Caption: Water the Chances, Credit: Seth Shostak
Image by: Seth Shostak 
Water the Chances 

Water the Chances

Series: Big Picture Science
From: Big Picture Science
Length: 00:54:00

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Getting the salt out: the most promising technologies for desalination… how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink… and, turning salt ponds back to wetlands. Read the full description.

Waterthechancesmed_small Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water - you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar cells are key. Also, how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink it, and how to turn a salt pond back to a wetland.

Plus, from Roman aqueducts to modern-day pumps: a history of quenching human thirst. And, why NASA strives to “follow the water.”

Guests:

  Brian Fagan – Anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind

  John Bourgeois – Biologist and Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project

  Michael Meyer – Lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program

  Farouk El-Baz – Geologist and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University

  Michael Flynn – Principal investigator for NASA’s advanced life support branch, Ames Research Center

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Piece Description

Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water - you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar cells are key. Also, how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink it, and how to turn a salt pond back to a wetland.

Plus, from Roman aqueducts to modern-day pumps: a history of quenching human thirst. And, why NASA strives to “follow the water.”

Guests:

  Brian Fagan – Anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind

  John Bourgeois – Biologist and Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project

  Michael Meyer – Lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program

  Farouk El-Baz – Geologist and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University

  Michael Flynn – Principal investigator for NASA’s advanced life support branch, Ames Research Center

Broadcast History

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Additional Files

Additional Credits

Seth Shostak - Host and Producer
Molly Bentley - Co-Host and Executive Producer
Gary Niederhoff - Assistant Producer
Barbara Vance - Production Assistant
Jay Weiler - Assistant
Keith Rozendal - Assistant

Related Website

http://radio.seti.org