World Ocean Radio

World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill recently witnessed a beautiful full moon rise from an island perch in Maine. The silent, stealthy way that it rose in the sky got him ruminating about water, tide, sun, current, power, light, nature, human emotion, and the often under-appreciated, surreal force of the moon.

The West Coast of the United States seems under siege—both on land and offshore. Many inter-related consequences can be used to explain the terrestrial problems plaguing the Pacific states, but what of the issues facing the ocean? The effect of leaking radiation has long raised concerns as a cause for many inexplicable natural events. Since 2004 Ken Buesseler and his crew of volunteers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have been gathering water samples from Alaska to Hawaii to measure radioactivity in ocean water. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the preliminary conclusions of this research and that of other oceanographers and marine chemists along the western shores.

A recent series of investigative stories entitled "The Outlaw Ocean" by Ian Urbina of the New York Times exposes the dark side of the deep sea, describing real abuses, crime and violence in international waters. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill summarizes the four-part “Outlaw Ocean” series, praising Urbina’s work to educate the public by exposing the labor, human rights, and environmental abuses occurring out of site, on the high seas.

A San Diego County Water Authority project to construct a 6-acre desalination plant, the largest of its kind in the United States, comes at a time when the traditional water supply system in California is overwhelmed by changing climate, high agricultural demand, and high consumption by an increased population. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will describe the process of desalination, break down the numbers, and describe the objections to and development of this increasingly necessary technology which has the potential to produce billions of gallons of potable water per day.

This week marks the 350th episode of World Ocean Radio, a weekly program of five-minute audio essays on a wide range of ocean issues from science and education to advocacy and exemplary projects. Since 2014 World Ocean Radio has been translated into five languages, and in this anniversary episode host Peter Neill enlists its supporters to help spread the word and market the program to broader audiences around the globe.

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure its use, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this fifth episode of a multi-part series on water, host Peter Neill suggests that in order to solve the fresh water problem we must first understand how much water is available and how it is being used—by understanding the “watermark” measures of use at every level of supply and demand; and he returns to the Water Footprint Network in order to outline their new international classification system for freshwater-related ecosystem services.

In last week's edition of World Ocean Radio we urged listeners to measure their water footprint using the WaterFootprint.org water calculator. In this week's episode we continue to discuss the work of the Water Footprint Network, this time by breaking down a case study which examines the true environmental impact and water consumption of manufacturing, following three Volkswagen models along their production cycle in order to glean a regionalized water inventory.

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure the water that is used, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this second episode of a multi-part series on water, host Peter Neill will suggest that in order to understand how to value the water cycle and how it works in a time of climate change and unrestricted use, we will need to define new strategies for measurement and management.

The global water crisis and the prospects for future water resources is forcing adjustments for how we measure the water that is used, how it is valued, and how (and to whom) it is allocated. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, first of a four-part series, host Peter Neill will argue that was is required is a complete overhaul of the water inventory, including measurements for its use, in a new green economy.

The Next System Project was developed to identify alternatives, foster conversations, evaluate fresh ideas, and propose solutions that will help us to reformulate values and behaviors in today’s political and economical climate. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the first report of the Next System Project, which outlines a number of alternative theories and structures, providing the creative thinking and options which have the potential to expand the boundaries of the political debate and give clarity to long-term directives.

What is the possibility of a post-capitalism economic model to support the values and behaviors for a new era filled with alternative technologies, political action, and finance? In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will discuss Naomi Klein’s new book “This Changes Everything” and will introduce the Next System Project, a Democracy Collaborative initiative with the goal to change the paradigm of economic development toward a new system, exploring political and economic possibilities for the 21st century.

The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership has been causing conflict of late, with a broad range of disagreements over key provisions and debates intensifying due to lack of information available to the public. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss climate and environment as it relates to the agreement, and will cite from a draft analysis on environmental issues recently published in the New York Law Journal by Stephen L. Kass which provides interesting insight into the prospective terms of the proposed agreement.

Arctic opportunities and territorial claims are on the rise as temperatures change and the ice melts. Once impassable, the Arctic is now increasingly accessible to drilling, shipping traffic, and other global enterprise. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill describes what a transformed Arctic might look like, and suggests that we should be encouraging, subsidizing, and investing in alternative technologies so that we may leave the pristine North alone.

The Rasuwaghadi Dam project in Nepal, severely damaged by the recent earthquake, is mired in controversy. One of many mega-projects along the Tishuli River, it is simultaneously over-engineered due to future inadequate supply of water from decreased glacial melt, and under-engineered due to risk factors such as earthquakes. In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will site from a recent report from New Yorker Magazine author Isabel Hunter who revealed sobering facts about the Rasuwaghadi Dam and its ilk: projects fueled by central governments, unlimited finance, cheap labor, environmental disregard, social dislocation, and cultural destruction.

"Virtual water" is used to produce everything that we incorporate into our lives each day but is not listed on labels or calculated into price. When you begin to add it all up, the statistics are dizzying. We are in an age of increased demand and diminishing supply, even while energy extraction methods such as hydrofracking consume, remove, and contaminate billions of gallons of fresh water each year. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, our host Peter Neill provides numerous examples of ways in which water consumption and use go unseen in our daily lives. Learn more at http://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/radio-item/virtual-water.