Water Buffs Water Desk

On this episode of Water Buffs, we examine how drought can harm human health, specifically how dramatic flucutations in water availability can lead to increasingly toxic water supplies.
Dr. James is an award-winning epidemiologist and engineer specializing in environmental and climate risk factors and their connection to health in vulnerable populations. She is an associate professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, one of three institutions that make up the Colorado School of Public Health. Dr. James recently spoke to journalist Melissa Bailey for a Water Desk-supported article, “Once 'paradise,' parched Colorado valley grapples with arsenic in water.” The article, originally published by KFF Health News, centered around Dr. James' community-based research projects that investigate exposure to heavy metals, in particular a rise in carcinogenic arsenic in drinking water in Colorado's drought-stricken San Luis Valley.

Brad Lancaster, author and expert on water harvesting, talks to Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin about how individuals and communities can make the most of rainfall and greywater to stretch local supplies. 
Brad Lancaster is the subject of a new documentary, Water Harvester: An Invitation to Abundance, that was produced by David Fenster, a journalist at Arizona Public Media and Water Desk grantee.
Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk’s FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/
 

Climate change, extractive industries and population growth threaten New Mexico’s water supplies, especially for indigenous communities. We talk to advocate and director of the Pueblo Action Alliance, Julia Bernal, about potential solutions to these inequities and the legacy of colonialism in the state. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk’s FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

Laura Paskus, a journalist with New Mexico PBS, talks to Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin about her water reporting and her book, At the Precipice: New Mexico’s Changing Climate. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk’s FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

The Green River is the most significant tributary of the Colorado River. Journalist Heather Hansman floated the Green in a pack raft to explore water issues in the American West and then wrote a fascinating book about her journey. We also talk to Heather about her reporting on water issues on the Navajo Nation.
Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk’s FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

About one-third of Navajo Nation residents lack running water in their homes and water pollution remains a serious issue in the region. We talk to Kaitlin Harris of DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project about solutions to these pressing problems.
Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk’s FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/