July 25, 2011

Water the Chances

Listen Later

51 minutes

Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water - you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar cells are key. Also, how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink it, and how to turn a salt pond back to a wetland.

Plus, from Roman aqueducts to modern-day pumps: a history of quenching human thirst. And, why NASA strives to “follow the water.”

Guests:

Brian Fagan - Anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind

John Bourgeois - Biologist and Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project

Michael Meyer - Lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program

Farouk El-Baz - Geologist and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University

Michael Flynn - Principal investigator for NASA’s advanced life support branch, Ames Research Center

Descripción en español

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Big Picture Science

By Big Picture Science

4.5

912912 ratings

July 25, 2011

Water the Chances

Listen Later

51 minutes

Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water - you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar cells are key. Also, how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink it, and how to turn a salt pond back to a wetland.

Plus, from Roman aqueducts to modern-day pumps: a history of quenching human thirst. And, why NASA strives to “follow the water.”

Guests:

Brian Fagan - Anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind

John Bourgeois - Biologist and Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project

Michael Meyer - Lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program

Farouk El-Baz - Geologist and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University

Michael Flynn - Principal investigator for NASA’s advanced life support branch, Ames Research Center

Descripción en español

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more

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