Rethinking H2O

#JANDYSTRONG is a story of strength, perseverance and hope.  For those of you that do not know Jake Anderson, please enlighten yourself with this podcast to gain some perspective on life and inspiration for the future.

In this episode you will learn about Jake's story, his road to recovery and upcoming events.  In particular, September 29, 2019 will be the fifth and final year at the Chicago half marathon event, and we encourage YOU to come out and support.  For those of you who are new to the JandyStrong movement, we are doing this fundraiser to raise money for paralysis research and recovery, and to support friend Jake Anderson, as he continues to embark on his long journey of extensive medical care and physical therapy.  Last year at the Chicago 1/2 marathon, Jake used a customized tandem trike – engineered by himself and three other UW-Madison students – to complete the 13.1 mile race along Lake Michigan.  It was another significant milestone in Jake’s recovery and an inspiration to us all.  Jake plans to participate again this year, with sights set on beating last year’s finishing time of 1:57:47.

If you enjoy this podcast and want to support Jake, please consider donating to the GoFundMe link found here:

What is the water energy nexus and why is it important to you?

Well, it’s complicated. But we’re here to break it down.

The Alberta Energy - Water Nexus Project provides context into the intricate relationship between water and energy consumption as it pertains to agriculture, industry and induvial consumption. As there is no silver bullet to our energy - water problem, we must work amongst multiple stakeholders and energy resources to solve this challenge.

What if we could make our existing infrastructure talk to each other to make our communities more resilient? Faced with a water challenges, a few PHD students from the University of Michigan set out to harness data to solve some of the Great Lakes water challenges.  In this podcast, you will hear from Sara Troutman and Gregory Ewing to learn more about how this project came to life. 

In 2018 the Water Environment Foundation opened up the LIFT intelligent water systems challenge to rethink the water problem in the Great Lakes region. Due to many stressors in the Great Lakes region, such as aging infrastructure, changing populations, and rapid development, the sewer and storm water conveyance system is strained well beyond its design. As a result, the combined sewer system experiences untreated combined sewer overflows.

To combat these persistent untreated outflows, the University of Michigan team engineered a plan to use real-time sensor feeds to control valves, pumps and gates in the existing system, which dynamically reconfigure themselves to changing inputs. Their winning LIFT Challenge submission lays out an algorithm that can be applied to Great Lake Water Authority system and that is accompanied by a real-time dashboard and decision support tool for operators.

The web-based decision-support dashboard is a key innovation, giving real-time readouts of measurements from across the storm water system and also providing control recommendations to the user as determined by the market-based control algorithm.

Through data and testing, they were able to show that there is a significant opportunity for GLWA to use its current system (sensors, storage basins, pumps, etc.) to maximize storage and reduce combined sewer overflows.

Come explore Nature is Medicine in Alaska with Scott Ramsey. Scott leads the Alaska Outdoor Science School which brings kids into the wild and allows people to experience nature in real life. 

Located at the end of North America’s longest glacial fjord lies Haines, the Alaska Outdoor Science School (AOSS) enables tangible experiences for children around the world. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, majestic mountains, dynamic glaciers, and wild rivers, Alaska creates the ideal environment to experience one of the last “wild” worlds.

AOSS takes a different approach to education. In the traditional classroom setting, students do their best to retain bits of data for a test or paper that they have been given from a textbook and lectures. However, research indicates that this type of learning is generally superficial and less meaningful. Instead, AOSS has lasting learning from experience for students. The AOSS approach combines lectures with experiential opportunities to ground learning and help root understanding. Using nature as a living textbook makes learning more meaningful.

In this episode of the ReThinking H2O Podcast, we are honored to discuss “Water is Medicine” in action with Travis Bays! Travis started the Bodhi Surf + Yoga camps which are week-long experiential learning vacations in Costa Rica. This includes surfing, yoga, and community and nature immersion to facilitate memorable learning experiences for guests. The most important takeaways of the week are that knowledge and skills are acquired, connections are made, and you leave fulfilled!

Once a peace corps member, Travis focuses on listening to others and making sure his business impacts the local community. Travis will elaborate how they encourage sustainable lifestyles with pre, during and post trip education around environmental consumer decisions.

Let’s talk about the ocean and fisheries.

On this episode of the ReThinking H2O Podcast, we discuss with the President of Lazuli advisors Matt Merighi, who is an interdisciplinary expert at the intersection of policy, business, and technology in the international water sector. Matt gives us context about the ocean and what role the ocean plays with tourism, law, economics and overall climate issues. In addition, Matt will lay the groundwork around aquaculture and how we can address food and nutritional security around the world.

What is hydrology? In short, hydrology is the study of water.  Specifically, hydrology looks at how people impact water and how water impacts people. What is adventure? Adventure is an exciting experience that often invokes emotion. What does the intersection of Adventure and Hydrology look like?

Did you know that over $15 billion is spent on water infrastructure in the developing world each year and 40% of systems break after 2 years as there is no trackable revenue for maintenance? How do we fix this? eWaterPay strives to solve this problem by offering a pre-payment smart tap that ensures all revenue is tracked and accountable and transparently used by private organizations or governments to pay for maintenance of systems.

CEO Alex Burton tells us about how the eWATERpay system is a cheap, simple technology that uses mobile money, near field communication and the Internet of Things cloud server monitoring. Users can purchase credit through several methods, including using the eWATERapp on smartphones, purchasing through mobile money. The credit loads onto their eWATERtag, and eWATERtaps installed at distribution points dispense water and take credit when the user presents the token.

The eWATERpay system has helped to solve several challenges. First, water is now available 24/7, which has reduced queues at the tap, and means community members are now free to get water whenever they want. Research by eWATERpay in Gidewari village shows that the average time spent collecting water has reduced from three hours to just ten minutes.

Additionally, every drop of water is paid and accounted for, as water is only dispensed once a user presents an eWATERtag at the tap. The money goes directly into an online bank account, and the ‘Essential management model’ means 80% of revenue from water user fees goes to use for operation and maintenance, ensuring the water points keep working.

Let’s talk plastic pollution.  What if I told you that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050? Unfortunately, due to wasteful human habits, the World Economic Forum predicts that we could overrun our planet with our reliance on plastic convenience. This is why we must urgently rethink our relationship with plastic.

Instead of creating more plastic to use for our items, why not reuse all the plastic that already exists? Shore Buddies is an innovative company that is rethinking the way we look at plastic. CEO Malte Niebelschuetz gives us his story on how he moved from Germany to San Diego, and was surprised with the amount of plastic pollution on the ocean beaches. With some inspiration from Patagonia, Malte explains how he created Shore Buddies to rethink the plastic problem. Shore Buddies is a force for good that takes recycled plastic and turns it into stuffed animals which helps educates children about the issues of plastic pollution.  Shore Buddies also  helps facilitate beach clean ups and publishes books on these important plastic topics.  Check out this podcast to learn how Shore Buddies is more than just stuffed animals, but actually a force for good against plastic waste.

 What does it mean to ‘Eat Less Water’? Have you ever thought about how much water it actually takes to make the food that we consume? Turns out, it takes a lot of water…

Florencia Ramirez, author of Eat Less Water, tells us how her journey towards water conservation initially started in the shower. While living in drought prone California, she commonly heard the normal drought procedures such as take shorter showers and don’t water your lawn. This set off Florencia to introduce shower timers to the public, making it easier for people to actively conserve water. After selling over 80,000 water shower timers, Florencia then had an “A-Ha” moment and realized she was actually focusing on the wrong room in the house. While people can conserve water in the bathroom, the impact of water conversation is much larger in the kitchen.

In her book Eat Less Water, Florencia gives us a vivid journey about the water and food crisis in America.  We learn about how individuals can make a difference with our diet choices while also further understanding where our food comes from. At the beginning of every chapter we learn some startling water facts about our favorite foods: 

1 pound of red meat = 1,800 gallons of water 

1 pound of chocolate requires = 7,727 gallons of water 

1 six-pack of beer requires 178 gallons of water 

Florencia walks us through the many misconceptions around the term “organic” and “sustainable” farming, and provides us with a roadmap on how to fix our water & food problems. Most significantly, she even provides delicious “eat less water” recipes at the end of every chapter in the book.

Florencia inspires us to believe that there is power in the collective, and that we as individuals can make a tangible difference in the world around us. All starting with what you eat for breakfast tomorrow.

The Republic of South Sudan is the world’s youngest and poorest countries in the world.

South Sudan’s environment is starkly beautiful but harsh. It has just two seasons: one dramatically wet, the other dry with temperatures often rising above 120°F during both seasons. During the rainy season, water is plentiful for villagers, their crops and their animals. But during the annual six-month dry season, life changes for the worst.

The dry season forces millions of South Sudanese each year to leave their village homes in search for water. Some have to abandon their homes and move all together while others, usually, women and children, are forced to trek miles every day to collect water from ponds, marshes, ditches, or hand-dug wells, where the water is often contaminated with disease-causing parasites and bacteria. The results are pain, sickness, even death, especially among infants and children.

Through the challenges and despair, the story of Salva Dutt provides us inspiration to move forward and never give up; even when things get tough. Salva was born in a rural village in southwestern Sudan to the Dinka Tribe. At 11 years old, the Sudanese civil war reached his village and separated Salva from his family. He joined thousands of boys, famously known as the "Lost Boys" on their journey by foot to seek safety in a refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. After living in refugee camps for 10 years, Salva was given the opportunity to move to the United States, where he would be embraced by a family in Rochester, NY. A few years later Salva learned that his father was still alive in Southern Sudan but was suffering from a water-borne parasites and disease. This inspired Salva to help his father and his country by bringing clean water to those in need. This was the beginning of Water for South Sudan.

In this podcast with President Bob Shea and Executive Director Lynn, we learn about the positive impacts that Water For South Sudan makes in South Sudan.  Water For South Sudan delivers direct, transformative and sustainable quality-of-life service to the people of South Sudan by efficiently providing access to clean, safe water and improving hygiene and sanitation.

We will learn that while instability can grow in some places, SO CAN STABILITY. With the foundation of safe drinking water, the future of South Sudan is bright. 

What is the status of water efficiency in Florida? 

Because Florida experiences some of the highest amounts of rainfall in the United States, this creates a breadth of water opportunities and water challenges for Florida.  In this podcast with Deirdre Irwin, the Water Conservation Coordinator at the St Johns River Water Management District, we learn about issues of water efficiency as it pertains to water runoff in urban environments and widespread irrigation for farming.  Deirdre will help us answer questions such as: What are the risks to the aquifers? What storm water rules exist to prevent excessive run offs? And what strategies can be imposed to ensure a healthy watershed for all water users? 

While businesses and farming operations play a significant role in the Florida watershed story, the individual households also play a significant role.  It may seem insignificant, but you will learn about what you as the individual can do to make an impact on the water shed environment. Some ideas, such as washing your jeans a few less times a year or skipping a week of watering you lawn, can make a significant impact on the watershed if everyone works together.

Deirdre is a true water advocate that shows us how the St. Johns River Management District lives true to their mission, which is “to protect our natural resources and support Florida’s growth by ensuring the sustainable use of Florida’s water for the benefit of the people of the District and the state.”

Many people may think operating an organization in a fragile state like Central African Republic (CAR) is a crazy idea. Yet, Water For Good jumped right into the opportunity.

How do you go about tackling water poverty in one of the world’s most forgotten countries? Because there is no “one size fits all” solution, this requires a grass roots approach to tackle the water crisis. Water For Good incorporates capacity building from the ground up that includes well drilling, sustainable maintenance teams and accountability throughout the entire process.

Through a market based approach that keeps the revenue within the country of CAR, Water For Good continues to create opportunity for the people of CAR.

The journey is far from over, but there is hope. We invite you to learn more about this remarkable organization through the interview with CEO Richard Klopp.

Sometimes our purpose in life hits us in the face when we least expect it. When Katina Rankin was going through some of the daily stresses of her normal life as a reporter, she realized she had a calling to do something more in order to help those in need. One night she had an “A-HA” moment to do something more for others in the world, which caused her to start her own organization called Katina's Klassroom, which helps those in Jamestown Ghana with education and health opportunities. 

Katina started Katina’s Klassrom along the premise of a quote by John Adams: “Before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of education...to raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher.”

Katina’s Klassroom stands on a firm principle: With Books You Can Go Places. Thus, Katina's mission is to significantly improve the reading skills and educational opportunities of pre-k to middle school children in underserved communities.  By developing action plans with schools and parents, creating techniques for getting a child engaged in reading beyond the classroom, and tackling food insecurity which is directly tied to a child’s learning - Katina’s Klassroom brings empowerment to the youth.

Why does the health of the Chicago River matter? Mark Hauser, the Ecology Outreach Manager from the Friends of the Chicago River, gives us context on how the entire ecosystem within Chicago is connected.

In this podcast, we will learn about different Friends of The Chicago River initiatives that include the Litter Free Campaign, river shed restoration efforts and interaction with schools across the Chicagoland area.

Mark promotes service learning across the community and gets kids to help with clean ups across the river. 

Who is the Friends of the Chicago River?  Friends of the Chicago River is the leading charity to support the health of the river and since 1979, Friends has been working to improve the health of the Chicago River system for the benefit of people, plants and animals; and by doing so, has laid the foundation for the river to be a beautiful, continuous, and easily accessible corridor of open space in the Chicago region.

Enjoy a captivating conversation with Amy Churchill, the founder and director of operations of Just One Africa.

Amy gives us insight into the vision of Just One Africa which is to inspire the individual to effect change, resulting in thriving communities with access to clean water and with the capability of providing for their basic needs.

Just One Africa cares for orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya by providing access to clean water and by partnering with local leaders to provide sustainable solutions which create hope through care, education, and community development.

We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.