Water (broadcast Friday, March 21st, 2008)

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We drink it, clean in it, irrigate our crops with it, and more. But do we really think about it? March 22nd of each year is World Water Day, a tradition started by the United Nations in 1992. This year's World Water Day will focus on sanitation issues, as part of a larger project headed by the UN. "This year, World Water Day coincides with the International Year of Sanitation, challenging us to spur action on a crisis affecting more than one out of three people on the planet," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement. "Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of the abysmal sanitation conditions endured by some 2.6 billion people globally. That adds up to an unconscionable 1.5 million young lives cut short by a cause we know well how to prevent."

It's both a political issue and a technological one. Water policy also intersects with climate change and energy issues. In this hour, we'll take a look at the technical and political challenges in providing clean water around the world. How will policies, and attitudes, need to shift to help provide needed clean water to growing populations worldwide? Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests

Mark Shannon
Professor, Director, Water Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois

Casey Brown
Associate Research Scientist
Hydroclimatology and Water Resources Management
International Research Institute for Climate and Society
Columbia University
Palisades, New York

Paul Faeth
Executive Director
Global Water Challenge
Washington, DC

Michael Hightower
Distinguished Member, Technical Staff
Energy Resources and Systems Analysis Center
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Lester Brown
Founder and President, Earth Policy Institute
Author, "Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization" (W.W. Norton and Company, 2008)
Washington DC