Episode 30 - "Parched"

As always, the world is facing a crisis. This week we explore the exploding problem of water access as large swaths of the world find themselves drying out risking agriculture, industry, and the very water we drink. By 2020, 100 million Indians will find themselves without water - and this is just the beginning of what might be the largest disaster in human history.

Can states prepare themselves for the coming hordes of water refugees? Can civilization survive water hungry industrial agriculture as climate change reshapes where rain falls? Can we act as sustainable stewards of our shared water resources? Or is it all too little, too late?

Chapters

• 4:26 Climate Contribution to Water Stress
• 7:40 Current Victims of Water Stress
• 9:52 Day Zero
• 13:35 India
• 19:52 Irrigation vs Drinking Water
• 21:43 "Migrants, Borders, and Conflict"
• 27:48 Ethiopia and African Tension
• 32:38 Business of Water
• 37:44 Infrastructure and Cost
• 39:45 Australia Reacts to Water Scarcity
• 41:55 Need for Systems Thinking
• 45:25 "Romans, Ancient and Modern"
• 47:40 Lakes Disappearing
• 49:18 Agricultural Use of Water
• 52:48 What Can We Do?

A full transcript is available as well as detailed links and sources (plus credits and more) on our website ashesashes.org.

Find more information along with relevant news and links on your favorite social network @ashesashescast.

CC BY-SA 4.0