Sandra Postel: Troubled Waters | Nat Geo Live | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

National Geographic and its partners are pioneering a new approach to freshwater protection called Change the Course, which aims to shrink the human water footprint and restore billions of gallons of water back to depleted rivers and ecosystems.

Key Insights

• 😋 Water scarcity and stress are significant global challenges threatening food security and ecological systems.
• 😒 Only a small portion of Earth's total water is accessible for human use.
• 💦 Consumer choices have a significant impact on water consumption.
• 💦 The Change the Course campaign brings together the public, corporations, and conservation organizations to address water scarcity and restore depleted rivers.
• 🤽 Corporate sponsors play a vital role in funding restoration projects and balancing their water footprints.
• 🧑‍🌾 Successful restoration projects can benefit communities, farmers, and businesses that rely on rivers for various purposes.
• 🧑‍⚕️ Innovative approaches to freshwater management are necessary to adapt to drought and maintain the health of river systems.

Transcript

[Applause] so I'm sure by now most of us have heard the predictions about water right that water is going to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century that water stress water scarcity will lead to food shortages and ecological decline maybe even Wars and in my 25 years of working on global water issues I've made some of those predicti... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the main goal of the Change the Course campaign?

The main goal of the Change the Course campaign is to engage the public, corporations, and conservation organizations to shrink the human water footprint and restore water to depleted rivers and ecosystems.

Q: How does the campaign engage the public?

The campaign invites people to learn about the freshwater challenge and their own water footprint through National Geographic's freshwater portal and online tools. People can pledge to conserve water in their daily lives, and for every pledge, 1,000 gallons of water are returned to the Colorado River Basin.

Q: How does the campaign involve corporations?

Corporate sponsors underwrite the pledges made by individuals, turning them into funding for restoration projects. These corporations balance out their corporate water footprints by returning water to the environment.

Q: How are restoration projects selected and monitored?

Restoration projects are scientifically vetted, third-party certified, and tracked and monitored through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation's Water Restoration Certificate Program. The restored flows are registered in an online registry to prevent double-counting and ensure formalized restoration.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Only 2.5% of all the water on Earth is freshwater, and less than 1% of that is accessible for human use.

• Water is required in large quantities to produce the things we use and consume daily, such as cotton shirts and hamburgers.

• Water stress is increasing around the world, with demands exceeding the availability of freshwater, leading to ecological decline.