Water We Doing?

Send us Fan Mail

A study from McGill University, estimates the average Canadian consumes about 329L of water a day, the equivalent of more than 600 standard water bottles (500 ml). Think of your daily routine. In the morning you get up, you have a shower. Flush the toilet. Fill the water for your coffee or tea. Run the dishwasher. At lunchtime, you might boil some pasta. Later you might do some laundry. Before bedtime, you may might run a warm bath or put the kettle on for some hot tea. Sleep and repeat. 

As the population keeps growing, water consumption increases, and it becomes more difficult to access the blue gold in a sustainable way. In the long run, this can create water stress, a phenomenon that occurs when the water demand is higher than its availability. How can we prevent this problem and what solutions are available to us? In cities like Cape Town, South Africa, residents have been encouraged to follow a series of water-saving initiatives, from flushing the toilet when necessary to shower no longer than two minutes. 

But this doesn’t completely solve the issue from repeating itself. Are there any other solutions available? In the past, desalination has been considered a possible option to solve the water crisis. If you think about it, 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, and the oceans hold more than 95 % of all Earth water. Turning seawater into drinking water could help populations who face water stress and water scarcity to solve this problem. However, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. 

In today’s episode, Heather Cooley, Director of Research at the Pacific Institute, explains how desalination works, the impacts this can cause to the marine environment, and how unsustainable this practice can be.

For more information about seawater desalination, water stress and the work that the Pacific Institute does Click Here.

For more information on the Aquatic Biosphere Project and how we are telling the story of water Click Here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

It's estimated that we lose 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear every year in our oceans. This gear continues to kill fish and other marine organisms and pollutes our marine environment with plastic. What are we doing about it?

In this episode we speak with Joel Baziuk the Deputy Director of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) and Bourton Scott and Ally Stocks from the Emerald Sea Protection Society. Joel helps to coordinate global efforts to improve fishing gear to decrease the risks of it being lost at sea and to help coordinate global cleanup efforts. Bourton and Ally are part of a team that has partnered with the GGGI to help cleanup the waters around Vancouver Island.

We talk about what's currently being done, what can be done in the future, how to get involved and what can be made from recycled nets pulled from the sea!

For more information about the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, what they are working on and how you can get involved with their ghost gear reporting app for your phone Click Here.

For more information about the Emerald Sea Protection Society and the nets they are removing off the coast of Vancouver Island Click Here.

Check out the Following Brands for cool products made from Ghost Gear!

•  Bureo for skateboards, clothing, frisbees, sunglasses, etc.
• Fourth Element for swimwear.
• Axiom for cycling gear.
• ECONYL for nylon clothing.
• BraceNet for bracelets.
• BlueCycle for furniture.
• Sea2See for glasses.
• Healthy Seas Socks for Socks.
• Popsicase for phone cases.
• 2nd Chance Ropeworks for rugs.

For more information about the Aquatic Biosphere Project and what we are doing to tell the story of water Click Here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we speak about ghost fishing, how we can work together to improve fishing gear and how all of us can play a role in cleaning it up with Joel Baziuk, the Deputy Director of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) from the Ocean Conservancy. Joel helps to coordinate global efforts to improve fishing gear to decrease the risks of it being lost at sea and to help coordinate global cleanup efforts.

We talk about what's currently being done, what can be done in the future, how to get involved and what can be made from recycled nets pulled from the sea!

For more information about the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, what they are working on and how you can get involved with their ghost gear reporting app for your phone Click Here.

Check out the Following Brands for cool products made from Ghost Gear!

•  Bureo for skateboards, clothing, frisbees, sunglasses, etc.
• Fourth Element for swimwear.
• Axiom for cycling gear.
• ECONYL for nylon clothing.
• BraceNet for bracelets.
• BlueCycle for furniture.
• Sea2See for glasses.
• Healthy Seas Socks for Socks.
• Popsicase for phone cases.
• 2nd Chance Ropeworks for rugs.

For more information about the Aquatic Biosphere Project and what we are doing to tell the story of water Click Here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we talk to Dr. Steve Hrudey the Chair of the COVID-19 Wastewater Coalition from the Canadian Water Network. Dr. Hrudey helps us understand how Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19 works and how you can test samples from our sewers to understand where the virus has spread.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone across this planet, has tested our ability to adapt, develop and role out vaccines and figure out efficient ways to test and monitor our entire population.

When testing is limited, what is the best way to understand the spread of a virus in a large population? You don't have to be a math whiz to know that being able to test an entire population with one sample versus testing everyone individually means a lot less work. This technology is becoming even more important as we begin tracking new variants within our communities and begin planning to protect ourselves for any potential future pandemics.

To find out more about the wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 in Canada and the  Canadian Water Network COVID-19 Wastewater Coalition Click Here.

To find out more about the Aquatic Biosphere Project Click Here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

It's estimated that we lose 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear every year in our oceans. This gear continues to kill fish and other marine organisms and pollutes our marine environment with plastic. What are we doing about it?

In this episode we speak with Joel Baziuk the Deputy Director of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) from the Ocean Conservancy and  Bourton Scott and Ally Stocks from the Emerald Sea Protection Society. Joel helps to coordinate global efforts to improve fishing gear to decrease the risks of it being lost at sea and to help coordinate global cleanup efforts. Bourton and Ally are part of a team that has partnered with the GGGI to help cleanup the waters around Vancouver Island.

We talk about what's currently being done, what can be done in the future, how to get involved and what can be made from recycled nets pulled from the sea!

For more information about the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, what they are working on and how you can get involved with their ghost gear reporting app for your phone Click Here.

For more information about the Emerald Sea Protection Society and the nets they are removing off the coast of Vancouver Island Click Here.

Check out the Following Brands for cool products made from Ghost Gear!

•  Bureo for skateboards, clothing, frisbees, sunglasses, etc.
• Fourth Element for swimwear.
• Axiom for cycling gear.
• ECONYL for nylon clothing.
• BraceNet for bracelets.
• BlueCycle for furniture.
• Sea2See for glasses.
• Healthy Seas Socks for Socks.
• Popsicase for phone cases.
• 2nd Chance Ropeworks for rugs.

For more information about the Aquatic Biosphere Project and what we are doing to tell the story of water Click Here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to the first episode of the Water We Doing Podcast! 

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone across this planet, has tested our ability to adapt, develop and role out vaccines and figure out efficient ways to test and monitor our entire population.

When testing is limited, what is the best way to understand the spread of a virus in a large population? In this episode we learn about Wastewater Surveillance and how you can test samples from our sewers to understand where the virus has spread. We get insight from Dr. Steve Hrudey the Chair of the COVID-19 Wastewater Coalition from the Canadian Water Network. Dr. Hrudey helps us understand how this technology works, where it's been used before, and how it can be used in the future.

You don't have to be a math whiz to know that being able to test an entire population with one sample versus testing everyone individually means a lot less work. This technology is becoming even more important as we begin tracking new variants within our communities and begin planning to protect ourselves for any potential future pandemics.

To find out more about the wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 in Canada and the  Canadian Water Network COVID-19 Wastewater Coalition Click Here.

To find out more about the Aquatic Biosphere Project Click Here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

This podcast is for anyone who is interested in the most important thing in the world. 

Water.

In this podcast we will explore a bunch of different global problems that may not come to mind when you think about water, but they most certainly boil down to how we use this precious resource. We will talk to experts and figure out all the secrets about water, it’s uses, and the organisms that depend on it. 

In season One we cover a huge range of water issues ranging from ghost fishing, fish fraud, to how climate change affects locust plagues across Africa, and plastics in the ocean.

Episodes will begin to be released on World Water Day March 22nd. Story telling episodes will be released every monday. Our full length interviews with experts will be released as special "Deep Dive" episodes throughout the week.

Support the show