S2 E29 Back to Basics: Water

Episode discussion topics

• We're on the hunt for solutions and having access to clean and affordable water is critical to life. Although the drought is only striking the entire Southwest of the United States, everyone will feel it at the grocery store. We need bold new infrastructure using the latest in engineering to implement a better managed and more sustainable system than the one we inherited. One recommendation from Big Think proposes an interstate water pipeline system asking the question, "We have pipelines for oil and natural gas. Why not water?"
  
• How will a pipeline help? It will enable us to collect water from across the central basin of the U.S. and pipe it over or through the Rockies (think Tesla style boring system) and we might as well put some dang high-speed rails down as we go along too. The method of collection will need to be fleshed out, but it could as simple as directing the flow of storm drains into natural subterranean basins that act as a first-line filtration system. This water, as the case with most water, would need to be additionally filtered or treated for drinking. Thanks to ProPublica for this nerdy interactive page on climate maps. Check out how the quality of life within our nation will be changing with the climate from temperature to wetness: New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States.
  
• We mentioned several water management systems that aren't as effective as they once were. Albeit going thirsty is mostly a local issue in the west, the whole nation's food security is at risk because according to the  California Department of Food and Agriculture, "In 2019 California’s farms and ranches received more than $50 billion in cash receipts for their output. [...] California’s agricultural abundance includes more than 400 commodities. Over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts are grown in California." Similarly arid and drought-stricken is Arizona, which according to the AZDA is, "estimated to be a $23.3 billion industry." That's a lot of jobs and food for the nation on the line.
  
• Call to Action: Support new infrastructure programs as we need to build a new nation that can rise to the challenges of a changing world. Please use less water and begin planning for your own household's resiliency. Beyond investments in rewilding your landscape, it may make sense for you to invest in a rainwater runoff capture system or greywater reuse systems. There are larger-scale operations that need to start cutting back to have an outsized effect on conservation before it makes sense for people to have to make more draconian cuts in service.
  

Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr.

More info

• Wikipedia has decent content on the Colorado River Compact for your historical pleasure.
  
• And in order the mind the gap, here is some equally satisfying historical food for thought around the Klamath Project, courtesy of Wikipedia. For a quick snapshot of the current, dire, state of the project check out, "5 things to know about the Klamath water crisis" from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
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• Intro music sampled from “Okay Class” by Ozzy Jock under creative commons license through freemusicarchive.org.
  
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