Water Foresight Podcast

The Water Foresight Podcast wants to know whether water will be a vehicle for conflict or peace.  Booky Oren, the former Executive Chairman of Mekorot (Israel's national water company) and current CEO of Booky Oren Global Water Technologies, joins the Podcast to offer his insights.  What is Israel's historic relationship with water?  How has this relationship shaped Israel's current relationship with water?  What are the key variables impacting the future of Israel's relationship with water?  Will water serve as a mechanism for conflict or peace for Israel and its neighbors?  Is Booky an optimist or a pessimist?

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Season 2 of the Water Foresight Podcast launches with Commissioner Mary-Anna Holden, Commissioner with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Commissioner Holden offers her (personal) observations about the future of economic regulation. How has economic regulation changed over the past 10-20 years? Is there a future for innovative ratemaking mechanisms? What will the future of the state/EPA relationship look like in 10 years? Will innovative technologies drive the development of new ratemaking mechanisms? How will economic regulators impact the workforce of the future (and succession planning)? Will future economic regulators change their view of investments in technology (i.e., CAPEX vs. OPEX)? Is there a plausible future without economic regulators? What are 3 possible futures for economic regulators of water utilities? Commissioner Holden offers much to consider.

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The Water Foresight Podcast returns with John Robinson of Mazarine Ventures. We discuss, "The Future of Business Models and Water." John is shy and "keeps his cards close to the vest" but he eventually opens up about his thoughts on how innovative business models must shape the future of water.  Are the business models focused on water utilities or other actors within the marketplace (e.g., insurers and lenders)?  What does Uber have to do with the future of business model transformation? How will innovative business models address the three top water challenges (in John's view) over the next 10-20 years?  The podcast wants to know.

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Dr. Andy Hines of the University of Houston joins the Water Foresight Podcast to discuss "After Capitalism: What is the Future of Water?"  Has the podcast lost its mind?  What does "after capitalism" mean?  Is capitalism over?  What are the myths, assumptions, and beliefs of capitalism?  What are "values shifts" and how do they impact the future of capitalism?  Why are there 40+ different types of "capitalism" and why is that important?  So, what does "after capitalism" mean for the future of water?  Will "after capitalism" generate problematic, unintended consequences for the world of water?  What would Milton Friedman do?

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The Rev. Mitchell Hescox, CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), joins the Water Foresight Podcast to discuss, "Will the Christian World Influence the Future of Water"? What is the significance of the creation of humans in relationship to water? What is the significance of the language of "subdue" and "dominion" in relationship to water? What is "creation care"? Does creation care suggest a justice ethic in relationship to humans and water? What does the phrase "Kingdom of God" have to do with the future of water? Is the Christian worldview a source of our modern water (and other) environmental challenges? What does the Bible say about "environmental justice"? How will the Christian worldview impact the future of water? Collapse? Business-as-Usual? Transformation? Rev. Hescox discards the Sunday School flannelgraph and performs a "deep dive" on the future of water.

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Ari Raivetz, CEO of Transcend Software, joins the Water Foresight Podcast to discuss the future of water innovations in relationship to economic and environmental regulators. Is digital transformation a myth or reality for the water sector?  Has COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of innovative technologies?  Will regulators help or hinder the adoption of innovations?  What are the strategies for building trust between regulators, innovators, and the water sector?  Is there a Moore's Law of Water Innovation?  Are water innovators themselves acting as a bridge of trust between regulators and the water sector?  If so, how can we build a bigger bridge?  (The Podcast hopes the bridge is bigger than the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.)

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Shirley Ben-Dak, Vice-President of Strategy & Innovation for SWAN, joins the Water Foresight Podcast to offer her reflections on "Is Water Smart in 2040?" Shirley addresses the elastic term "smart water" and provides key insights into whether and in what form water may be "smart" in 2040.  Also, we discussed the potential unintended consequences of continuing advances within the realm of smart water. Is there a "collapse" scenario in the future of water where society reaches a point of "digital capture"?  Will society become too reliant and "exposed" with too much smart water technology?  Finally, what are the ethical implications of the future of smart water?  Will the ideas of privacy and informed consent be amplified or muted in the future of smart water?  Should we fear a new, future IoT--an internet of toilets?  The podcast is asking for a friend.

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George Hawkins, the Founder & CEO of Moonshot Missions, joins the Water Foresight Podcast to discuss his vision for "Water Infrastructure in 2040: Business as Usual or Transformation?" There is no spoiler alert when it comes to George's well-known intellect, enthusiasm, and optimism--he supports the "transformation scenario" of the future of water infrastructure. So, what does that scenario look like?  What are the strategies necessary for today to achieve the future transformation strategy?  What are the two sides necessary for this transformation?  How does digital technology play a role in this transformation scenario?  Is infrastructure transformation limited to physical aspects or does it implicate leadership and culture?  The podcast believes nothing in water is business as usual with George.

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Dr. Eric Siegel joins the Water Foresight Podcast to discuss "The Multiple Lenses of Predictive Analytics."  What is the difference between "big data," "artificial intelligence," "machine learning," and "predictive analytics"? How will predictive analytics change (and change society) over the next 10 years? Will the application of predictive analytics expand throughout the water sector? Does lift modeling have anything to do with lift stations? What are the ethical implications or risks of predictive analytics? Is there a social justice challenge? Is there a cybersecurity challenge? Are there any current applications of predictive analytics from other sectors likely to make their way into the water sector? Are there emerging Constitutional issues in the future of predictive analytics? What is "deep learning"?  Was this invented by Jack Handy? Finally, will predictive analytics keep slow drivers out of the left-hand lane during rush hour? The podcast is cautiously optimistic.

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Dr. Christiana Zenner, Associate Professor of Theology, Science & Ethics at Fordham University and author of "Just Water," joins the Water Foresight Podcast to discuss "What Kind of Thing is Water in 2040"?  What are the value paradigms of fresh waters?  Do social norms about water change over time?  Why should we care about "water ethics"?  What are Dr. Zenner's future scenarios from the standpoint of water ethics?  Is water a human right?  What does "decolonizing" water water mean?  Aren't the Phillies (ontologically) better than the Mets?  The podcast wants to know. 

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