
Field Smarts: Protecting Farmers’ Wallets and Our Water, with Bruno Basso
It’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 sensing technology, artificial intelligence, and process-based models farmers can use to optimize their yield - and environmental outcomes - using more precise water and fertilizer inputs.
In the Last Word we look at one of the most impactful inventions for precision agriculture: drip irrigation. John Farner, Chief Sustainability Officer for Netafim, explains how this low-tech innovation is helping farmers around the globe grow higher quality crops with less water.
We also dive into three ‘Ask Jay’ questions. You can check out the LA Times article Jay mentions here.
And if you have a question about water for Jay, let us know who you are, what’s on your mind, and where you’re based – by writing to ideas@whataboutwater.org. We also like voice memos!
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Oct 26, 2022
Under the Sea: Hidden Freshwater Reserves with Brandon Dugan
By 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 freshwater – if we dig deep enough. Jay taps into the advanced drilling technology Dugan and other researchers use to access these hidden freshwater reserves and assess them as a viable resource.
The find raises questions about water ownership and governance in uncharted territory, along with the need to value offshore water as much as we value offshore oil and gas.
At the tail end of this episode, our producer Erin Stephens returns with our first ‘Ask Jay’ segment.
Do you have a question about water for Jay? Let us know who you are, what’s on your mind, and where you’re based – by writing to ideas@whataboutwater.org. Voice memos are also welcome.
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Oct 12, 2022
Running Dry: Nik Kowsar on Iranian Censorship and Water Scarcity
For 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 Persian-language show covering water issues for Iranian citizens.
In this episode, Kowsar shares the story about how and why he harnesses the power of media and technology to spread the word about water.
In our Last Word, we turn to Daniel Harrich, a German documentary filmmaker who recently released the three-part documentary series “Unser Vasser” (Our Water) for the German Public Television Network, ARD. Jay traveled around the southwest United States with Daniel last year to film for the do…
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Sep 28, 2022
Water Affects Your Pension: Cate Lamb at World Water Week
Can 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 change.
Cate Lamb is the Global Director of Water Security for CDP, a non-profit organization once dubbed “the most powerful Green NGO you’ve never heard of” by the Harvard Business Review.
CDP urges large businesses to disclose their environmental risks and reduce their water footprint, using the influence of investors to catalyze change.
In a report released just last year, the NGO found the cost of ignoring water risks to businesses could be over five times greater than paying now to address th…
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Sep 14, 2022
Don't Mess With the Data: Virginia Burkett on Louisiana's Vanishing Coastline
In 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 sneak peak at the season ahead. Here is The Deutsche Welle German Documentary, which now has nearly 4 million views in English alone, and the "Water" episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver that Jay mentions.
If you have any ideas, questions or comments for our new ‘Ask Jay’ segment, email us at ideas@whataboutwater.org and you may well hear Jay answer your question in an upcoming episode.
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Aug 24, 2022
Season 4 Trailer
Our 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 both help and hurt us as we tackle our biggest water challenges. And we'll explore everything from ideas found in nature to digital media, data and shiny new tech.
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Aug 17, 2022
Can Peace and Prosperity Flow from Water?
What 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 with four renowned guests from our past episodes: EcoPeace Middle East Director Gidon Bromberg, economist Jeffrey Sachs, journalist Abrahm Lustgarten and activist Carolina Vilches. You can find their full episodes from our previous seasons here:
S1E3 & S1E4: Water, peace and the Middle East: Part 1 & Part 2: Water, Peace and the Middle East featuring Gidon Bromberg
S2E13 Towards a Better, Greener World with Jeffrey Sachs https://www.whataboutwater.org/s02e13/
S2E4 The Great Climate Migration with…
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Jul 13, 2022
Engineering a New Water World
In 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 broken water cycle.
This mini-episode features the voices of Emma Robbins, Peter Gleick, Mike Markus and Sandra Postel. You can find their full episodes from our previous seasons here:
S2E1 (COVID-19 & our Water Supply) featuring Emma Robbins: https://www.whataboutwater.org/s02e01/
S2E6 (Bide(n) Time for America’s Water Resources) featuring Peter Gleick: https://www.whataboutwater.org/s02e06/
S3E4 (Replenishing a Broken Water Cycle) featuring Sandra Postel: https://www.whataboutwater.org/s03e0…
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Jun 15, 2022
Going to Extremes: Heat, Water Scarcity and Food
From 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 hear how coffee farmers in Sierra Leone are cultivating the climate-resilient "Stenophylla" species to bring it to market, and how crops like coffee beans and wine grapes are sensitive indicators of climate change -- and changes coming to these industries.
This mini-episode features the voices of Merle Massie, Reg Lowe, Aaron Davis, Daniel Sarmu, Micah Hewer and Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster. You can find their full episodes from our previous seasons here:
S3E3 (Growing Food in Dry Times: Drought in th…
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May 18, 2022
At Its Essence: What Indigenous Teachings Tell us About Water
In 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 operators in the face of long-term boil water advisories.
And Josée Street shares her story of learning the lessons of western science, while the teachings of her family and culture bubble under the surface.
You can find their full episodes from our previous seasons here:
S3E2 (On Thin Ice: Iqaluit's Water Crisis) featuring Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster: https://www.whataboutwater.org/s03e02/
S2E11 (Broken Promises, New Solutions: The Future of First Nations Water Quality) featuring Deon Hassler: htt…
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May 16, 2022
Summer Season Trailer (Bonus Episodes)
This 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.
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Mar 30, 2022
The Girl Who Wanted To Swim: Tackling Sewage At The Source
On 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 old and $15.7 million in government funds allocated later, Stella sits down with Jay to share her story.
On the Last Word we hear from more youth of all ages – five-year old Rishi, 8-year-old Aashrith, 10-year-old Aurelia, 12-year-old Tasman, and 13-year-old Shreya. They share why water is important to them and what they are doing to protect it, plus a call to action for adults everywhere.
Read the full guest bio for Stella Bowles here.
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Mar 16, 2022
Water Pipes to Water Rights: Protecting Water with Newsha Ajami and Carolina Vilches
This 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 on-site water reuse projects, changing views on grassy lawns, and investment in data systems as water infrastructure for the 21st century.
On the Last Word we hear from Carolina Vilches, a member of the constitutional convention in Chilé, where large industries hold huge rights to water. She was elected last May to help re-write her country’s constitution and recalibrate water distribution. Under Chilé’s new laws, she’s trying to make sure water gets official protection as a basic hum…
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Mar 2, 2022
Good To The Last Drop? Coffee & Climate with Aaron Davis
Coffee 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 coffee-tasting process and just how much flavor factors into the equation for coffee farmers’ bottom lines.
On the Last Word we meet Daniel Sarmu, a coffee development specialist in Sierra Leone who is helping small farmers grow heat-tolerant Stenophylla coffee. He is also searching for more Stenophylla coffee trees in the wild.
Aaron Davis
Dr. Aaron Davis is the Senior Research Leader of Plant Resources at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK). Davis is the leading authority on coffee species and h…
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Feb 16, 2022
Tasha Beeds: Walking With Water
On 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 how scientists can bridge the gap between traditional ways of knowing and western thinking.
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Feb 2, 2022
The Sea Also Rises
On 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 City of Surrey’s Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy. He outlines how researchers, First Nations, and municipalities in Southwest British Columbia are working together to implement cross-disciplinary approaches to sea level rise through the Living with Water project.
Matt Osler is a Senior Project Engineer in the Drainage Section at City of Surrey. He joined the Engineering Department in 2006 and currently oversees the implementation of the City’s Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy. He completed a Ma…
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Jan 19, 2022
Debunking 'Toilet to Tap', with Mike Markus
With 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 mounting water scarcity. On the Last Word, we hear from Dr. William Tarpeh about new research he's leading at Stanford University that could make desalination a more viable solution; one that’s less costly and better for the environment.
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Jan 5, 2022
Boiling Point: Water, Borders and Conflict with Aaron Wolf
Transboundary 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 Geography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, about transboundary cooperation as a useful tool for adaptation. On the Last Word, we hear from Reverend Michelle Singh about the connections between water, faith, and dialogue. Rev. Singh is the Executive Director of Faith & the Common Good, a national interfaith network based in Toronto.
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Dec 8, 2021
'Portfolios will tank': Mindy Lubber, money and water
We’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 a surprising demographic – influential investors and fortune 500 companies.
Mindy breaks down investors’ call for action leading up to COP26 and how, if we really want to create change, influencing corporate interest is part of the solution.
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Nov 24, 2021
Replenishing a Broken Water Cycle with Sandra Postel
For 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 and river restoration - are key to mending the broken water cycle.
We also speak with Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, a Director of River Restoration for American Rivers, about a demolition project along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvaniad.
She sees dam removal as a critical first step to river restoration. mending our planet's broken water cycle.
About our guests:
Sandra Postel is an American conservationist, a leading expert on international water issues, and Director of the Global Water Polic…
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Nov 10, 2021
Growing Food in Dry Times: Drought in the West
It’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’re able to grow, right down to the cost of the food on our plates.
In this episode, we hear from Merle Massie and Reg Low -- Saskatchewan farmers who are experiencing the impact of drought and unpredictable precipitation firsthand.
Jay talks with Leon Kochian, Associate Director of the Global Institute for Food Security, about the 'root' of the problem. We look at how far science has come in breeding drought-resistant crops to help farmers adapt to both floods and water scarcity, and at where…
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Oct 27, 2021
On Thin Ice: Iqaluit’s Water Crisis
In 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, and was recently elected to her territory's legislature.
In this episode, recorded shortly after that alert was issued, she shares how the people of Iqaluit are coping with these water challenges and what they mean for the Inuit and their traditional way of life.
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Oct 13, 2021
Climate Change Hope with Katharine Hayhoe
On 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 conversation and the foundation for real climate hope: action.
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Oct 12, 2021
Season 3 Trailer
Water 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 dive deeper into water solutions for a thirsty planet.
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Oct 4, 2021
DamNation! (Bonus Episode)
Join 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."
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Aug 28, 2021
Oh crap! COVID-19 In Our Wastewater?! (Bonus Episode)
Join 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.
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Jun 11, 2021
The Cost of Climate Migration (Bonus Episode)
Climate 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.
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May 22, 2021
Valuing Water (Bonus Episode)
Valuing 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.
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Mar 11, 2021
Best of Season 2
We'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.
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Mar 11, 2021
Towards a Better World with Jeffrey Sachs: Director's Cut
Mark 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.
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Mar 8, 2021
Towards a Greener, Better World with Jeffrey Sachs
World-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 sustainable planet.
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Feb 22, 2021
Liquid Assets: Water on Wall Street
Colorado 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.
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Feb 10, 2021
Broken Promises, New Solutions
For 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.
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Jan 26, 2021
A Conversation With Felicia Marcus
In 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.
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Jan 11, 2021
Plastics Are Forever
Dr. 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.
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Dec 14, 2020
Slippery Slopes: Canadian Recreation Meets Climate Change
This 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.
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Dec 1, 2020
Brother Ocean, Sister Lake: Why Water Deserves Respect and Human Rights
Dr. Kelsey Leonard, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo and member of the Shinnecock Nation, discusses how Indigenous views on the personhood of water can save that water. More and more bodies of water around the world are being granted legal personhood status, which gives them the right to be defended from industrial pollution. Dr. Leonard is fighting to make water justice a priority across government and bridge the gap between Indigenous belief and Western law.
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Nov 19, 2020
Season 2 Trailer
This season, host Jay Famiglietti sits down with some of the world's leading experts to once again talk about water and learns why some marginalized communities are denied safe water access, how flooding and droughts may end up forcing billions of climate refugees to flee their homes, which regulations have been gutted and need to be brought back to save us from disaster and more. Join us as we dive into our waters at home and abroad, confront the dangers they face, and learn how to save them.
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Nov 18, 2020
Bide(n) time for America’s Water Resources with Peter Gleick
Dr. Peter Gleick, co-founder and president emeritus of the Pacific Institute, believes Joe Biden could be the man to save American water policy, which has been foundering under Donald Trump. In his co-authored policy brief, Water Recommendations to the Next President, Gleick and his colleagues lay out the biggest issues with US water safety and access, and what President Elect Biden needs to do to guarantee continued clean water for all Americans and limit the global repercussions of climate change.
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Nov 3, 2020
Groundwater: 'Go Deep or Go Dry’ is Unsustainable
Debra Perrone, Assistant Professor UC Santa Barbara, discusses the dwindling groundwater supply affecting 12 million US wells caused by global warming and over-consumption. The world relies on groundwater, which is getting harder and harder to find. With groundwater close to the surface vanishing, well-drillers are forced to turn to deep drilling for corporate, agricultural, and domestic water needs. But going deep this way is far more expensive and increasingly yields contaminated water.
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Oct 21, 2020
The Great Climate Migration with Abrahm Lustgarten
Abrahm Lustgarten, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated environmental reporter, talks to us about climate migration, one of climate change's biggest looming threats. Rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and ever-increasing natural disasters are forcing people to abandon their homes and their ways of life to seek safer ground. As the planet heats up, the number of climate refugees will just keep swelling, up to 3 billion people -- a third of the global population -- by 2070.
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Oct 7, 2020
How Environmental Racism Pollutes Marginalized Communities
Dr. Ingrid Waldron is a sociology professor at Dalhousie University who argues that African Nova Scotian and Indigenous communities are victims of environmental racism, forced to drink tainted water, breathe polluted air and live next to waste dumps. Now these concerns are reaching national and even global audiences thanks to a best-selling book and widely streamed documentary, both titled "There's Something in the Water," made in collaboration with actor Elliot Page.
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Sep 22, 2020
California Drying, California Burning
In this episode of "Let's Talk About Water," California is burning. And Oregon. And Washington State. And not only are mega wildfires in the U.S. threatening – and sometimes taking -- lives and property there, they're pumping smoke and fallout high into the atmosphere that has spread to Canada and even entered European air space. Host Jay Famiglietti switches gears this week to talk about the absence of water in his onetime stomping grounds of California. Jay speaks to an old friend who resides in his fire-threatened former hometown of Sierra Madre, a leading climatologist named Bill Patzer; University of California wildfire expert Crystal Kolden and Hayley Smith, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, who’s living on the edge of the biggest story of her life -- the infamous Bobcat Fire -- as it blazes in the mountains overlooking L.A.
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Sep 15, 2020
COVID-19 and Our Water Supply
What is the impact of COVID-19 on our water supply? As we learn on the Season 2 debut of "Let's Talk About Water" scientists' initial fears the virus could be a waterborne as well as airborne have lessened. But as it has in just about every other aspect of our lives, COVID has affected how we understand and use water. Host Jay Famiglietti speaks to water scientist Markus Brinkmann about the University of Saskatchewan's involvement in an important new international surveillance project. It tracks COVID-19 through large populations by studying their sewage. Jay also speaks to Navajo rights activist Emma Robbins. Robbins explains how COVID has jeopardized people engaged in the day-to-day struggle to find potable water on the largest Native American Reservation in the United States. And he talks to high-tech entrepreneur Trever Andrew, a member of the Shuswap First Nation in South-Central British Columbia. Clients from around the world are flocking to buy Andrew's new web-based app to he…
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Mar 15, 2020
Want to handle floods? Leave it to the Dutch.
Host Jay Famiglietti speaks with globe-trotting water expert Henk Ovink about the Dutch approach to water, particularly in comparison to North America.
They explore the difference between how humans react to disaster versus how they react to climate change. Both are fraught with danger.
Finally.... cue the theme music from "Cheers." It's the 10th and final episode of Season 1. We bid a fond farewell (for now).
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Mar 1, 2020
From building rockets to top U.S. water diplomat
President Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton. Aaron Salzberg.
One of these 3 people regularly wears a pretty sick ponytail and has sat down to talk water policy with the other 2.
That person is our guest this week: Aaron Salzberg is Director of the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.
He joins host Jay Famiglietti to chronicle his journey from car mechanic to heavy-hitting water diplomat in the State Department, to his new gig at UNC.
Aaron tells some riveting behind-the-scenes stories on his time working with politicians, and he and Jay start an impromptu therapy session on the struggles of working in the water world.
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Feb 16, 2020
Pained communities, dry wells in Arizona: Ian James Part 2
A brief trip down memory lane for host Jay Famiglietti on a jaw-dropping moment in 2015 with the CEO of Nestle Waters North America.
Then, back into the thick of it with guest Ian James, a reporter with the Arizona Republic newspaper in Phoenix.
Jay and Ian dig into James' 6-part investigative series on groundwater depletion in Arizona, called "Arizona's Next Water Crisis," and touch on the Trump administration.
Audio credits:
Audio from the special report on azcentral.com, The Arizona Republic’s website.
Audio clip from “Nestle Waters CEO isn’t stopping bottling in California, says new tech save millions of gallons” from Southern California Public Radio.
(p) 2015 California Public Public Radio. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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Feb 2, 2020
Big Bottled Water Battle: Ian James Part 1
Guest Ian James is a reporter with the Arizona Republic newspaper in Phoenix.
He and host Jay Famiglietti reflect on their roles in the big bottled water battle that gripped California in 2015 as Nestle Waters North America refused to stop drawing water from a national forest during a drought.
Ian shares a harrowing story about violence against small farmers in Peru who were seeing large farm companies running water pipes through their area, all while they were seeing their water levels drop.
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Jan 19, 2020
Zoning in on water shortages in California
Big topic: what's the state of drought in California these days? Plus host Jay Famiglietti talks about that one time he almost got fired from NASA, guest Newsha Ajami and Jay ponder what made people start using less water in California.
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Jan 5, 2020
Big bad Texas storms and more
Recorded at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting in San Francisco.
Host Jay Famiglietti sits down with old friend Bridget Scanlon, head of the Sustainable Water Resources Program at the University of Texas in Austin.
They discuss big bad Texas storms, why flood waters are not commonly captured to be used in drought times, and how contaminants in water can be all natural.
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Dec 22, 2019
Water, peace and the Middle East: Part 2
Part 2 of our interview in Tel Aviv, Israel where host Jay Famiglietti sits down with Gidon Bromberg, co-founder and Israeli Director of EcoPeace Middle East.
Gidon talks about his leap from attorney to non-profit founder.
Jay and Gidon discuss how the holy site of the Jordan River has been "turned into little more than a sewage canal," and how it can recover.
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Dec 15, 2019
Water, peace and the Middle East: Part 1
This episode, host Jay Famiglietti sits down with Gidon Bromberg, co-founder and Israeli Director of EcoPeace Middle East.
Gidon comes from the most water-scarce region in the planet, where basic facts and science are so heavily politicized that it's hard to agree on them.
He lays out the landscape of this conflict over water between Jordan, Israeli and Palestine people.
Gidon explains how people who often view each other as enemies are working together to deal with their immediate needs, like getting sewage treated, and how scientists are cutting through the politics to address shared water issues.
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Nov 23, 2019
Calling out scientists for not helping water-troubled communities
Our guests this week haven't always seen eye to eye when looking at a river delta that acts as a breeding ground for massive numbers of wildlife and waterfowl.
Gary Carriere lives in a community that relies on the Saskatchewan River Delta for its culture and livelihood. Graham Strickert, Assistant Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan, studies it.
Host Jay Famiglietti navigates the waters with these two men as they explain how they came to see eye to eye. They also get into why this delta is troubled, and how they are melding science with real-world solutions for a Canadian Indigenous community.
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Nov 17, 2019
Please don't flush your drugs, and other underwater worries
Karen Kidd takes us underwater, metaphorically speaking. She tells us how pharmaceuticals, birth control and mercury affect fish and aquatic life — and how they got there in the first place.
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Nov 1, 2019
Trailer
Starting soon, Let's Talk About Water, a podcast from the Global Institute for Water Security and The Walrus Lab.
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