#160: Hold The Salt

11/15/22 • -1 min

In an increasingly thirsty world, there is much potential in desalination, the process of removing salt from seawater. But desalination has historically posed challenges - it consumes massive amounts of expensive energy, produces a waste called brine, and raises concerns about impacts on aquatic life.

So how is desalination becoming more of an option for the creation of freshwater?

That question is answered in this episode with Peter Fiske, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Water Innovation and Director of the Water-Energy Resilience Research Institute.

Peter explains how desalination is becoming more efficient and effective through innovation in membranes, technologies for handling brine, and extraction of valuable elements. He also talks about upcoming pilot projects, the role of desalination in addressing Western water scarcity, and international collaboration.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet helping water leaders to discover solutions and drive change. Visit waterloop.org

So how is desalination becoming more of an option for the creation of freshwater?

That question is answered in this episode with Peter Fiske, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Water Innovation and Director of the Water-Energy Resilience Research Institute.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet helping water leaders to discover solutions and drive change. Visit waterloop.org

Previous Episode

#159: Turning Polls Into Policy

In a recent poll, U.S. voters overwhelmingly agreed that water is a human right, clean waterways are important, and infrastructure investments are critical. While those results are encouraging, the real value of polls are in how they can be used to test language, create messages, and influence policy.

That work is discussed in this episode with Nicole Lampe of Water Hub, Yasmin Zaerpoor of PolicyLink, and Jenifer Collins of the National Wildlife Federation. They talk about opportunities to use the poll results to shape specific policies such as jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, financial assistance with water bills for low-income Americans, and the upcoming Farm Bill.

waterloop is the podcast helping water leaders to discover solutions and drive change. Visit waterloop.org

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at Varuna.city

Next Episode

#161: Pivot Back To Nature

During the last century, large engineering projects were used to control water resources. But in many ways, that man-made infrastructure is failing to meet challenges in the 21st century such as drought, flooding, pollution, and population growth.

How can a pivot back to nature provide more sustainable solutions for water management?

The nature-based approach is discussed in this episode with Sandra Postel, the author of Replenish and the Director of the Global Water Policy Project. Sandra discusses a variety of examples from across the U.S. of the benefits of nature-based solutions, including restoring the flow of rivers, putting watersheds to work, providing room for floods, and bringing down dams.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet helping water leaders to discover solutions and drive change. Visit waterloop.org