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In the conclusion to our show from the Beacon Theater in NYC, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Eugene Mirman navigate the waters of greed, bad science and a lack of basic understanding about water, with the help of their guests Robert F. Kennedy Jr., His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, hydrogeologist Dr. Tess Russo and Jason Sudeikis. You’ll hear His Holiness explain how he ended disease in a Himalayan village by convincing people to stop throwing dead bodies – human and animal – into their local lake. Find out why depleting ground water can reduce the available surface water, and how both fracking and rising sea levels can lead to the contamination of aquifers. RFK Jr. explains that the most important environmental issue we face is having livable cities so we can preserve the wilderness to protect the water supply. You’ll learn about desalinization plants, managed recharge, and other water technologies, including drip agriculture that can reduce water use in farming by 95%. And you’ll discover the dangers of the trillion-dollar water privatization industry, and why the Pentagon says global warming and water shortages are the principal threat to US security (and have already lead to wars over water in Bolivia and Belize).
NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: StarTalk Live! Water World (Part 2).
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