We need to track the world's water like we track the weather
-
0:01 - 0:04We need to build
a weather service for water. -
0:04 - 0:08Yet, until we collectively
demand accountability, -
0:08 - 0:10the incentives to fund it will not exist.
-
0:12 - 0:17The first time I spoke at a conference
was here at TED, eight years ago. -
0:17 - 0:19Fresh out of grad school,
little did I know -
0:19 - 0:21that in those few minutes onstage,
-
0:21 - 0:23I was framing the questions
I was going to be asked -
0:24 - 0:25for the next decade.
-
0:26 - 0:28And, like too many 20-somethings,
-
0:28 - 0:31I expected to solve
the world's problems -- -
0:31 - 0:33more specifically,
the world's water problems -- -
0:33 - 0:35with my technology.
-
0:36 - 0:37I had a lot to learn.
-
0:39 - 0:40It was seductive,
-
0:40 - 0:44believing that our biggest
water quality problems persist -
0:44 - 0:47because they're so hard to identify.
-
0:48 - 0:49And I presumed
-
0:49 - 0:54that we just needed simpler, faster
and more affordable sensors. -
0:55 - 0:56I was wrong.
-
0:58 - 1:02While it's true that
managing tomorrow's water risk -
1:02 - 1:06is going to require better data
and more technology, -
1:06 - 1:10today we're barely using
the little water data that we have. -
1:11 - 1:16Our biggest water problems persist
because of what we don't do -
1:16 - 1:19and the problems we fail to acknowledge.
-
1:19 - 1:21There's actually little question
-
1:21 - 1:26about what today's water data
is telling us to do as a species: -
1:26 - 1:27we need to conserve more,
-
1:27 - 1:29and we need to pollute less.
-
1:30 - 1:35But today's data is not going to help us
forecast the emerging risks -
1:35 - 1:37facing businesses and markets.
-
1:37 - 1:40It's rapidly becoming useless for that.
-
1:40 - 1:42It used to carry more value,
-
1:42 - 1:46but it's never actually told us
with any real accuracy -
1:46 - 1:48how much water we have
-
1:48 - 1:49or what's in it.
-
1:50 - 1:54Let's consider the past decade
of water usage statistics -
1:54 - 1:57from each of the G20 nations.
-
1:57 - 1:59Now, what these numbers do not tell you
-
1:59 - 2:04is that none of these countries
directly measures how much water they use. -
2:04 - 2:06These are all estimates,
-
2:06 - 2:08and they're based on outdated models
-
2:08 - 2:11that don't consider the climate crisis,
-
2:11 - 2:14nor do they consider its impact on water.
-
2:16 - 2:20In 2015, Chennai,
India's sixth-largest city, -
2:20 - 2:23was hit with the worst floods
it had seen in a century. -
2:25 - 2:28Today, its water reservoirs
are nearly dry. -
2:29 - 2:32It took three years to get here,
-
2:32 - 2:34three years of subaverage rainfall.
-
2:34 - 2:39Now, that's faster than most nations
tabulate their national water data, -
2:39 - 2:40including the US.
-
2:41 - 2:44And although there were forecasts
-
2:44 - 2:48that predicted severe shortages
of water in Chennai, -
2:48 - 2:52none of them could actually help us
pinpoint exactly when or where -
2:52 - 2:53this was going to happen.
-
2:54 - 2:57This is a new type of water problem,
-
2:57 - 3:02because the rate at which
every aspect of our water cycle changes -
3:02 - 3:03is accelerating.
-
3:03 - 3:07As a recent UN warning
this month revealed, -
3:07 - 3:12we are now facing one new
climate emergency every single week. -
3:14 - 3:17There are greater uncertainties
ahead for water quality. -
3:17 - 3:21It's rare in most countries
for most water bodies to be tested -
3:21 - 3:24for more than a handful
of contaminants in a year. -
3:24 - 3:27Instead of testing, we use
what's called the "dilution model" -
3:27 - 3:29to manage pollution.
-
3:29 - 3:33Now, imagine I took
an Olympic-sized swimming pool, -
3:33 - 3:36I filled it with fresh water
and I added one drop of mercury. -
3:36 - 3:39That would dilute down
to one part per billion mercury, -
3:39 - 3:41which is well within what
the World Health Organization -
3:42 - 3:43considers safe.
-
3:43 - 3:47But if there was any unforeseen drop
in how much water was available -- -
3:47 - 3:52less groundwater, less stream flow,
less water in the pool -- -
3:52 - 3:54less dilution would take place,
-
3:54 - 3:56and things would get more toxic.
-
3:57 - 4:00So this is how most countries
are managing pollution. -
4:00 - 4:04They use this model to tell them
how much pollution is safe. -
4:04 - 4:06And it has clear weaknesses,
-
4:06 - 4:09but it worked well enough
when we had abundant water -
4:09 - 4:11and consistent weather patterns.
-
4:12 - 4:16Now that we don't, we're going to need
to invest and develop -
4:16 - 4:18new data-collection strategies.
-
4:18 - 4:22But before we do that, we have to start
acting on the data we already have. -
4:23 - 4:25This is a jet fuel fire.
-
4:25 - 4:27As many of you may be aware,
-
4:27 - 4:30jet fuel emissions play
an enormous role in climate change. -
4:30 - 4:34What you might not be aware of
is that the US Department of Defense -
4:34 - 4:37is the world's largest
consumer of jet fuel. -
4:37 - 4:39And when they consume jet fuel,
-
4:39 - 4:43they mandate the use
of the firefighting foam pictured here, -
4:43 - 4:46which contains a class
of chemicals called PFAS. -
4:46 - 4:50Nobody uses more of this foam
than the US Department of Defense, -
4:50 - 4:54and every time it's used, PFAS
finds its way into our water systems. -
4:55 - 4:59Globally, militaries have been using
this foam since the 1970s. -
5:00 - 5:03We know PFAS causes cancer, birth defects,
-
5:03 - 5:06and it's now so pervasive
in the environment -
5:06 - 5:10that we seem to find it in nearly
every living thing we test, -
5:10 - 5:12including us.
-
5:13 - 5:17But so far, the US Department of Defense
has not been held accountable -
5:17 - 5:19for PFAS contamination,
-
5:19 - 5:21nor has it been held liable.
-
5:21 - 5:25And although there's an effort underway
to phase out these firefighting foams, -
5:25 - 5:28they're not embracing safer,
effective alternatives. -
5:28 - 5:31They're actually using
other PFAS molecules, -
5:31 - 5:37which may, for all we know,
carry worse health consequences. -
5:38 - 5:45So today, government accountability
is eroding to the point of elimination, -
5:45 - 5:49and the risk of liability
from water pollution is vanishing. -
5:50 - 5:54What types of incentives does this create
for investing in our water future? -
5:55 - 6:01Over the past decade, the average
early stage global investment -
6:01 - 6:03in early stage water technology companies
-
6:03 - 6:06has totaled less than
30 million dollars every year. -
6:07 - 6:13That's 0.12 percent of global
venture capital for early stage companies. -
6:15 - 6:20And public spending is not going up
nearly fast enough. -
6:20 - 6:24And a closer look at it reveals
that water is not a priority. -
6:24 - 6:30In 2014, the US federal government
was spending 11 dollars per citizen -
6:30 - 6:32on water infrastructure,
-
6:32 - 6:36versus 251 dollars on IT infrastructure.
-
6:36 - 6:40So when we don't use the data we have,
-
6:40 - 6:42we don't encourage investment
in new technologies, -
6:42 - 6:45we don't encourage more data collection
-
6:45 - 6:50and we certainly don't encourage
investment in securing a water future. -
6:51 - 6:52So are we doomed?
-
6:53 - 6:55Part of what I'm still learning
-
6:55 - 7:00is how to balance the doom
and the urgency with things we can do, -
7:00 - 7:03because Greta Thunberg
and the Extinction Rebellion -
7:03 - 7:05don't want our hope --
they want us to act. -
7:05 - 7:07So what can we do?
-
7:08 - 7:13It's hard to imagine life
without a weather service, -
7:13 - 7:15but before modern weather forecasting,
-
7:15 - 7:17we had no commercial air travel,
-
7:17 - 7:21it was common for ships to be lost at sea,
-
7:21 - 7:24and a single storm could produce
a food shortage. -
7:25 - 7:28Once we had radio and telegraph networks,
-
7:28 - 7:31all that was necessary
to solve these problems -
7:31 - 7:33was tracking the movement of storms.
-
7:35 - 7:39And that laid the foundation
for a global data collection effort, -
7:39 - 7:43one that every household
and every business depends upon today. -
7:44 - 7:48And this was as much the result of
coordinated and consistent data collection -
7:48 - 7:53as it was the result of producing
a culture that saw greater value -
7:53 - 7:58in openly assessing and sharing everything
that it could find out and discover -
7:58 - 8:00about the risks we face.
-
8:01 - 8:05A global weather service for water
would help us forecast water shortages. -
8:06 - 8:11It could help us implement rationing
well before reservoirs run dry. -
8:12 - 8:15It could help us detect
contamination before it spreads. -
8:15 - 8:18It could protect our supply chains,
-
8:18 - 8:19secure our food supplies,
-
8:20 - 8:21and, perhaps most importantly,
-
8:21 - 8:25it would enable
the precise estimation of risk -
8:25 - 8:27necessary to insure against it.
-
8:28 - 8:31We know we can do this because
we've already done it with weather. -
8:31 - 8:34But it's going to require resources.
-
8:35 - 8:37We need to encourage
greater investment in water. -
8:38 - 8:40Investors, venture capitalists:
-
8:40 - 8:43a portion of your funds and portfolios
should be dedicated to water. -
8:44 - 8:45Nothing is more valuable
-
8:45 - 8:49and, after all, businesses are going
to need to understand water risks -
8:49 - 8:52in order to remain competitive
in the world we are entering. -
8:53 - 8:55Aside from venture capital,
-
8:55 - 8:59there are also lots of promising
government programs -
8:59 - 9:02that encourage economic development
through tax incentives. -
9:03 - 9:05A new option in the US
that my company is using -
9:06 - 9:07is called "opportunity zones."
-
9:08 - 9:12They offer favorable tax treatment
for investing capital gains -
9:12 - 9:15in designated distressed
and low-income areas. -
9:15 - 9:17Now, these are areas
-
9:17 - 9:19that are also facing
staggering water risk, -
9:19 - 9:23so this creates crucial incentives
to work directly with the communities -
9:23 - 9:25who need help most.
-
9:25 - 9:29And if you're not looking
to make this type of investment -
9:29 - 9:31but you own land in the US,
-
9:31 - 9:34did you know that
you can leverage your land -
9:34 - 9:37to conserve water quality permanently
-
9:37 - 9:39with a conservation easement?
-
9:39 - 9:43You can assign the perpetual right
to a local land trust -
9:43 - 9:44to conserve your land
-
9:45 - 9:46and set specific water quality goals.
-
9:46 - 9:48And if you meet those goals,
-
9:48 - 9:53you can be rewarded with
a substantial tax discount every year. -
9:54 - 9:59How many areas could
our global community protect -
9:59 - 10:01through these and other programs?
-
10:02 - 10:06They're powerful because they offer
the access to real property -
10:06 - 10:10necessary to lay the foundation
for a global weather service for water. -
10:11 - 10:17But this can only work if we use
these programs as they are intended -
10:17 - 10:20and not as mere vehicles for tax evasion.
-
10:21 - 10:23When the conservation easement
was established, -
10:23 - 10:27nobody could anticipate how ingrained
in environmental movements -
10:27 - 10:29corporate polluters would become.
-
10:29 - 10:34And we've become accustomed to companies
talking about the climate crisis -
10:34 - 10:36while doing nothing about it.
-
10:38 - 10:42This has undermined the legacy
and the impact of these programs, -
10:42 - 10:45but it also makes them
ripe for reclamation. -
10:45 - 10:48Why not use conservation easements
as they were intended, -
10:48 - 10:53to set and reach
ambitious conservation goals? -
10:53 - 10:57Why not create opportunities
in opportunity zones? -
10:57 - 11:02Because fundamentally,
water security requires accountability. -
11:02 - 11:08Accountability is not corporate polluters
sponsoring environmental groups -
11:08 - 11:10and museums.
-
11:10 - 11:12Those are conflicts of interest.
-
11:12 - 11:17(Applause)
-
11:18 - 11:20Accountability is:
-
11:21 - 11:25making the risk of liability too expensive
-
11:25 - 11:28to continue polluting
and wasting our water. -
11:28 - 11:32We can't keep settling for words.
It's time to act. -
11:32 - 11:36And where better to start
than with our biggest polluters, -
11:36 - 11:41particularly the US Department
of Defense, which is taxpayer-funded. -
11:41 - 11:45Who and what are we protecting
when US soldiers, their families -
11:45 - 11:48and the people who live near
US military bases abroad -
11:48 - 11:50are all drinking toxic water?
-
11:51 - 11:55Global security can no longer remain
at odds with protecting our planet -
11:55 - 11:57or our collective health.
-
11:57 - 11:59Our survival depends on it.
-
11:59 - 12:01Similarly,
-
12:01 - 12:05agriculture in most countries
depends on taxpayer-funded subsidies -
12:05 - 12:09that are paid to farmers to secure
and stabilize food supplies. -
12:10 - 12:14These incentives are
a crucial leverage point for us, -
12:14 - 12:19because agriculture is responsible
for consuming 70 percent -
12:19 - 12:21of all the water we use every year.
-
12:22 - 12:25Fertilizer and pesticide runoff
-
12:25 - 12:27are the two biggest sources
of water pollution. -
12:27 - 12:31Let's restructure these subsidies
to demand better water efficiency -
12:31 - 12:33and less pollution.
-
12:33 - 12:38(Applause)
-
12:39 - 12:40Finally:
-
12:40 - 12:42we can't expect progress
-
12:42 - 12:45if we're unwilling to confront
the conflicts of interest -
12:45 - 12:46that suppress science,
-
12:47 - 12:48that undermine innovation
-
12:48 - 12:51and that discourage transparency.
-
12:51 - 12:53It is in the public interest
-
12:53 - 12:57to measure and to share everything
we can learn and discover -
12:57 - 12:59about the risks we face in water.
-
13:00 - 13:03Reality does not exist
until it's measured. -
13:03 - 13:07It doesn't just take
technology to measure it. -
13:07 - 13:09It takes our collective will.
-
13:09 - 13:11Thank you.
-
13:11 - 13:16(Applause)
- Title:
- We need to track the world's water like we track the weather
- Speaker:
- Sonaar Luthra
- Description:
-
We need a global weather service for water, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra. In a talk about environmental accountability, Luthra shows how we could forecast water shortages and risks with a global data collection effort -- just like we monitor the movement of storms -- and better listen to what the earth is telling us.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 13:29
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | ||
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Brian Greene edited English subtitles for We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | ||
Oliver Friedman approved English subtitles for We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | ||
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Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for We need to track the world's water like we track the weather | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for We need to track the world's water like we track the weather |