What Freshwater Hell is This?
Towing icebergs, tapping glaciers, and desalination might seem more practical than mining asteroids for freshwater, but overcoming the ick factor of Toilet-to-Tap could be our only means of survival.
Episode 27
4/3/2025
Some people have to think about it on a daily basis. The more fortune only think about it when a pipe bursts, there’s a drought warning, during a natural disaster, or if a contamination story hits the news. The reality is that freshwater supplies are dwindling, affecting everyone regardless of their personal situation. Jorden and Kimberly discuss the biggest threats, types of freshwater, the viability of alternative sources of potable water, the true cost of clean water, and who’s working to improve water security for the planet.
Key Topics Jorden and Kimberly discuss include:
Some mind-blowing stats about water availability, usage, pollution, and fresh drinking water
Whether Fiji should export its freshwater
Why not all freshwater needs to be potable to be usable
What accounts for the biggest ‘water footprint’ trades
How most of the world’s freshwater is used
Why tap water in developed countries is invariably safer to drink than bottled water
How at-risk countries cope with potable water shortages
Recommended Resources
Extensive UN 2018 review on water pollution from agriculture
The UN’s Report on Freshwater Issues
All about the UN World Water Forum
Why WASH is worth supporting
US EPA Water Funding 2024 Report
A telling water scarcity map
Kimberly’s Substack newsletter post
