Freshwater Talk

Jay is an author, lecturer, professor and the senior water scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He's known best for developing models to track changes in freshwater across the world and raising awareness about groundwater depletion in California.

You've likely heard me say, "You can't manage what you can't measure." It's meant to be a rallying call for the incorporation of data and technology into water management. For Silicon Valley startup Aclima, "You can't fight what you can't measure." The company builds sensor networks that monitor environmental impacts at hyperlocal scales. Their sensors can be deployed on streets, inside vehicles and buildings, and more, to give clients a full picture of their carbon emissions and other pollutants. Grist referred to Aclima as creating "fit bits for the planet."

Frances B. Ashforth's artist statement ends like this: Perhaps I am simply committing these views to paper in hopes that we will remember to be good stewards of the land. Both land and water – these are Ashforth's prime inspirations for nearly all her paintings, drawings and prints. Recently, she's added a new element to her canvas: Words. Water + Words was born earlier this year. The hand-printed portfolio combines the thoughts of eleven individuals on the importance of water with eleven drawings of water.

Follow the water coming out of your faucet to its source, and you'll find a forest.Major metropolitan areas like Portland, New York and San Francisco rely on the health of a nearby forest to supply its people with clean drinking water. Our next guest Nick Wobbrock believes that first, more people must know this connection, and second, we get innovative about funding the restoration necessary to keep our forests – and thus our water resources – healthy and resilient. Wobbrock is co-founder of Blue Forest Conservation, a startup using financial innovation to solve today's most acute environmental problems.

The health of water is tied to the health of people. No one knows that better than Laurel Firestone, founder of the Community Water Center. While a million Californians are exposed to unsafe drinking water every year in their homes, schools, churches and parks, the California Water Center knows this is a solvable problem. Through organizing, education, and advocacy, they're getting after it. Firestone and her team give impacted communities a voice in the water decisions effecting them. Last year she was named one of the most influential people in California water policy, and she serves on state advisory committees and partners with universities to develop research and clinical programs that ensure the human right to water.

Climate change pulls no punches. Not with the economy, not with the health of humans, not with air, not with land, and not with water. It absolutely means business, and so does today's guest who has built a career of researching and broadcasting the consequences of that last one. Dr. Juliet Christian Smith is the head climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, author of A 21st Century Water Policy, and editor of the journal Sustainability Science. Publishing article after book after white paper, she's raised the red flag and put a fine point on what the changing climate is going to mean for water resources in California and around the country. This woman's work is not about alarm. It's about bringing to light innovative and accessible solutions founded in good science and progressive policy. Welcome to Freshwater Talk Juliet!

How does California use its water? Not long ago this question wasn't being asked, and when it was, there wasn't a good answer. The California Water Data Collaborative stepped in to remedy this dearth of data on water in the Golden State and today, this group is pioneering a new data infrastructure that supports water management and the public good. Joining us on Freshwater Talk is founder, Patrick Atwater.

When New Seasons Market opened their first store on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon as the ultimate neighborhood grocery store, it's unlikely they had a world record in their sights. Today, they are the first B Corp grocer. B Corps, short for Benefit Corporations, are companies committed to a triple bottom line, so they place as much value on the health of the community, their staff, and the environment as they do on the returns of the business. New Seasons is part of an expanding network of more than 2,00 of these kinds of companies in 50 countries around the globe. We are proud to have with us today on Freshwater Talk CEO Wendy Collie and Director of Social Responsibility Sarah Joannides to discuss the company's trailblazing nature and the use of business as a force for good. Welcome Wendy and Sarah, thanks for joining me.

LA has never been known as a "green" city. That's changing. Water conservation and recycling programs are in motion. Trees are being planted and greenspaces expanded. With a collaborative nature and an arsenal of green infrastructure solutions and progressive policy initiatives, TreePeople is at the forefront of the transformation. The nonprofit works with communities and government to grow a climate-resilient Los Angeles with ample tree canopy, local water and a sustainable future. Carrying out that mission is Deborah Weinstein-Bloome, Senior Director of Policy. With more than 20 years of experience in environmental policy, she facilitates collaboration between water agencies, helping them be more efficient and effective in managing water resources in the driest state of the nation.

Our first guest of the year has quite a few titles. She was LA Times Woman of the Year in 1970, ordained a knight in 1981, set a world diving record in 86', was the first female chief scientist at NOAA, named Times Magazine's first "Hero for the Planet," addressed the United Nations in 2010, and started a nonprofit to create a global network of marine protected areas in 2014. One of these things is considered a lifetime achievement for most. But Dr. Sylvia Earle is not most. Listen to her interview now, and get inspired for 2017.

Pete McBride is one of the top water photographers in the nation and a National Geographic "freshwater hero."

Joe is joined by guest, Craig Knowles, who has been the Chairman of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin Authority since 2011 and has helped rework the balance of water for an entire economny.