In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Kate Wylie, GP and Executive Director of Doctors for the Environment Australia, and a long-time friend of the show. One of Australia’s leading voices on climate and health, Kate helps us unpack the United Nations’ Global Water Bankruptcy report and what it means for all of us. Put simply: we are running out of water. We’re using more than we have in supply, so much that in many places we’re pushing past the point of recovery and can’t repay our debts. Driven by climate change, over-extraction, and pollution, this growing ‘water bankruptcy’ is fuelling food and water insecurity, disease, and deepening global inequities. Closer to home, we explore what this looks like in Australia, from the declining Murray-Darling to pressures on the Great Artesian Basin, and why this crisis is as much about public health as it is about the environment. A sharp, urgent conversation about one of the defining challenges of our time and the role we all must play in protecting the resource that underpins life itself. In this episode, we discuss: Kate’s background and her work at the intersection of human and planetary healthThe UN’s Global Water Bankruptcy report and Kate’s recent InSight+ article outlining what this means for us in AustraliaOur unsustainable water use and the industries driving the greatest extractionThe deep inequities of water insecurity, with the Global South bearing the greatest burdenKey health concerns, including unsafe drinking water, food insecurity, and the mental health effects of droughtRising risks of vector-borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue Fever, and Ross River VirusThe dual extremes of drought and flooding, and their impact on food systems and livelihoodsAustralia’s unique challenges as the driest inhabited continent, and the need for more sustainable agricultureGrowing strain on critical systems, from the Murray-Darling Basin to the Great Artesian Basin, and flow-on effects like South Australia’s algal bloomThe hidden water and energy costs of modern technology, including AI and cloud computing, and why we can’t ‘tech’ our way out of thisThe critical role of health professionals in advocating for climate and water securityWhy climate and environmental health must be embedded in medical educationThe vital work of Doctors for the Environment Australia and their latest advocacy efforts, including an open letter to Australian governments calling for an end to our dependence on global oil—add your name to the submission hereTo view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.
