World Ocean Radio - Fresh Water

Fresh Water
October 26, 2015

Fresh water shortages are making headlines everywhere. Issues large and small are adding up to a global water crisis which threatens all of us, rich and poor, no matter where we live in the world. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will argue that the time has come for us to rethink how we manage the efficiency of our water use at all levels of society—not only by individual conservation practices but by corporate accountability, government action, and regulation.

August 17, 2015

A San Diego County Water Authority project to construct a 6-acre desalination plant, the largest of its kind in the United States, comes at a time when the traditional water supply system in California is overwhelmed by changing climate, high agricultural demand, and high consumption by an increased population. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will describe the process of desalination, break down the numbers, and describe the objections to and development of this increasingly necessary technology which has the potential to produce billions of gallons of potable water per day.

July 20, 2015

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure its use, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this fifth episode of a multi-part series on water, host Peter Neill suggests that in order to solve the fresh water problem we must first understand how much water is available and how it is being used—by understanding the “watermark” measures of use at every level of supply and demand; and he returns to the Water Footprint Network in order to outline their new international classification system for freshwater-related ecosystem services.

July 13, 2015

In last week's edition of World Ocean Radio we urged listeners to measure their water footprint using the WaterFootprint.org water calculator. In this week's episode we continue to discuss the work of the Water Footprint Network, this time by breaking down a case study which examines the true environmental impact and water consumption of manufacturing, following three Volkswagen models along their production cycle in order to glean a regionalized water inventory.

July 6, 2015

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure the water that is used, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this third episode of a multi-part series on water, host Peter Neill will introduce the Water Footprint Network, an online tool which was developed to help individuals, companies, municipalities, and governments with water assessments, to design stewardship plans, and to get a better understanding of the sustainability of our water footprint.

June 29, 2015

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure the water that is used, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this second episode of a multi-part series on water, host Peter Neill will suggest that in order to understand how to value the water cycle and how it works in a time of climate change and unrestricted use, we will need to define new strategies for measurement and management.

June 22, 2015

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure the water that is used, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, first of a multi-part series, host Peter Neill will argue that what is required is a complete overhaul of the water inventory, including measurements for its use, in a new green economy.

May 4, 2015

In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill provides numerous examples of ways in which water consumption and use go unseen in our daily lives.

March 30, 2015

After wrapping up the multi-part “Planning with Water” series, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill returns to the fresh water discussion with a water crisis of his own, despite the mountains of snow surrounding his Maine home this winter.

March 23, 2015

In the sixth and final installment of the "Planning with Water" series, host Peter Neill follows up on last week's episode in which he described the collapse of the water system in São Paulo, Brazil, a city long thought to have an inexhaustible water supply. In this episode he offers a positive example of a city in Moravia in the Czech Republic that is planning for a water system crisis before it's too late. The "Planning with Water" series looks toward building a new value premise and societal change around water as the most valuable commodity on earth, essential to our future survival.

March 16, 2015

The “Planning with Water” series continues this week with discussion of the current water crisis in Brazil. In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill asks, “What does it mean when we don’t plan with water?” and uses Sao Paolo, Brazil as an example of a mega-city in the midst of a critical water crisis, how the situation has developed over time, and what they and the rest of the world will be required to do to meet the global challenge. This episode is part of an ongoing series that looks toward building a new value premise and societal change around water as the most valuable commodity on earth, essential to our future survival.

March 9, 2015

In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill continues discussion of the global water crisis. This week he talks about water audits conducted by the Danish Hydraulic Institute and invites listeners to consider their own water use at home, asking that we consider how what we do each day plays into the larger hydraulic reality which affects us all. This episode is part of an ongoing series that looks toward building a new value premise and societal change around water as the most valuable commodity on earth, essential to our future survival.

March 1, 2015

In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill continues a discussion about the most important issue facing the world today: the global water crisis. This week he highlights the Nile River Basin and a multi-institutional planning initiative on that massive and complex waterway which could be adapted as a tool for managing water assets on other interstate and trans-national waterways around the world. This episode is part of an ongoing series that looks toward building a new value premise and societal change around water as the most valuable commodity on earth, essential to our future survival.

February 23, 2015

In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill discusses the most important issue facing the world today: the global water crisis. Is it possible to construct a new system on the true value of water? Can we make, and execute, a new plan? This week we'll tackle these questions and more. This episode is part of an ongoing series that looks toward building a new value premise and societal change around water as the most valuable commodity on earth, essential to our future survival.

February 15, 2015

In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill discusses the most important issue facing the world today: the global water crisis. This episode is the first of an ongoing series that looks toward building a new value premise and societal change around water as the most valuable commodity on earth, essential to our future survival.

October 27, 2014

The distribution of fresh water to meet growth and increased demand has historically relied on massive planning structures. The impacts of climate change (drought, fire, extreme weather) are testing these structures, exposing them to be largely inadequate for a 21st century world. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will use China as an example of a rapidly-developing country in need of an industrial water policy that realistically factors the true cost of the supply and demand of water without sacrificing the small-scale historical methods such as conservation, water recycling, and small hydro. And he will caution that large scale construction schemes that develop with no concern for environmental and social consequence will incite civic concern and unrest.

October 17, 2014

Each city lost or gained by a rival faction in the latest violence in Syria and Turkey sits on a major river—the Euphrates, the Tigris, or their tributaries. The wars waged are being fought along a watershed. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we suggest that despite air strikes, conflicting systems of law, and pursuits for oil, what really matters most is water. That it, among all other things, is what enables the true security of the region.

October 17, 2014

Cada cidade conquistada ou perdida por uma facção rival na recente onda de violência que se regista na Síria e na Turquia situa-se num grande rio: o Eufrates, o Tigre ou algum dos seus afluentes. Os combates vêm sendo travados ao longo de uma bacia hidrográfica. Neste episódio da World Ocean Radio sugerimos que, apesar dos ataques aéreos, do conflito entre sistemas legais e das pretensões petrolíferas, o que verdadeiramente importa é a água. Que a água, acima de todas as outras coisas, é aquilo que permite a verdadeira segurança na região.

October 10, 2014

In Part II of a 2-part series on the Global Water Contract, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill explains the Committee's progressive recommendations in response to a growing fresh water crisis that is estimated to affect 3 billion people worldwide.

October 6, 2014

In 1998, a private commission was assembled to create a framework for worldwide understanding of fresh water as an inalienable human right. In this first of a two-part series on the Global Water Contract, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will begin to outline the basic premises and arguments laid out in the contract, a foundation on which to share the committee’s recommendations, which will appear in next week’s episode.

August 11, 2014

Fresh water shortages are making headlines everywhere. Issues large and small are adding up to a global water crisis which threatens all of us, rich and poor, no matter where we live in the world. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will argue that the time has come for us to rethink how we manage the efficiency of our water use at all levels of society—not only by individual conservation practices but by corporate accountability, government action, and regulation.

June 6, 2014

What do we see in a single drop of ocean water? An image captured by David Liittschwager for National Geographic, then magnified 25 times, reveals an impressive abundance of many types of microscopic organisms. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will describe some of the creatures discovered therein, and will discuss the larger systems at work in the vast cosmos of a single drop of water.

November 8, 2013
July 19, 2013
April 27, 2013