1
00:02:08,866 --> 00:02:11,116
Water... is everything.

2
00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:17,006
The single most necessary
element for any of us to sustain

3
00:02:17,195 --> 00:02:20,745
and live and thrive is water.

4
00:02:23,580 --> 00:02:25,730
I grew up in the Mid-West

5
00:02:26,460 --> 00:02:29,110
and I have a father who'd
actually worked for industry

6
00:02:29,186 --> 00:02:31,727
and he used to sing
me songs all the time.

7
00:02:32,312 --> 00:02:35,556
Sometimes we'd be at the creeks
and he just make up little songs

8
00:02:35,557 --> 00:02:38,904
about see that lovely water, you
know, trickling down the spring,

9
00:02:38,905 --> 00:02:41,493
don't take it for granted,
someday it might not be seen.

10
00:02:41,494 --> 00:02:45,013
He promised me, in my lifetime

11
00:02:45,014 --> 00:02:49,500
that we would see water
become more valuable than oil.

12
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He said because there
will be so little of it.

13
00:02:53,269 --> 00:02:55,369
I think that time is here.

14
00:03:00,545 --> 00:03:03,477
It's the third week in
a row without any water.

15
00:03:03,478 --> 00:03:04,582
The army has been called

16
00:03:04,583 --> 00:03:06,999
in to protect the
capital's water pumps.

17
00:03:11,658 --> 00:03:15,626
There's been a lot
of talk about peak oil

18
00:03:15,627 --> 00:03:17,974
when the production
of oil reaches a peak

19
00:03:17,975 --> 00:03:21,183
and then inevitably
starts to decline.

20
00:03:21,184 --> 00:03:23,737
Like peak oil, there
is peak water.

21
00:03:23,738 --> 00:03:26,844
We're reaching the
limits of what we can use.

22
00:03:26,845 --> 00:03:29,604
Once the fourth largest
freshwater lake in the world,

23
00:03:29,605 --> 00:03:31,088
the Aral Sea has been diminished

24
00:03:31,089 --> 00:03:33,919
to about one tenth
its original size.

25
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:38,406
The levels in Brazil's
Amazon region reach record lows.

26
00:03:38,407 --> 00:03:39,924
Spain is the grip of drought.

27
00:03:39,925 --> 00:03:42,961
The drought ravaging China's
southwest is being called the

28
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worst...

29
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...the worst in 40 years.

30
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Worst drought in 70 years.

31
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...the worst in the century.

32
00:03:47,933 --> 00:03:50,450
Every region of the world
is facing water problems

33
00:03:50,451 --> 00:03:52,936
from China to the Middle East.

34
00:03:52,937 --> 00:03:55,939
Half the world's hospital
beds are occupied by patients

35
00:03:55,940 --> 00:03:58,216
with water-borne diseases.

36
00:03:58,217 --> 00:04:01,806
By 2025, half of the
world's population will not have

37
00:04:01,807 --> 00:04:03,014
adequate access to water.

38
00:04:03,015 --> 00:04:07,121
I mean, it could
not be more serious.

39
00:04:07,122 --> 00:04:09,916
We've seen what happens
in other parts of the world

40
00:04:09,917 --> 00:04:15,542
and we just always think
that never can be me.

41
00:04:15,543 --> 00:04:17,820
It already is you.

42
00:04:17,821 --> 00:04:19,304
Why so serious.

43
00:04:19,305 --> 00:04:24,171
So raise your glass
if you are wrong,

44
00:04:24,172 --> 00:04:28,001
in all the right
ways, all my underdogs

45
00:04:28,002 --> 00:04:31,798
we will never, never
be anything but loud.

46
00:04:31,799 --> 00:04:33,558
I know it's a
surprise to some people

47
00:04:33,559 --> 00:04:35,043
that there is a crisis.

48
00:04:35,044 --> 00:04:37,734
But the reality is
in the United States,

49
00:04:37,735 --> 00:04:39,840
we Americans are spoiled.

50
00:04:39,841 --> 00:04:41,703
We have the biggest water
footprint in the world.

51
00:04:41,704 --> 00:04:43,844
Raise your glass.

52
00:04:43,845 --> 00:04:47,605
Won't you come on and come
on, and raise your glass.

53
00:04:47,606 --> 00:04:51,643
Just come on and come
on and raise your glass.

54
00:04:51,644 --> 00:04:55,370
Won't you come on and come
on and raise your glass.

55
00:04:55,371 --> 00:05:01,135
When there's a water problem,
the ripple effect is enormous.

56
00:05:01,136 --> 00:05:03,827
Downstream, the water
finds its way to you

57
00:05:03,828 --> 00:05:09,280
and it definitely
rocks the boat.

58
00:05:09,281 --> 00:05:11,558
Oh shit, my glass is empty,

59
00:05:11,559 --> 00:05:12,974
that sucks.

60
00:05:28,539 --> 00:05:30,539
People love water,

61
00:05:31,197 --> 00:05:36,166
especially when it's 118 degrees
outside in the summer.

62
00:05:36,167 --> 00:05:41,033
We sell virtual reality.

63
00:05:41,034 --> 00:05:45,105
People come to Las Vegas
to escape their reality.

64
00:05:45,106 --> 00:05:50,524
And part of that is the
cooling sensation of fountains,

65
00:05:50,525 --> 00:05:53,319
it looks like prolific waste.

66
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:55,148
What they don't understand is

67
00:05:55,149 --> 00:05:59,843
that the entire Las Vegas
strip uses 3 percent

68
00:05:59,844 --> 00:06:01,567
of this community's water supply

69
00:06:01,568 --> 00:06:06,572
and is the single largest
contributor this state's

70
00:06:06,573 --> 00:06:11,197
economic product.

71
00:06:11,198 --> 00:06:13,889
We see growth every
time it snows in Buffalo

72
00:06:13,890 --> 00:06:19,308
and water consumption all of
a sudden began skyrocketing.

73
00:06:19,309 --> 00:06:22,345
The amazing thing about
Vegas is that it refuses

74
00:06:22,346 --> 00:06:27,212
to let the lack of water
constrain its growth.

75
00:06:27,213 --> 00:06:29,523
Las Vegas has built
housing developments

76
00:06:29,524 --> 00:06:34,114
as large as San Francisco.

77
00:06:34,115 --> 00:06:36,979
They never worried about
water because right next door

78
00:06:36,980 --> 00:06:41,603
to Vegas is Hoover Dam and
behind Hoover Dam is Lake Mead,

79
00:06:41,604 --> 00:06:43,986
the largest reservoir
in the country.

80
00:06:49,749 --> 00:06:52,096
Hoover Dam and its
power plant serve water

81
00:06:52,097 --> 00:06:55,271
and power needs in
California, Nevada and Arizona.

82
00:06:55,272 --> 00:06:59,896
When it was built, Hoover
Dam and Lake Mead were going

83
00:06:59,897 --> 00:07:03,520
to save the west forever.

84
00:07:03,521 --> 00:07:06,557
Colorado River waters
that once destroyed man

85
00:07:06,558 --> 00:07:10,976
and his property now serve him.

86
00:07:21,502 --> 00:07:23,365
You don't have to be
a scientist to understand

87
00:07:23,366 --> 00:07:26,540
that if you take more water
out of the bathtub than you put

88
00:07:26,541 --> 00:07:29,198
in to the bathtub, the bathtub
will eventually go empty.

89
00:07:29,199 --> 00:07:33,685
The elevation has been
dropping 10 feet every year.

90
00:07:33,686 --> 00:07:36,652
Today, it's only
about 40 percent full.

91
00:07:36,653 --> 00:07:39,828
We're measuring 1086.

92
00:07:39,829 --> 00:07:45,419
Las Vegas will lose our
upper intake at elevation 1050.

93
00:07:45,420 --> 00:07:50,631
1050 will be a wakeup
call because at 1050,

94
00:07:50,632 --> 00:07:55,014
Hoover Dam stops
generating electricity.

95
00:07:55,015 --> 00:07:57,292
You've only got 36 feet to go.

96
00:07:57,293 --> 00:07:58,569
That's four years.

97
00:07:58,570 --> 00:08:04,332
No one ever imagined
that that was possible.

98
00:08:04,333 --> 00:08:10,373
In my mind, it's not a question
of if, it's a question of when.

99
00:08:10,374 --> 00:08:12,858
In our original work,
we looked at the situation

100
00:08:12,859 --> 00:08:14,583
where the lakes go dry,
actually dead pool.

101
00:08:14,584 --> 00:08:19,726
By 2025, we could've reached
that with the probability

102
00:08:19,727 --> 00:08:22,418
about 50 percent
and we were shocked.

103
00:08:22,419 --> 00:08:27,836
When I think of
water, I think of it

104
00:08:27,837 --> 00:08:29,493
as giant milkshake glass.

105
00:08:29,494 --> 00:08:35,636
And I think of each demand for
water as a straw in a glass.

106
00:08:35,637 --> 00:08:36,879
With the amount
of water being taken

107
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,813
out of the Colorado system
is maxed out right now,

108
00:08:39,814 --> 00:08:41,746
and yet there's going
to be less.

109
00:08:41,747 --> 00:08:45,162
If we don't do anything,

110
00:08:45,163 --> 00:08:48,027
Las Vegas is a dead
city, period, full stop.

111
00:08:48,028 --> 00:08:54,170
They are proposing to build
a 3 billion dollar pipeline,

112
00:08:54,171 --> 00:08:57,829
250 miles long to
draw water out of one

113
00:08:57,830 --> 00:09:00,073
of the last oases in Nevada.

114
00:09:00,074 --> 00:09:04,145
This is a project
out of sheer desperation

115
00:09:04,146 --> 00:09:06,941
because there's nothing
else available.

116
00:09:24,267 --> 00:09:26,234
If I get the water line in here,

117
00:09:26,235 --> 00:09:31,790
it'll just turn into
a dust bowl.

118
00:09:31,791 --> 00:09:34,931
If you haven't got
any water, you're done.

119
00:09:34,932 --> 00:09:39,417
If they take that,
where do I go?

120
00:09:39,418 --> 00:09:41,972
I'm done. And my kids are done.

121
00:09:49,117 --> 00:09:50,324
This is Goliath Water.

122
00:09:50,325 --> 00:09:58,325
He's from Southern Nevada
and he wants your water.

123
00:09:58,884 --> 00:10:00,505
The very people
you wouldn't hurt

124
00:10:00,506 --> 00:10:04,095
if they were your neighbors,
you'll fight to the death

125
00:10:04,096 --> 00:10:06,684
over a glass of water.

126
00:10:06,685 --> 00:10:09,997
This project may
succeed over my dead body.

127
00:10:14,174 --> 00:10:15,864
Can you afford not to build it.

128
00:10:15,865 --> 00:10:18,452
Are you willing to put
your family at risk?

129
00:10:18,453 --> 00:10:19,936
That's what it gets down to.

130
00:10:19,937 --> 00:10:20,800
This pipeline.

131
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:21,732
It's going to be
built, isn't it?

132
00:10:21,733 --> 00:10:23,561
There is no option.

133
00:10:23,562 --> 00:10:25,425
So am I supposed to
sit here and say,

134
00:10:25,426 --> 00:10:28,012
"The fate of 2 million
people doesn't matter to me,

135
00:10:28,013 --> 00:10:29,531
they're just going
to have to live

136
00:10:29,532 --> 00:10:32,224
with whatever Mother
Nature decides to dole out."

137
00:10:32,225 --> 00:10:34,950
That is about as
irresponsible a statement

138
00:10:34,951 --> 00:10:37,573
as I've ever heard
someone come up with.

139
00:10:37,574 --> 00:10:39,126
The way the city was developed,

140
00:10:39,127 --> 00:10:40,783
the way it was planned,

141
00:10:40,784 --> 00:10:43,372
politicians just let people
build whatever the heck

142
00:10:43,373 --> 00:10:44,787
they wanted.

143
00:10:44,788 --> 00:10:47,340
If you want to say it should
never have happened, well,

144
00:10:47,341 --> 00:10:50,447
the cows have left the barn.

145
00:10:50,448 --> 00:10:54,415
If Las Vegas is going to keep
growing, they'll take this water

146
00:10:54,416 --> 00:10:57,556
and then they'll still
run out of water.

147
00:10:57,557 --> 00:10:59,903
It's easy to point
the finger at Vegas.

148
00:10:59,904 --> 00:11:01,526
But when you look at
the future of growth

149
00:11:01,527 --> 00:11:04,873
in water, we are all Vegas.

150
00:11:04,874 --> 00:11:08,463
When we get hit, Phoenix gets
hit, and Los Angeles gets hit.

151
00:11:08,464 --> 00:11:11,604
The mighty Rio Grande, now
nothing more than a dirt road.

152
00:11:11,605 --> 00:11:14,261
People in Atlanta are
actually praying for rain.

153
00:11:14,262 --> 00:11:16,504
Lake Superior is
said to be disappearing.

154
00:11:16,505 --> 00:11:19,507
Thirty-six US states
face water shortages

155
00:11:19,508 --> 00:11:21,993
in the next three years.

156
00:11:30,035 --> 00:11:34,900
Junior, it's time for you
to visit your mother earth.

157
00:11:34,901 --> 00:11:39,008
Oh pop, let me
stay here with you.

158
00:11:44,772 --> 00:11:48,430
When we think of water,
we think of it as the air.

159
00:11:48,431 --> 00:11:50,673
Infinite and inexhaustible.

160
00:11:50,674 --> 00:11:57,058
This is the cycle of water
by which all life survives.

161
00:11:57,059 --> 00:12:00,372
All the water there
ever was still is.

162
00:12:00,373 --> 00:12:04,754
We are drinking the same water
that the dinosaurs drank.

163
00:12:04,755 --> 00:12:08,517
So how can it possibly be a
problem with the water supply?

164
00:12:08,518 --> 00:12:12,002
Turn the faucet
and there is water

165
00:12:12,003 --> 00:12:16,351
at any hour of the day or night.

166
00:12:16,352 --> 00:12:19,458
The resource is renewable.

167
00:12:19,459 --> 00:12:22,011
That's the beauty of
the hydrologic cycle.

168
00:12:22,012 --> 00:12:26,015
But when you use such quantities
that it exceeds the capacity

169
00:12:26,016 --> 00:12:29,983
of the system to renew itself,
then you have a problem.

170
00:12:29,984 --> 00:12:33,021
You know, I used to think

171
00:12:33,022 --> 00:12:35,713
that it might be impossible
to run out of water.

172
00:12:35,714 --> 00:12:40,510
There's a lot of
water on the earth.

173
00:12:40,511 --> 00:12:43,789
But less than 1 percent is
freshwater that's available

174
00:12:43,790 --> 00:12:45,343
to drink.

175
00:12:45,344 --> 00:12:48,793
There are places that could
actually run out of water

176
00:12:48,794 --> 00:12:51,935
and California is one of them.

177
00:13:00,460 --> 00:13:03,773
When I would drive
through the Central Valley,

178
00:13:03,774 --> 00:13:07,362
I'd see all these
signs about water.

179
00:13:07,363 --> 00:13:11,331
That's actually how
I get interested

180
00:13:11,332 --> 00:13:14,196
in studying the valley
was by seeing those signs

181
00:13:14,197 --> 00:13:17,302
and then trying to
understand what was going on.

182
00:13:17,303 --> 00:13:21,962
I really had no idea that I was
opening such a Pandora's Box.

183
00:13:26,483 --> 00:13:30,072
For California's valley,
a good supply of water all

184
00:13:30,073 --> 00:13:32,799
through the year has
changed a worthless desert

185
00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:34,594
into productive farmland.

186
00:13:34,595 --> 00:13:36,905
Back in the '30s,
the government turned

187
00:13:36,906 --> 00:13:38,113
on the tap for the farmers.

188
00:13:38,114 --> 00:13:41,979
The Central Valley
produces about 25 percent

189
00:13:41,980 --> 00:13:43,843
of the food consumed
in the United States.

190
00:13:43,844 --> 00:13:47,501
We now have about 7
million irrigated acres.

191
00:13:47,502 --> 00:13:52,403
We're stretching a limited
resource to its limits.

192
00:13:52,404 --> 00:13:56,924
It really is a giant
can of worms.

193
00:14:13,525 --> 00:14:15,802
These almonds are being removed

194
00:14:15,803 --> 00:14:17,528
because of the lack of water.

195
00:14:17,529 --> 00:14:21,291
I had to walk away, yeah.

196
00:14:21,292 --> 00:14:22,395
I knew it was coming,

197
00:14:22,396 --> 00:14:27,330
but I couldn't take the
hardship to watch, yeah.

198
00:14:27,331 --> 00:14:28,849
Certainly, it's heartbreaking.

199
00:14:28,850 --> 00:14:32,403
When I was out here putting the
trees in the ground 23 years ago

200
00:14:32,404 --> 00:14:35,959
and now we've had the rug
pulled up from under us.

201
00:14:41,551 --> 00:14:46,382
Some people say, "This is
the first instance of people

202
00:14:46,383 --> 00:14:52,835
in the United States turning on
the tap and not getting water."

203
00:14:52,836 --> 00:14:56,011
West Valley farmers will
not get any federal water

204
00:14:56,012 --> 00:14:57,253
this season.

205
00:14:57,254 --> 00:14:59,773
That decision is a
result of less water pumping

206
00:14:59,774 --> 00:15:03,224
to protect fish populations
in Northern California.

207
00:15:03,225 --> 00:15:04,432
The Central Valley

208
00:15:04,433 --> 00:15:07,090
of California was once
considered the bread basket

209
00:15:07,091 --> 00:15:08,333
of America.

210
00:15:08,334 --> 00:15:10,713
But now, farms all over that
region have been allowed

211
00:15:10,714 --> 00:15:11,749
to dry up.

212
00:15:11,750 --> 00:15:14,683
Now why? Because of
a two-inch minnow

213
00:15:14,684 --> 00:15:16,581
on the endangered species list.

214
00:15:16,582 --> 00:15:19,171
Where I come from,
we call that bait.

215
00:15:20,378 --> 00:15:22,655
Somebody has got to
turn the water back on...

216
00:15:22,656 --> 00:15:25,175
Either that or put us on
the endangered species list.

217
00:15:25,176 --> 00:15:28,420
You're going to
get your vegetables from China

218
00:15:28,421 --> 00:15:31,422
and I understand they made
great baby milk formula.

219
00:15:31,423 --> 00:15:32,595
By the way, be sure to check

220
00:15:32,596 --> 00:15:34,252
out Sean Hannity's new
children's book, One Fish,

221
00:15:34,253 --> 00:15:37,324
Two Fish, Red Fish, boo!

222
00:15:37,325 --> 00:15:39,567
Boo fish.

223
00:15:39,568 --> 00:15:44,779
It's been convenient for
certain politicians to say,

224
00:15:44,780 --> 00:15:46,712
"Look, we're hurting people.

225
00:15:46,713 --> 00:15:50,231
Why should we protect
this little fish

226
00:15:50,232 --> 00:15:52,199
at the expense of people?"

227
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:53,856
But that's wrong.

228
00:15:53,857 --> 00:15:57,514
The Delta smelt is a small
insignificant little fish.

229
00:15:57,515 --> 00:15:59,895
But it's not insignificant

230
00:15:59,896 --> 00:16:03,382
if you realize the delta
smelt is just a symbol

231
00:16:03,383 --> 00:16:05,142
of a much bigger problem.

232
00:16:05,143 --> 00:16:08,109
It's a symbol of an
ecosystem that's collapsing.

233
00:16:08,110 --> 00:16:12,251
The water for the Central
Valley comes from the Sierras.

234
00:16:12,252 --> 00:16:14,771
It ends up in the Bay Delta.

235
00:16:14,772 --> 00:16:17,463
This is the greatest
estuary on the West Coast

236
00:16:17,464 --> 00:16:19,706
and we've allowed it to crash.

237
00:16:19,707 --> 00:16:21,915
All of the fish, it's
not only the salmon,

238
00:16:21,916 --> 00:16:24,953
it's not only the Delta smelt,
it's going to impact everything.

239
00:16:24,954 --> 00:16:30,958
It's going to impact the people.

240
00:16:30,959 --> 00:16:34,410
The last two seasons, we
didn't have any salmon

241
00:16:34,411 --> 00:16:36,065
fishing whatsoever.

242
00:16:36,066 --> 00:16:37,757
You know, we still sell
fish but we bring it

243
00:16:37,758 --> 00:16:43,038
in from someplace else.

244
00:16:43,039 --> 00:16:48,283
We could see the absolute demise
of salmon here in California.

245
00:16:48,284 --> 00:16:52,529
We fishermen have to speak up.

246
00:16:52,530 --> 00:16:55,220
We've become politicians
and activists.

247
00:16:55,221 --> 00:16:58,534
No water for the farmers
because of this fish.

248
00:16:58,535 --> 00:16:59,467
Boo!

249
00:16:59,468 --> 00:17:02,987
Yeah, that fish.

250
00:17:02,988 --> 00:17:04,712
California in many
ways is the epitome

251
00:17:04,713 --> 00:17:06,127
of the global water problem.

252
00:17:06,128 --> 00:17:06,715
We need water!

253
00:17:06,716 --> 00:17:08,336
We need water!

254
00:17:08,337 --> 00:17:10,856
We love water!

255
00:17:10,857 --> 00:17:12,858
The truth is there's
not enough water

256
00:17:12,859 --> 00:17:17,620
to do everything
everybody wants.

257
00:17:17,621 --> 00:17:19,346
Farmers use most of the water.

258
00:17:19,347 --> 00:17:22,900
That's about 80 percent
in most states.

259
00:17:22,901 --> 00:17:26,939
In some western states,
it's as high as 90 percent.

260
00:17:26,940 --> 00:17:29,424
So when we want to talk
about the future of water,

261
00:17:29,425 --> 00:17:31,357
we have to talk about farm use.

262
00:17:31,358 --> 00:17:34,428
The people that have
taken the water away

263
00:17:34,429 --> 00:17:36,257
from us have told us,
"Well, your solution is

264
00:17:36,258 --> 00:17:38,536
to turn to groundwater."

265
00:17:38,537 --> 00:17:42,642
So I ask them, "Is it going to
be on your watch that we now dry

266
00:17:42,643 --> 00:17:47,198
up all the groundwater source
in the San Joaquin Valley?"

267
00:17:47,199 --> 00:17:51,098
Hard decisions, aren't they?

268
00:17:51,099 --> 00:17:54,308
The water that gets
deep into the ground stores

269
00:17:54,309 --> 00:17:57,932
up as a subterranean treasure.

270
00:17:57,933 --> 00:18:02,177
Farmers have had their
surface water cut way, way back.

271
00:18:02,178 --> 00:18:06,699
And so, the logical thing to
do then is to pump groundwater.

272
00:18:06,700 --> 00:18:09,874
All around the United
Sates, the water table

273
00:18:09,875 --> 00:18:14,291
in the aquifers is going down
and it took in many places,

274
00:18:14,292 --> 00:18:17,122
thousands of years for
this water to accumulate

275
00:18:17,123 --> 00:18:18,917
in the aquifers and yet,

276
00:18:18,918 --> 00:18:21,643
we're going through
it in mere decades.

277
00:18:21,644 --> 00:18:25,094
For many years,
I've been working

278
00:18:25,095 --> 00:18:27,234
with a satellite called GRACE.

279
00:18:27,235 --> 00:18:34,965
If you are looking at an area
that's had a big mass change,

280
00:18:34,966 --> 00:18:37,623
say from groundwater
depletion, GRACE can see

281
00:18:37,624 --> 00:18:40,798
that because the
mass change is so big

282
00:18:40,799 --> 00:18:45,975
that it's actually
sensed by the satellites.

283
00:18:45,976 --> 00:18:50,116
We can see a significant
depletion in California.

284
00:18:50,117 --> 00:18:53,499
We've been keeping a close
eye on the Central Valley.

285
00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:58,538
If we go back to 1998, the
aquifer has lost about one

286
00:18:58,539 --> 00:19:01,092
and a half times the
volume of Lake Mead.

287
00:19:01,093 --> 00:19:03,922
That's a huge amount of water.

288
00:19:03,923 --> 00:19:07,684
How much is left in the aquifer?

289
00:19:07,685 --> 00:19:10,825
Let me see how I
can sugarcoat this.

290
00:19:10,826 --> 00:19:14,587
You know, I ran some back of
the envelop numbers looking

291
00:19:14,588 --> 00:19:17,934
at how long it would take
at those pumping rates

292
00:19:17,935 --> 00:19:20,247
for the aquifer to be depleted.

293
00:19:20,248 --> 00:19:23,664
And I got a number between
say, 60 and 100 years.

294
00:19:23,665 --> 00:19:29,427
So at the low end, 60
years, that's frightening.

295
00:19:29,428 --> 00:19:32,569
I think California
is in trouble.

296
00:19:32,570 --> 00:19:36,295
The combination of
climate change growth

297
00:19:36,296 --> 00:19:41,784
and groundwater depletion
spells a train wreck.

298
00:19:41,785 --> 00:19:44,027
Well, if you had to pick
one place in the United States,

299
00:19:44,028 --> 00:19:46,132
it's really right
in the crosshairs,

300
00:19:46,133 --> 00:19:48,824
it's got to be Southern
California.

301
00:19:48,825 --> 00:19:51,586
What would happen if we
suddenly didn't have the water?

302
00:19:51,587 --> 00:19:54,071
That's when people will
finally say, "Oh my god,

303
00:19:54,072 --> 00:19:55,105
we have a water problem.

304
00:19:55,106 --> 00:19:56,831
Build new dams, do
this, do that."

305
00:19:56,832 --> 00:19:59,662
Too late.

306
00:19:59,663 --> 00:20:03,872
We need to start planning
for the future and it's a future

307
00:20:03,873 --> 00:20:07,565
in which we're not going to have
a huge snow pack in the Sierras

308
00:20:07,566 --> 00:20:08,635
or the Rocky Mountains.

309
00:20:08,636 --> 00:20:11,707
It's just... it's not
going to be there.

310
00:20:11,708 --> 00:20:14,744
If you told your parents that
by the end of the 21st century,

311
00:20:14,745 --> 00:20:16,469
there would be no
snow in California,

312
00:20:16,470 --> 00:20:18,955
do you think they'd believe you?

313
00:20:18,956 --> 00:20:20,784
This is the future.

314
00:20:20,785 --> 00:20:22,751
Okay, this is the water...

315
00:20:22,752 --> 00:20:24,131
They'll see it happen.

316
00:20:24,132 --> 00:20:25,823
They'll experience it.

317
00:20:25,824 --> 00:20:30,103
That's a very difficult
thing for people to grasp.

318
00:20:30,104 --> 00:20:38,104
It's been like watching
a Polaroid develop truly.

319
00:20:38,387 --> 00:20:40,871
It's like an, "oh my god
moment" and you realize,

320
00:20:40,872 --> 00:20:43,459
I can't believe this
is happening and I need

321
00:20:43,460 --> 00:20:48,706
to tell somebody about it.

322
00:20:48,707 --> 00:20:56,707
California faces a water crisis
of potentially epic proportions.

323
00:20:56,783 --> 00:21:04,513
You know, how we respond today
will define who we are tomorrow.

324
00:21:06,481 --> 00:21:07,861
Need additional storage.

325
00:21:07,862 --> 00:21:10,345
I mean, they've built
reservoirs for a reason.

326
00:21:10,346 --> 00:21:13,659
Shasta, Hoover.

327
00:21:13,660 --> 00:21:16,351
You owe the bank
and the county taxes.

328
00:21:16,352 --> 00:21:18,974
You're going to try to
farm as much as you can.

329
00:21:18,975 --> 00:21:20,526
They're not going
to make more water.

330
00:21:20,527 --> 00:21:23,081
The only solution to this
thing is conservation.

331
00:21:23,082 --> 00:21:24,116
I agree.

332
00:21:24,117 --> 00:21:26,049
We should look into
conservation,

333
00:21:26,050 --> 00:21:28,603
but that's not going to
yield or have any effect

334
00:21:28,604 --> 00:21:30,121
on our groundwater shortage.

335
00:21:30,122 --> 00:21:32,123
I didn't want to give into this.

336
00:21:32,124 --> 00:21:33,884
But your arguments
about conservation

337
00:21:33,885 --> 00:21:35,713
and efficiency are just wrong.

338
00:21:35,714 --> 00:21:38,439
And if you're right,
the conservation

339
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:39,923
and efficiency isn't
going to get us anything.

340
00:21:39,924 --> 00:21:44,100
And if I'm right, there's not
a lot of new supply out there.

341
00:21:44,101 --> 00:21:46,412
Then what are we left with?

342
00:21:46,413 --> 00:21:48,172
Take land out of production,

343
00:21:48,173 --> 00:21:51,278
I don't know anyone
who wants that.

344
00:21:51,279 --> 00:21:53,315
Your arguments just
don't make any sense.

345
00:21:53,316 --> 00:21:54,661
You have to live in the valley,

346
00:21:54,662 --> 00:21:56,905
you have to understand the
management of water here.

347
00:21:56,906 --> 00:21:58,353
Well, that's a bad management.

348
00:21:58,354 --> 00:21:59,907
And you're one of the managers.

349
00:21:59,908 --> 00:22:00,908
I'm sorry.

350
00:22:01,633 --> 00:22:02,633
What I'm telling you
is 1.2

351
00:22:02,634 --> 00:22:03,807
That whole system...

352
00:22:03,808 --> 00:22:05,498
And they wanted to
make clearly the statement

353
00:22:05,499 --> 00:22:10,986
that we do face a crisis
now of epic proportions.

354
00:22:10,987 --> 00:22:12,090
And I said that.

355
00:22:12,091 --> 00:22:17,957
And I'm not sure that
it really resonated

356
00:22:17,958 --> 00:22:22,375
which to me is a
little startling.

357
00:22:22,376 --> 00:22:23,445
Whether we talk about water...

358
00:22:23,446 --> 00:22:25,206
We need a plan and
we don't have one.

359
00:22:25,207 --> 00:22:28,242
And it is complex.

360
00:22:28,243 --> 00:22:30,901
We're screwed, yeah.

361
00:22:47,088 --> 00:22:51,816
Australia is much like
California in many ways.

362
00:22:51,817 --> 00:22:54,818
It has a very large agricultural
community that uses most

363
00:22:54,819 --> 00:22:57,924
of the water that
humans in Australia use.

364
00:22:57,925 --> 00:23:01,100
The one thing that
Australia has had

365
00:23:01,101 --> 00:23:04,309
that California has not
had is nearly a decade

366
00:23:04,310 --> 00:23:06,242
of incredibly severe drought.

367
00:23:06,243 --> 00:23:08,106
We're seeing it as a whole host

368
00:23:08,107 --> 00:23:10,522
of bizarre problems
that are cropping up.

369
00:23:10,523 --> 00:23:12,386
Australians in Sydney
woke up this morning

370
00:23:12,387 --> 00:23:14,318
to find the skies glowing red.

371
00:23:14,319 --> 00:23:16,182
The inland parts are so dry.

372
00:23:16,183 --> 00:23:18,529
It picked up vast
quantities of topsoil.

373
00:23:18,530 --> 00:23:22,119
There is a plague ravaging
the Australian outback.

374
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,672
Drought is driving the
animals into towns.

375
00:23:24,673 --> 00:23:27,364
Crews in Australia battling
the deadliest wildfires

376
00:23:27,365 --> 00:23:29,677
in the country's
history right now.

377
00:23:29,678 --> 00:23:33,369
The California of tomorrow
was the Australia of today.

378
00:23:33,370 --> 00:23:35,855
They're having to dramatically

379
00:23:35,856 --> 00:23:41,514
and radically rethink
agriculture.

380
00:23:41,515 --> 00:23:44,483
There was actually
nothing that grew.

381
00:23:44,484 --> 00:23:49,729
You put the crop in, and
you had nothing but dust.

382
00:23:49,730 --> 00:23:51,938
I was at a guy's house once,

383
00:23:51,939 --> 00:23:54,975
the stock was the worst
they've ever seen.

384
00:23:54,976 --> 00:23:56,977
In my opinion, some of
these cattle might have

385
00:23:56,978 --> 00:23:57,841
to be put down.

386
00:23:57,842 --> 00:23:59,428
How would you cope with that?

387
00:23:59,429 --> 00:24:01,636
He said, he will kill himself.

388
00:24:01,637 --> 00:24:04,882
He told me straight
out, "I'll kill myself."

389
00:24:12,923 --> 00:24:15,580
I go to farms in
a couple of shires

390
00:24:15,581 --> 00:24:16,893
and ask them how they're going.

391
00:24:22,483 --> 00:24:24,381
Well over here where
are you going today,

392
00:24:24,382 --> 00:24:28,040
they haven't hit any water
allocation for five years.

393
00:24:28,041 --> 00:24:29,523
So we'll have to
buy in a lot of food

394
00:24:29,524 --> 00:24:33,492
because we can't grow it
ourselves with no water.

395
00:24:33,493 --> 00:24:36,806
So the milk price doesn't
cover the cost of production.

396
00:24:36,807 --> 00:24:38,738
You must have had enormous
stress on your families

397
00:24:38,739 --> 00:24:40,015
and yourself going through
all this

398
00:24:40,016 --> 00:24:41,189
with no water and...

399
00:24:41,190 --> 00:24:42,431
That's an understatement.

400
00:24:42,432 --> 00:24:43,536
That would be an understatement.

401
00:24:43,537 --> 00:24:45,227
Yeah. That's an
understatement.

402
00:24:45,228 --> 00:24:46,711
It's our cows.

403
00:24:46,712 --> 00:24:48,195
They're my babies.

404
00:24:48,196 --> 00:24:53,372
There is no future here because
of the control of the water.

405
00:24:53,373 --> 00:24:58,411
They are taking it
away from the farmers.

406
00:24:58,412 --> 00:24:59,964
When you go to
two or three houses

407
00:24:59,965 --> 00:25:03,485
and you hear the same story
about stress, anxiety, debt.

408
00:25:03,486 --> 00:25:06,212
I would never know
what I was coming home to.

409
00:25:06,213 --> 00:25:08,385
You had a fear of that?

410
00:25:08,386 --> 00:25:09,662
Yeah, absolutely.

411
00:25:09,663 --> 00:25:11,147
Be wondering about
it the whole time.

412
00:25:11,148 --> 00:25:12,286
Yeah.

413
00:25:12,287 --> 00:25:13,770
I'd better just make
sure he was still alive

414
00:25:13,771 --> 00:25:14,771
and that sort of thing.

415
00:25:14,772 --> 00:25:17,946
Yeah. In the area
that I work,

416
00:25:17,947 --> 00:25:22,640
there has been eight people
that have taken their own life.

417
00:25:22,641 --> 00:25:24,953
One was fairly recent where
I've done all the referrals

418
00:25:24,954 --> 00:25:28,887
that I could and he had his
medication, there's nothing

419
00:25:28,888 --> 00:25:32,580
that I know or that anybody
that I work with could have put

420
00:25:32,581 --> 00:25:35,685
in place more than what it was.

421
00:25:35,686 --> 00:25:40,899
And he took his own
life last September.

422
00:25:48,491 --> 00:25:50,596
And the way that I
cope with that is

423
00:25:50,597 --> 00:25:53,841
through my family and my horses.

424
00:25:58,397 --> 00:26:02,089
All day I face the barren waste

425
00:26:02,090 --> 00:26:05,850
without the taste of water.

426
00:26:05,851 --> 00:26:10,372
Cool clear water.

427
00:26:10,373 --> 00:26:14,375
Here's the burning question,
do you believe what's going

428
00:26:14,376 --> 00:26:17,102
on in the last few
years is climate change?

429
00:26:17,103 --> 00:26:19,070
Look. I think the climate
has constantly changed.

430
00:26:19,071 --> 00:26:21,279
I don't think there's been any
short-term thing that's made

431
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:22,693
a difference.

432
00:26:22,694 --> 00:26:25,316
Personal opinion, climates
change all the time don't they,

433
00:26:25,317 --> 00:26:26,593
Ivan?

434
00:26:26,594 --> 00:26:29,562
We're hoping that's a
severely dry cycle in Australia

435
00:26:29,563 --> 00:26:31,873
and not climate change,
because if it is climate change,

436
00:26:31,874 --> 00:26:35,430
this part of Australia
is in deep shit.

437
00:26:36,603 --> 00:26:40,882
In the scientific
community, we're starting

438
00:26:40,883 --> 00:26:43,781
to think it's not drought, it's
really part of climate change.

439
00:26:43,782 --> 00:26:48,613
Australia is way past
what many people consider

440
00:26:48,614 --> 00:26:51,408
to be the carrying
capacity in terms

441
00:26:51,409 --> 00:26:52,927
of how much water there is.

442
00:26:52,928 --> 00:26:56,413
They're way past it.

443
00:26:56,414 --> 00:26:58,726
We're having an
auction which we're selling

444
00:26:58,727 --> 00:27:01,797
around about 170 head of
their cows that's starting

445
00:27:01,798 --> 00:27:04,455
to wind the farm down.

446
00:27:04,456 --> 00:27:06,733
We're seeing good friends
go through the same issues.

447
00:27:06,734 --> 00:27:09,149
So we know what... got
a bit of an inkling

448
00:27:09,150 --> 00:27:11,771
of what we're headed for.

449
00:27:11,772 --> 00:27:15,845
What would be the hardest
thing for you two to see today?

450
00:27:21,057 --> 00:27:27,614
I suppose a farm with no
black and white cows on it.

451
00:27:27,615 --> 00:27:29,857
Anyway...

452
00:28:06,649 --> 00:28:11,273
All day I face a barren waste

453
00:28:11,274 --> 00:28:15,657
without the taste of water.

454
00:28:15,658 --> 00:28:21,386
Cool, water.

455
00:28:21,387 --> 00:28:25,837
Old Dan and I, with
throats burnt dry

456
00:28:25,838 --> 00:28:33,838
and souls that cry for water.

457
00:28:34,330 --> 00:28:40,852
Cool, clear water.

458
00:28:45,373 --> 00:28:50,929
The whole nature of the
water cycle is changing driven

459
00:28:50,930 --> 00:28:53,518
by changing climate.

460
00:28:53,519 --> 00:29:01,519
In our new study, we found that
the water cycle is intensified.

461
00:29:02,493 --> 00:29:05,977
That truly means a
much more stormy future

462
00:29:05,978 --> 00:29:08,255
in many parts of the world.

463
00:29:08,256 --> 00:29:13,259
And then other regions will
have more extreme droughts.

464
00:29:13,260 --> 00:29:17,229
These are first of
their kind observations.

465
00:29:17,230 --> 00:29:19,955
There have been many
studies that suggested

466
00:29:19,956 --> 00:29:22,474
that this may be
happening in the future

467
00:29:22,475 --> 00:29:26,478
and our research has shown this
is actually happening right now.

468
00:29:26,479 --> 00:29:30,379
Will the water cycle
spin out of control?

469
00:29:30,380 --> 00:29:34,451
It's hard in the United
States to fathom the scope

470
00:29:34,452 --> 00:29:36,038
of the potential change.

471
00:29:36,039 --> 00:29:38,972
And the scope is huge.

472
00:29:38,973 --> 00:29:41,181
These current
findings as this is going

473
00:29:41,182 --> 00:29:43,838
to get people's attention.

474
00:29:43,839 --> 00:29:47,911
I don't think so.

475
00:29:47,912 --> 00:29:50,706
We think that we have this
right to use as much water

476
00:29:50,707 --> 00:29:55,435
as we can get our hands on.

477
00:29:55,436 --> 00:29:59,232
There aren't many things
that my neighbors do

478
00:29:59,233 --> 00:30:01,647
that drive me crazy.

479
00:30:01,648 --> 00:30:07,688
And one of the biggest is
over-watering the yard.

480
00:30:07,689 --> 00:30:11,622
In arid and sub-arid regions,
watering the lawn may account

481
00:30:11,623 --> 00:30:16,282
for 50 to 75 percent
of household water use.

482
00:30:16,283 --> 00:30:20,595
We're talking about three times
the volume of Lake Mead just

483
00:30:20,596 --> 00:30:24,530
to water the grass every year.

484
00:30:24,531 --> 00:30:25,945
The biggest mistake in thinking

485
00:30:25,946 --> 00:30:29,362
about water has always
been thinking about it

486
00:30:29,363 --> 00:30:31,882
as disconnected from
everything else.

487
00:30:35,610 --> 00:30:38,853
There are hidden costs of water

488
00:30:38,854 --> 00:30:41,891
in almost every product we use.

489
00:31:15,370 --> 00:31:20,270
In most households,
the single largest user

490
00:31:20,271 --> 00:31:22,168
of water is the toilet.

491
00:31:22,169 --> 00:31:26,620
Now, this is a high
efficiency toilet.

492
00:31:26,621 --> 00:31:31,556
It uses 1.2 gallons
every time you flush it.

493
00:31:31,557 --> 00:31:36,284
There I've just wasted
1.2 gallons.

494
00:31:36,285 --> 00:31:40,564
The toilets in many people's
homes still use 6 gallons.

495
00:31:40,565 --> 00:31:46,224
That's 6 billion
gallons a day that we use merely

496
00:31:46,225 --> 00:31:48,882
to flush away human waste.

497
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:58,027
The plan itself
is an amazing process

498
00:31:58,028 --> 00:32:01,652
where you can actually take
dirty, filthy, disgusting water

499
00:32:01,653 --> 00:32:04,205
and make it clean so it's
fishable and swimmable

500
00:32:04,206 --> 00:32:06,518
in the area around New York.

501
00:32:06,519 --> 00:32:08,796
Understanding waste
water is just one step

502
00:32:08,797 --> 00:32:13,731
in understanding everything
about your environment.

503
00:32:13,732 --> 00:32:16,734
All this is like
pretty Egyptian technology.

504
00:32:16,735 --> 00:32:18,391
This is just the wheel
moving up and down

505
00:32:18,392 --> 00:32:22,290
with a simple rake embedding
the tides in between the spaces

506
00:32:22,291 --> 00:32:24,568
and clearing the debris away.

507
00:32:24,569 --> 00:32:28,020
The debris that comes in
is the debris that comes

508
00:32:28,021 --> 00:32:30,091
from our toilets, our
sinks, our bathrooms,

509
00:32:30,092 --> 00:32:33,335
and also from the street.

510
00:32:33,336 --> 00:32:36,545
As emerging things change, they
wind up in the waste stream

511
00:32:36,546 --> 00:32:40,583
that we see it here up until
maybe eight years ago or so,

512
00:32:40,584 --> 00:32:44,690
we very rarely saw a bottled
water, it's very prevalent now,

513
00:32:44,691 --> 00:32:46,070
the spirit of the times.

514
00:32:46,071 --> 00:32:49,039
I'm about to open up one of
the four doors that allow you

515
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,766
to see what goes on here.

516
00:32:52,767 --> 00:32:56,459
You can see the condoms floating
on the top of the surface.

517
00:32:56,460 --> 00:32:57,874
It is what it is.

518
00:32:57,875 --> 00:33:04,155
If 100 pounds of waste product
comes in with all that water,

519
00:33:04,156 --> 00:33:06,226
I have to remove 85 pounds of it

520
00:33:06,227 --> 00:33:09,368
and the 15 pounds remaining
is legally allowed to go

521
00:33:09,369 --> 00:33:10,713
into the receiving water.

522
00:33:10,714 --> 00:33:16,857
The treatment sewage is a
very simple biological process

523
00:33:16,858 --> 00:33:18,376
in which we're just
speeding up nature.

524
00:33:18,377 --> 00:33:22,275
There's a lot of talk
nowadays about chemicals coming

525
00:33:22,276 --> 00:33:23,794
in to the systems
and antibiotics

526
00:33:23,795 --> 00:33:25,036
that are coming in
to the systems.

527
00:33:25,037 --> 00:33:26,244
And those things were not...

528
00:33:26,245 --> 00:33:27,660
never meant to be treated

529
00:33:27,661 --> 00:33:31,318
in a domestic waste
water treatment plant.

530
00:33:31,319 --> 00:33:33,975
Right now, they cannot
possibly deal with the myriad

531
00:33:33,976 --> 00:33:36,841
of chemicals that are out there.

532
00:33:44,710 --> 00:33:47,780
The traditional pollution
scenario was a large industrial

533
00:33:47,781 --> 00:33:51,405
pipe sticking out of the side
of a factory spewing brown gunk

534
00:33:51,406 --> 00:33:52,716
into the pristine waters

535
00:33:52,717 --> 00:33:54,994
and seeing the fish
and the ducks die.

536
00:33:54,995 --> 00:33:59,929
Then there were a few
astonishing examples

537
00:33:59,930 --> 00:34:01,724
of water pollution.

538
00:34:01,725 --> 00:34:07,695
The Cuyahoga River in Ohio
burst into flames in 1969.

539
00:34:07,696 --> 00:34:09,075
It was just so bizarre.

540
00:34:09,076 --> 00:34:12,009
How can water catch fire?

541
00:34:12,010 --> 00:34:14,046
This case made
national headlines

542
00:34:14,047 --> 00:34:16,807
and galvanized the
environmental movement.

543
00:34:21,225 --> 00:34:22,709
People start pollution.

544
00:34:22,710 --> 00:34:23,813
People can stop it.

545
00:34:23,814 --> 00:34:28,403
The net result of
that was the foundation

546
00:34:28,404 --> 00:34:30,854
of the Environmental
Protection Agency,

547
00:34:30,855 --> 00:34:32,580
the signing of the
Clean Water Act

548
00:34:32,581 --> 00:34:35,547
and the Safe Drinking Water
Act in the early '70s.

549
00:34:35,548 --> 00:34:37,515
It was originally
a very strong law.

550
00:34:37,516 --> 00:34:41,933
But times have changed.

551
00:34:41,934 --> 00:34:43,866
Pollution in America
is increasing rather

552
00:34:43,867 --> 00:34:45,107
than decreasing.

553
00:34:45,108 --> 00:34:49,215
In the five years
between 2004 and 2009,

554
00:34:49,216 --> 00:34:53,184
the Clean Water Act was
violated a half a million times.

555
00:34:53,185 --> 00:34:56,014
The old pollution
was a river on fire.

556
00:34:56,015 --> 00:34:59,466
The new pollution is
something you can't even see.

557
00:34:59,467 --> 00:35:01,088
Whether it's birth
control pills,

558
00:35:01,089 --> 00:35:04,711
erectile dysfunction
medicines, hormone supplements,

559
00:35:04,712 --> 00:35:07,438
our bodies absorb some of them.

560
00:35:07,439 --> 00:35:11,442
We excrete the rest of the
chemicals, we flush them away,

561
00:35:11,443 --> 00:35:14,030
they go to the treatment plant
and they are not removed.

562
00:35:14,031 --> 00:35:18,586
Consider vast Lake Mead.

563
00:35:18,587 --> 00:35:21,209
Tests have found trace
levels of birth control,

564
00:35:21,210 --> 00:35:24,108
steroids, narcotics, and more.

565
00:35:24,109 --> 00:35:25,627
The U.S. is the
leading producer

566
00:35:25,628 --> 00:35:28,043
of these new contaminants.

567
00:35:28,044 --> 00:35:30,252
We don't know how harmful
these chemicals are.

568
00:35:30,253 --> 00:35:33,427
And there are more
added all the time.

569
00:35:33,428 --> 00:35:40,468
The EPA approves 1 to
2,000 chemicals a year.

570
00:35:40,469 --> 00:35:41,572
The more difficult

571
00:35:41,573 --> 00:35:45,645
and dangerous ones are
industrial contaminants.

572
00:35:45,646 --> 00:35:46,749
These are the chemicals

573
00:35:46,750 --> 00:35:51,304
that were the subject
of Erin Brockovich.

574
00:35:51,305 --> 00:35:52,685
Counselors.

575
00:35:52,686 --> 00:35:59,071
The scene where... you know,
so funny to say Ed Masry and I,

576
00:35:59,072 --> 00:36:02,107
but Albert Finney and Julia,
are on one side of the table

577
00:36:02,108 --> 00:36:03,592
and PGandE's defense
attorneys were

578
00:36:03,593 --> 00:36:05,283
on the other and Julia says...

579
00:36:05,284 --> 00:36:06,491
"By the way, we
had that water brought

580
00:36:06,492 --> 00:36:08,182
in special for you folks.

581
00:36:08,183 --> 00:36:13,117
It came from a well in Hinkley."

582
00:36:13,118 --> 00:36:15,913
Why would you pick up
and knowingly drink a glass

583
00:36:15,914 --> 00:36:16,777
of contaminated water?

584
00:36:16,778 --> 00:36:18,881
You wouldn't.

585
00:36:18,882 --> 00:36:23,989
I just think that said so much.

586
00:36:23,990 --> 00:36:27,476
That was my wakeup
call in Hinkley.

587
00:36:27,477 --> 00:36:32,134
I would see the absence of
wildlife, I would listen

588
00:36:32,135 --> 00:36:33,826
to these people's accounts

589
00:36:33,827 --> 00:36:36,000
of what was happening
to their health.

590
00:36:36,001 --> 00:36:38,864
And I thought, what
is happening here?

591
00:36:38,865 --> 00:36:43,351
What's the common denominator
that is affecting all of this?

592
00:36:43,352 --> 00:36:47,423
And I was like, "Uh, water."

593
00:36:47,424 --> 00:36:52,532
And remember way back when I
began my work out there in 1991

594
00:36:52,533 --> 00:36:55,293
that it was an isolated
incident.

595
00:36:55,294 --> 00:36:58,675
And it is far from
anything isolated.

596
00:36:58,676 --> 00:37:03,508
For 20 years, I'm
down on the ground.

597
00:37:03,509 --> 00:37:05,682
And we've got these communities,

598
00:37:05,683 --> 00:37:08,581
maybe they've noted too
many children with cancer,

599
00:37:08,582 --> 00:37:10,824
the animals that are
dying with tumors

600
00:37:10,825 --> 00:37:14,725
and we don't know what it is,
you ask for their people here

601
00:37:14,726 --> 00:37:17,796
in this room that may
have cancer or leukemias.

602
00:37:17,797 --> 00:37:22,697
Can I see a show of hands?

603
00:37:22,698 --> 00:37:27,045
Oh my, can you keep
your hands up?

604
00:37:27,046 --> 00:37:28,322
People started
looking around the room

605
00:37:28,323 --> 00:37:29,600
and I'm like, you have cancer.

606
00:37:29,601 --> 00:37:30,704
I didn't know you
have that cancer.

607
00:37:30,705 --> 00:37:31,740
Your child has that cancer?

608
00:37:31,741 --> 00:37:33,189
Well, my child has that cancer.

609
00:37:33,190 --> 00:37:37,434
So that is what's starting
to really rattle me.

610
00:37:37,435 --> 00:37:39,298
A developing story out
of Midland this evening,

611
00:37:39,299 --> 00:37:41,956
high profile environmental
activist, Erin Brockovich is

612
00:37:41,957 --> 00:37:45,061
in town tonight with a toxic
contaminated water problem.

613
00:37:45,062 --> 00:37:47,961
Concerned residents called in
Brockovich, who was a consultant

614
00:37:47,962 --> 00:37:50,619
for two environmental
law firms to investigate.

615
00:37:50,620 --> 00:37:58,073
A year ago, one of the
community members came to me.

616
00:37:58,074 --> 00:38:00,697
Her granddaughter was having
these very strange skin rashes

617
00:38:00,698 --> 00:38:04,285
and sent me a picture of a
swimming pool that was green.

618
00:38:04,286 --> 00:38:08,082
Oh yeah. Definitely greener.

619
00:38:08,083 --> 00:38:10,775
And I was just immediately
...I'm like, "Uh-oh,

620
00:38:10,776 --> 00:38:12,190
I have a feeling I
know what this is,

621
00:38:12,191 --> 00:38:15,537
the hexavalent chromium."

622
00:38:15,538 --> 00:38:19,368
The reason I had to contact
her is because we went

623
00:38:19,369 --> 00:38:20,749
through our local government.

624
00:38:20,750 --> 00:38:22,819
I bet I wrote over a
thousand letters to all

625
00:38:22,820 --> 00:38:26,340
of our congressmen and
legisla... everybody.

626
00:38:26,341 --> 00:38:29,585
They've just failed us.

627
00:38:29,586 --> 00:38:31,862
I emailed Erin Brockovich

628
00:38:31,863 --> 00:38:34,934
and she emailed me
back in 30 minutes.

629
00:38:34,935 --> 00:38:36,832
I hadn't even seen the
movie Erin Brockovich.

630
00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:39,317
I had never seen it
until after I met Erin,

631
00:38:39,318 --> 00:38:40,734
then I watched the movie.

632
00:38:41,457 --> 00:38:43,113
Hexavalent chromium.

633
00:38:43,114 --> 00:38:45,633
It's poisonous.

634
00:38:45,634 --> 00:38:46,910
Yeah.

635
00:38:46,911 --> 00:38:49,913
Oh my gosh, the biggest
scene was when she's talking

636
00:38:49,914 --> 00:38:51,224
to the lady and she
looks out there

637
00:38:51,225 --> 00:38:56,263
and her kids are
playing in the pool.

638
00:38:56,264 --> 00:38:59,473
Ashley, Jenna,
get out of the pool.

639
00:38:59,474 --> 00:39:01,509
How come?

640
00:39:01,510 --> 00:39:03,131
That's how I felt
when I realized

641
00:39:03,132 --> 00:39:05,996
that I had been putting my
grandkids in toxic water

642
00:39:05,997 --> 00:39:07,722
in that swimming pool.

643
00:39:07,723 --> 00:39:13,347
It was very, very
emotional for me.

644
00:39:13,348 --> 00:39:17,282
My grandkids all said,
"The pool hurts us."

645
00:39:17,283 --> 00:39:22,183
And I didn't even
put it together.

646
00:39:22,184 --> 00:39:24,979
Here is Janet now and...

647
00:39:24,980 --> 00:39:28,775
There were very high
numbers of hexavalent chromium.

648
00:39:28,776 --> 00:39:31,743
Higher than anything I've
ever seen in Hinkley.

649
00:39:31,744 --> 00:39:34,332
You can't go on city water?

650
00:39:34,333 --> 00:39:36,990
Well, if they're telling
us there's no water for us.

651
00:39:36,991 --> 00:39:38,680
No water for you.

652
00:39:38,681 --> 00:39:39,613
Yeah.

653
00:39:39,614 --> 00:39:41,096
And... just drink
the poisons.

654
00:39:41,097 --> 00:39:42,926
"Not my problem."

655
00:39:42,927 --> 00:39:47,895
This is part of the 40
million Americans are still

656
00:39:47,896 --> 00:39:49,517
on their own well water.

657
00:39:49,518 --> 00:39:50,278
Forty million?

658
00:39:50,278 --> 00:39:51,244
Yeah.

659
00:39:51,245 --> 00:39:53,314
People just fall off the grid.

660
00:39:53,315 --> 00:39:56,110
One of the big loopholes
in American water law is

661
00:39:56,111 --> 00:39:57,870
for so-called domestic wells.

662
00:39:57,871 --> 00:40:04,186
Many of these are never
tested for chemicals.

663
00:40:04,187 --> 00:40:05,601
The state acted pretty quickly,

664
00:40:05,602 --> 00:40:08,017
they got filtration
systems on there.

665
00:40:08,018 --> 00:40:10,571
But then that's kind
of where it ends.

666
00:40:10,572 --> 00:40:12,400
Honestly, when I got
the letter from the state,

667
00:40:12,401 --> 00:40:15,438
I really thought, you know,
it said my water was safe

668
00:40:15,439 --> 00:40:17,542
for drinking so we
haven't really stopped.

669
00:40:17,543 --> 00:40:19,234
I mean, we bathe,
we take showers,

670
00:40:19,235 --> 00:40:20,269
we... I mean, we have to.

671
00:40:20,270 --> 00:40:21,374
This is where we live.

672
00:40:21,375 --> 00:40:24,929
Our tests showed
dangerously high levels

673
00:40:24,930 --> 00:40:26,827
of hexavalent chromium.

674
00:40:26,828 --> 00:40:28,829
That poor guy could
have gone years.

675
00:40:28,830 --> 00:40:32,177
It could have been years
that he'd consume this water.

676
00:40:32,178 --> 00:40:35,662
The chemical concentration
of chromium-6 here

677
00:40:35,663 --> 00:40:39,562
in Midland is the largest
I've ever seen anywhere.

678
00:40:39,563 --> 00:40:42,048
The concentrations
are just extreme.

679
00:40:42,049 --> 00:40:45,050
My house is right
here where it's 319.

680
00:40:45,051 --> 00:40:48,329
Right now, we're at 818.

681
00:40:48,330 --> 00:40:52,540
But right here, where Angie
died, it was 1,100 last year.

682
00:40:52,541 --> 00:40:58,890
Angie lives right next
door to ground zero.

683
00:40:58,891 --> 00:41:02,825
She passed away three
weeks ago from lupus

684
00:41:02,826 --> 00:41:05,206
which I've got the
forerunner to lupus now.

685
00:41:05,207 --> 00:41:06,621
Are you feeling okay?

686
00:41:06,622 --> 00:41:10,349
That's my... my fear is not
living long enough to take care

687
00:41:10,350 --> 00:41:17,389
of everybody out here and
especially my grandkids.

688
00:41:17,390 --> 00:41:21,324
So what their last
resort is some litigation.

689
00:41:21,325 --> 00:41:22,462
How long is that going to take?

690
00:41:22,463 --> 00:41:23,567
Fifteen, 20 years?

691
00:41:23,568 --> 00:41:28,296
You know, I just
get so aggravated

692
00:41:28,297 --> 00:41:30,885
because they're not
listening, they're not caring,

693
00:41:30,886 --> 00:41:33,334
and they're not even
trying to find who did it.

694
00:41:33,335 --> 00:41:35,820
There was this out
here that you've got...

695
00:41:35,821 --> 00:41:37,545
This is the pits.

696
00:41:37,546 --> 00:41:40,996
We believe all the oil field
companies dumped in that pit.

697
00:41:40,997 --> 00:41:42,411
Through our investigative work,

698
00:41:42,412 --> 00:41:44,828
we actually believe
it's a company,

699
00:41:44,829 --> 00:41:48,348
Schlumberger just
up the road here.

700
00:41:48,349 --> 00:41:52,662
This particular Schlumberger
facility is the mother ship.

701
00:41:52,663 --> 00:41:53,905
Schlumberger's official
statement is

702
00:41:53,906 --> 00:41:56,148
that they never used
hexavalent chromium

703
00:41:56,149 --> 00:42:00,151
and the EPA's initial report
never identified the source.

704
00:42:00,152 --> 00:42:05,812
Through further investigation,
we will get to the bottom of it.

705
00:42:05,813 --> 00:42:10,091
What makes it so frustrating is
that you can't find out what any

706
00:42:10,092 --> 00:42:11,990
of the chemicals are
that are being deployed

707
00:42:11,991 --> 00:42:14,371
out into the environment
under something referred

708
00:42:14,372 --> 00:42:18,548
to as the Halliburton Loophole.

709
00:42:18,549 --> 00:42:21,170
The Halliburton Loophole
was pushed

710
00:42:21,171 --> 00:42:25,657
through by then Vice
President Cheney.

711
00:42:25,658 --> 00:42:28,901
Cheney exempted all of the
oil and gas fracking companies

712
00:42:28,902 --> 00:42:30,420
from the Safe Drinking
Water Act.

713
00:42:30,421 --> 00:42:31,559
It's insanity.

714
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:35,806
Whoa, it's good to
be in Midland, Texas.

715
00:42:39,532 --> 00:42:42,017
I'm calling to
George W. Bush is thinking

716
00:42:42,018 --> 00:42:43,018
right now,

717
00:42:43,019 --> 00:42:45,400
is the Texas airspace.

718
00:42:47,470 --> 00:42:51,819
Midland, Texas is one of
North America's most aggressive

719
00:42:51,820 --> 00:42:54,649
in oil and gas field
development.

720
00:42:54,650 --> 00:42:57,962
And it is the childhood
home of George Bush.

721
00:42:57,963 --> 00:43:00,516
People don't usually poison
their own neighborhoods.

722
00:43:00,517 --> 00:43:04,659
What's the old saying is, "You
don't shit where you eat."

723
00:43:07,834 --> 00:43:10,594
We live about a
block and a half west

724
00:43:10,595 --> 00:43:12,734
of the contaminated area.

725
00:43:12,735 --> 00:43:15,185
Are we really safe?

726
00:43:15,186 --> 00:43:18,843
What can we do to
protect ourselves now?

727
00:43:18,844 --> 00:43:20,223
Are we still going

728
00:43:20,224 --> 00:43:23,433
to be declared a
Superfund in your opinion?

729
00:43:23,434 --> 00:43:26,401
They can come in and
issue you a Superfund status,

730
00:43:26,402 --> 00:43:28,679
but that ain't going
to stop anything.

731
00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:31,682
This agency is broke.

732
00:43:31,683 --> 00:43:32,580
They don't have any money?

733
00:43:32,581 --> 00:43:33,753
Oh, EPA is broke.

734
00:43:33,754 --> 00:43:34,375
They got nothing.

735
00:43:34,376 --> 00:43:37,652
Nothing. Nothing.

736
00:43:37,653 --> 00:43:43,106
They have 1,200 Superfund sites
now they can't do anything with.

737
00:43:43,107 --> 00:43:49,732
I'm telling you,
Superman is not coming.

738
00:43:49,733 --> 00:43:51,665
People still believe
that that arm

739
00:43:51,666 --> 00:43:54,012
of government is
going to come save us.

740
00:43:54,013 --> 00:44:00,708
And the look on their face
even kind of startled me.

741
00:44:00,709 --> 00:44:03,986
I wish that I could
come here tonight

742
00:44:03,987 --> 00:44:06,747
and tell you it's
going to be okay.

743
00:44:06,748 --> 00:44:08,646
But that's not what's
going to happen

744
00:44:08,647 --> 00:44:11,718
and I don't want to lie to you.

745
00:44:11,719 --> 00:44:13,236
We moved here from Mesa.

746
00:44:13,237 --> 00:44:15,686
I've done hair there for
years and I do hair here.

747
00:44:15,687 --> 00:44:18,862
I have more clients
here with cancer,

748
00:44:18,863 --> 00:44:22,071
I have shaved more heads
here in three years

749
00:44:22,072 --> 00:44:24,108
than I ever did there.

750
00:44:24,109 --> 00:44:28,767
And I'm just concerned about
our own children are waking

751
00:44:28,768 --> 00:44:31,011
up with nosebleeds.

752
00:44:31,012 --> 00:44:33,254
I don't think I need
to tell you nor do I want

753
00:44:33,255 --> 00:44:37,844
to scare you how carcinogenic
hexavalent chromium is.

754
00:44:37,845 --> 00:44:42,572
You know, when we first saw
the numbers, I have to tell you,

755
00:44:42,573 --> 00:44:45,196
some people I work with,
we looked at each other

756
00:44:45,197 --> 00:44:47,025
and it was... they're
walking dead.

757
00:44:47,026 --> 00:44:51,442
And at that point for
me, it gets really hard

758
00:44:51,443 --> 00:44:54,963
to be a cheerleader
and always try

759
00:44:54,964 --> 00:44:58,518
to find some hope
in it for them.

760
00:44:58,519 --> 00:45:01,451
If you stay together
and you use your voice

761
00:45:01,452 --> 00:45:04,868
and you push back, you
will make some progress.

762
00:45:04,869 --> 00:45:09,148
At least you know the truth.

763
00:45:09,149 --> 00:45:12,772
We the community, we want water.

764
00:45:12,773 --> 00:45:16,465
That's all we want, is
good, potable water.

765
00:45:16,466 --> 00:45:20,744
Something when we turn on the
faucet and we know it's okay

766
00:45:20,745 --> 00:45:22,747
to brush our teeth with it.

767
00:45:29,926 --> 00:45:32,617
Some of these chemicals can take

768
00:45:32,618 --> 00:45:34,412
up to 100 years to get rid of.

769
00:45:34,413 --> 00:45:37,036
And what are we supposed
to do in the interim?

770
00:45:37,037 --> 00:45:42,281
I mean, there's this vast
world underneath our feet

771
00:45:42,282 --> 00:45:45,871
that we don't see.

772
00:45:45,872 --> 00:45:48,010
Out of sight, out of mind, we
don't see it, we don't know

773
00:45:48,011 --> 00:45:52,705
where it goes, and therefore,
we don't pay attention.

774
00:46:01,403 --> 00:46:05,061
I've been fascinated
by amphibians

775
00:46:05,062 --> 00:46:07,614
for as long as I can remember.

776
00:46:07,615 --> 00:46:11,652
So as a child, I was
fascinated by metamorphosis,

777
00:46:11,653 --> 00:46:13,275
watching tadpoles
turn into frogs.

778
00:46:13,276 --> 00:46:17,692
Then I ended up at Harvard
where I majored in biology.

779
00:46:17,693 --> 00:46:20,108
And I ended up in a
laboratory there where I focused

780
00:46:20,109 --> 00:46:23,560
on amphibian development.

781
00:46:23,561 --> 00:46:27,356
My work was getting
fairly well-known.

782
00:46:27,357 --> 00:46:30,600
Fork in the road,
should we take it?

783
00:46:30,601 --> 00:46:35,294
Twelve years ago,
I've never heard of atrazine.

784
00:46:35,295 --> 00:46:40,437
Atrazine is an herbicide
or a weed killer.

785
00:46:40,438 --> 00:46:41,714
Until a few years ago,

786
00:46:41,715 --> 00:46:44,543
it was the number one
selling agricultural pesticide

787
00:46:44,544 --> 00:46:46,338
in the world.

788
00:46:46,339 --> 00:46:50,273
I was approached by the
manufacturer to examine whether

789
00:46:50,274 --> 00:46:53,724
or not atrazine was an endocrine
disruptor in amphibians.

790
00:46:53,725 --> 00:46:57,072
The term endocrine
disruptor refers to anything

791
00:46:57,073 --> 00:47:00,041
that would interfere with
the hormone's action.

792
00:47:00,042 --> 00:47:02,835
And we found that the
atrazine-exposed animals weren't

793
00:47:02,836 --> 00:47:04,906
making testosterone properly.

794
00:47:04,907 --> 00:47:09,808
In some cases, the atrazine
makes them make enough estrogen

795
00:47:09,809 --> 00:47:13,052
that they actually
turn into females.

796
00:47:13,053 --> 00:47:17,125
These are two genetic males
that were exposed to atrazine

797
00:47:17,126 --> 00:47:19,575
that actually developed
into females.

798
00:47:19,576 --> 00:47:23,716
So as you can see, the males
are smaller but now genetically,

799
00:47:23,717 --> 00:47:26,029
right, these are all males.

800
00:47:26,030 --> 00:47:28,031
The guy on top is a male,

801
00:47:28,032 --> 00:47:31,034
and that's his brother
that he's on top of.

802
00:47:31,035 --> 00:47:34,141
It's a hard thing to describe.

803
00:47:40,801 --> 00:47:42,147
What does this have
to do with people?

804
00:47:42,148 --> 00:47:44,149
Why do we care?

805
00:47:44,150 --> 00:47:46,634
Frogs and fish which live
in the contaminated water,

806
00:47:46,635 --> 00:47:48,808
they're much more
sensitive as they're going

807
00:47:48,809 --> 00:47:50,188
through these developmental
stages.

808
00:47:50,189 --> 00:47:55,780
On the other hand, a human fetus
is inside an amniotic sac filled

809
00:47:55,781 --> 00:47:59,163
with water, that's going through
critical developmental stages

810
00:47:59,164 --> 00:48:01,957
where hormones are important.

811
00:48:01,958 --> 00:48:04,581
The same estrogen for example
that makes my frogs turn

812
00:48:04,582 --> 00:48:07,308
into hermaphrodites, that
same estrogen is important

813
00:48:07,309 --> 00:48:09,240
in breast cancer.

814
00:48:09,241 --> 00:48:13,934
When people think of science,
you know, they think of CSI.

815
00:48:13,935 --> 00:48:17,075
In field work, you
really have to sort

816
00:48:17,076 --> 00:48:19,559
through all these
potential suspects.

817
00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:21,458
I think there's a line from
a lot of the guys in CSI,

818
00:48:21,459 --> 00:48:23,218
how do you find the answer?

819
00:48:23,219 --> 00:48:26,842
Follow the evidence even if
we don't like where it takes us.

820
00:48:26,843 --> 00:48:29,603
And that's really what
we're doing is in this case,

821
00:48:29,604 --> 00:48:31,398
following the atrazine.

822
00:48:31,399 --> 00:48:36,782
Atrazine is the most
common pesticide contaminant

823
00:48:36,783 --> 00:48:38,162
of drinking water, groundwater.

824
00:48:38,163 --> 00:48:40,337
And there're a couple of
studies came out showing

825
00:48:40,338 --> 00:48:42,442
that atrazine is
associated with breast cancer

826
00:48:42,443 --> 00:48:44,064
and birth defects in humans.

827
00:48:44,065 --> 00:48:47,412
There's a factory where
Syngenta produces atrazine.

828
00:48:47,413 --> 00:48:52,210
The prostate cancer in their
workers is 8.4 times higher.

829
00:48:52,211 --> 00:48:55,213
The U.S. Geological Survey
says they can detect it

830
00:48:55,214 --> 00:48:56,730
in the rainwater in Minnesota

831
00:48:56,731 --> 00:48:59,319
from when they're
applying it in Kansas.

832
00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:01,183
I'm the principle scientist here

833
00:49:01,184 --> 00:49:03,289
at Syngenta Crop Protection.

834
00:49:03,290 --> 00:49:06,394
On the occasions where
atrazine is found

835
00:49:06,395 --> 00:49:11,365
in water it's extremely low
in the part per billion range.

836
00:49:11,366 --> 00:49:13,470
Starting at 0.1
parts per billion,

837
00:49:13,471 --> 00:49:15,644
we started getting
these hermaphrodites.

838
00:49:15,645 --> 00:49:19,579
And that's an incredible
number, 0.1 parts per billion.

839
00:49:19,580 --> 00:49:24,239
The drinking water standard for
atrazine is 3 parts per billion.

840
00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:27,655
That's 30 times higher than we
know is biologically harmful

841
00:49:27,656 --> 00:49:29,898
in amphibians and in fish.

842
00:49:29,899 --> 00:49:32,453
That's an average over the year.

843
00:49:32,454 --> 00:49:34,488
So at that season
when it's applied,

844
00:49:34,489 --> 00:49:35,869
it's going to be
much higher than that

845
00:49:35,870 --> 00:49:38,837
and those data now coming to
light especially in the Midwest

846
00:49:38,838 --> 00:49:41,254
where most of the
atrazine is used.

847
00:49:41,255 --> 00:49:43,876
Several Southern Illinois
water districts have joined a

848
00:49:43,877 --> 00:49:46,189
lawsuit against an
herbicide maker.

849
00:49:46,190 --> 00:49:49,709
And they claim the chemical
atrazine is contaminating their

850
00:49:49,710 --> 00:49:51,124
water supply.

851
00:49:51,125 --> 00:49:55,714
Water utilities in Illinois,
Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas,

852
00:49:55,715 --> 00:49:58,683
and Iowa are suing
Syngenta to recover the cost

853
00:49:58,684 --> 00:50:01,651
and filtering out atrazine.

854
00:50:01,652 --> 00:50:03,238
The company that makes atrazine,

855
00:50:03,239 --> 00:50:04,929
they're based out
of Switzerland.

856
00:50:04,930 --> 00:50:07,346
That's a funny thing because
atrazine is effectively banned

857
00:50:07,347 --> 00:50:08,450
in Europe.

858
00:50:08,451 --> 00:50:10,659
In Europe, they utilize
something called the

859
00:50:10,660 --> 00:50:14,317
precautionary principle which
says that if there is any data

860
00:50:14,318 --> 00:50:17,803
that suggest that something is
harmful, the manufacturer has

861
00:50:17,804 --> 00:50:20,565
to prove that it's safe
or it's off the market.

862
00:50:20,566 --> 00:50:23,083
So you're guilty
until proven innocent.

863
00:50:23,084 --> 00:50:25,465
In the U.S., it's the opposite,

864
00:50:25,466 --> 00:50:26,846
you're innocent until
proven guilty.

865
00:50:26,847 --> 00:50:28,227
So the company is
charged with proving

866
00:50:28,228 --> 00:50:29,883
that their compound
is bad, otherwise,

867
00:50:29,884 --> 00:50:31,677
it stays on the market.

868
00:50:31,678 --> 00:50:33,886
These companies,
they're really the only ones

869
00:50:33,887 --> 00:50:36,786
with the money to pay for
all of the scientific studies

870
00:50:36,787 --> 00:50:38,891
that cost millions and
millions of dollars to do.

871
00:50:38,892 --> 00:50:44,068
More often than not,
industry are self-regulating.

872
00:50:44,069 --> 00:50:46,381
The goal here is
to keep your product

873
00:50:46,382 --> 00:50:49,315
on the market as
long as possible.

874
00:50:49,316 --> 00:50:50,936
So if you don't look
for a problem,

875
00:50:50,937 --> 00:50:52,248
you won't find a problem,

876
00:50:52,249 --> 00:50:55,078
and you can continue
selling your product.

877
00:50:55,079 --> 00:50:56,355
There's been some cases

878
00:50:56,356 --> 00:51:00,047
where test results are
thrown away, set aside.

879
00:51:00,048 --> 00:51:02,429
You know, I had lots of friends

880
00:51:02,430 --> 00:51:03,637
who would say, "Well,
be careful."

881
00:51:03,638 --> 00:51:05,846
And I said, "What do I
have to be careful about?"

882
00:51:05,847 --> 00:51:08,884
And I was a bit surprised when
the company, their response was,

883
00:51:08,885 --> 00:51:10,678
"Well, let's make it go away."

884
00:51:10,679 --> 00:51:13,232
And then I sort of thought,
you know, this is not the kind

885
00:51:13,233 --> 00:51:17,063
of person that I want to be
that this is not the sense

886
00:51:17,064 --> 00:51:19,513
of social responsibility
that my parents,

887
00:51:19,514 --> 00:51:23,931
you know, had taught me.

888
00:51:23,932 --> 00:51:26,831
It was Albert Einstein who said,
"Those who have the privilege

889
00:51:26,832 --> 00:51:29,971
to know have the duty to act."

890
00:51:29,972 --> 00:51:33,215
I have actively advocated
for banning atrazine.

891
00:51:33,216 --> 00:51:34,631
And that's two more ovaries.

892
00:51:34,632 --> 00:51:36,357
It's not normal.

893
00:51:36,358 --> 00:51:39,290
There're multiple sites

894
00:51:39,291 --> 00:51:43,950
where you can sign petitions
to stop the use of atrazine.

895
00:51:46,228 --> 00:51:51,231
The pesticide industry,
it's us versus them.

896
00:51:51,232 --> 00:51:53,993
What you do is who's ever
attacking you, you try

897
00:51:53,994 --> 00:51:55,857
and destroy their credibility.

898
00:51:55,858 --> 00:51:58,962
They followed me around to
meetings, they disrupt lectures

899
00:51:58,963 --> 00:52:02,069
that I'm giving, they
once filed a false claim

900
00:52:02,070 --> 00:52:04,692
that I was harassing endangered
species with my research,

901
00:52:04,693 --> 00:52:07,970
and I had armed guys
come and take me

902
00:52:07,971 --> 00:52:10,973
out of my classroom
to arrest me.

903
00:52:10,974 --> 00:52:12,630
Atrazine is used on corn.

904
00:52:12,631 --> 00:52:15,391
And corn is our number
one product.

905
00:52:15,392 --> 00:52:17,393
You're not going
to mess with corn.

906
00:52:17,394 --> 00:52:20,706
It's about corn, it's
about the ethanol lobby,

907
00:52:20,707 --> 00:52:22,709
it's the big guys.

908
00:52:27,403 --> 00:52:31,544
The first EPA hearing, I was the
only academic there presenting

909
00:52:31,545 --> 00:52:36,168
data for atrazine that
wasn't paid by Syngenta.

910
00:52:36,169 --> 00:52:38,791
You know, one of the biggest
disillusionments I've had

911
00:52:38,792 --> 00:52:42,692
in this whole thing
is with the EPA.

912
00:52:42,693 --> 00:52:47,627
Based on the Toxic Substances
Control Act, since 1976,

913
00:52:47,628 --> 00:52:49,939
EPA has issued regulations

914
00:52:49,940 --> 00:52:53,286
to control only five
existing chemicals determined

915
00:52:53,287 --> 00:52:55,806
to present an unreasonable risk.

916
00:52:55,807 --> 00:53:03,807
That is five out of almost
80,000 existing chemicals.

917
00:53:05,989 --> 00:53:10,061
A 2005 study found 287
different chemicals

918
00:53:10,062 --> 00:53:13,063
in the cord blood of
10 newborn babies.

919
00:53:13,064 --> 00:53:15,203
Our kids are getting
steady infusions

920
00:53:15,204 --> 00:53:19,690
of industrial chemicals before
we even give them solid food.

921
00:53:19,691 --> 00:53:23,486
I have one simple message
and that is that EPA is back

922
00:53:23,487 --> 00:53:25,626
on the job for the
American people

923
00:53:25,627 --> 00:53:29,975
to protect human...

924
00:53:29,976 --> 00:53:31,355
We got a new head of EPA.

925
00:53:31,356 --> 00:53:33,633
And one of the first things
he announced was, "We're going

926
00:53:33,634 --> 00:53:36,084
to reopen up this
atrazine thing."

927
00:53:36,085 --> 00:53:39,812
The EPA examined
well over 6000 studies

928
00:53:39,813 --> 00:53:42,676
and they reregistered
atrazine in 2006.

929
00:53:42,677 --> 00:53:46,058
So we really don't
think this is necessary.

930
00:53:46,059 --> 00:53:49,614
Atrazine is the poster
child for what needs to be done

931
00:53:49,615 --> 00:53:52,409
to reorganize how the
EPA evaluates the safety

932
00:53:52,410 --> 00:53:54,583
of chemicals.

933
00:53:54,584 --> 00:54:00,933
I've recently been joined by
39 scientists from 12 countries.

934
00:54:00,934 --> 00:54:04,799
That data is stacking
up, and I would suggest

935
00:54:04,800 --> 00:54:08,113
that it's time for action.

936
00:54:08,114 --> 00:54:09,320
You're talking about two

937
00:54:09,321 --> 00:54:12,047
and a half billion dollar
to growers

938
00:54:12,048 --> 00:54:13,462
who ultimately pays the price

939
00:54:13,463 --> 00:54:15,533
for higher cost that
growers have.

940
00:54:15,534 --> 00:54:17,639
There are times when I
just think, "Geez I'm tired."

941
00:54:17,640 --> 00:54:20,572
It's going to be interesting
to see how the EPA responds

942
00:54:20,573 --> 00:54:23,057
to this last set of reviews.

943
00:54:23,058 --> 00:54:27,579
I'm hopeful and I would
like to be optimistic.

944
00:54:27,580 --> 00:54:29,442
But it's a tough call.

945
00:54:29,443 --> 00:54:30,581
This new EPA?

946
00:54:30,582 --> 00:54:37,621
Is there a new...
Is there a new EPA?

947
00:54:37,622 --> 00:54:40,210
I don't see a new agency.

948
00:54:40,211 --> 00:54:43,075
I wish them luck because
they've got a hell

949
00:54:43,076 --> 00:54:44,973
of a task in front of them.

950
00:54:44,974 --> 00:54:46,181
And they're understaffed,

951
00:54:46,182 --> 00:54:48,182
they are overburdened,
and they're broke.

952
00:54:48,183 --> 00:54:53,740
There's many highly
qualified awesome human beings

953
00:54:53,741 --> 00:54:57,363
within these agencies that
want to do the right things.

954
00:54:57,364 --> 00:54:58,951
But their hands are tied.

955
00:54:58,952 --> 00:55:02,748
If EPA has adequate data
and wants to protect the public

956
00:55:02,749 --> 00:55:05,646
against known risk, the
law creates obstacles

957
00:55:05,647 --> 00:55:08,442
to quick and effective action.

958
00:55:08,443 --> 00:55:10,582
We have to stop looking
to them for the answers

959
00:55:10,583 --> 00:55:15,621
because I don't know
that they have them.

960
00:55:15,622 --> 00:55:17,485
Hinkley, California.

961
00:55:17,486 --> 00:55:21,109
After the worldwide attention
that came with a Hollywood film,

962
00:55:21,110 --> 00:55:22,420
people who live here thought

963
00:55:22,421 --> 00:55:24,698
that their problems would
have ended a long time ago.

964
00:55:24,699 --> 00:55:27,528
It turns out those toxic
chemicals have been spreading

965
00:55:27,529 --> 00:55:28,357
over time.

966
00:55:28,358 --> 00:55:30,704
I feel like Groundhog's Day.

967
00:55:30,705 --> 00:55:33,154
This huge giant utility company.

968
00:55:33,155 --> 00:55:34,672
You're still not
telling the truth.

969
00:55:34,673 --> 00:55:36,225
You're still poisoning people,
what do you want me to say?

970
00:55:36,226 --> 00:55:37,537
They're pathetic.

971
00:55:37,538 --> 00:55:40,229
You set a standard there's
no one around to enforce it.

972
00:55:40,230 --> 00:55:43,508
You can just get
away with murder.

973
00:55:43,509 --> 00:55:48,858
We've got to shake ourselves
out of this false sense

974
00:55:48,859 --> 00:55:51,136
of security and we're
all going to go have

975
00:55:51,137 --> 00:55:52,621
to roll our sleeves up.

976
00:56:09,118 --> 00:56:15,571
I'm a family farmer,
grandmother, mother, wife,

977
00:56:15,572 --> 00:56:20,438
water sentinel for the
Michigan Sierra Club.

978
00:56:20,439 --> 00:56:25,753
Most people have the bucolic
vision of a small world farm.

979
00:56:25,754 --> 00:56:27,996
When the CAFOs came in,

980
00:56:27,997 --> 00:56:35,997
we've seen a deterioration
of the communities.

981
00:56:36,211 --> 00:56:42,595
CAFO stands for Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operation.

982
00:56:42,596 --> 00:56:45,667
It's generally defined as
a large, industrial farm

983
00:56:45,668 --> 00:56:48,808
that has 700 or more cows.

984
00:56:48,809 --> 00:56:51,430
Where so much manure is produced
that the only way for them

985
00:56:51,431 --> 00:56:54,882
to get rid of it is to store
it in giant lagoons then

986
00:56:54,883 --> 00:56:59,506
to spread it on fields
in a liquid form.

987
00:56:59,507 --> 00:57:03,476
Within a 10-mile radius
here, we have over 60 lagoons

988
00:57:03,477 --> 00:57:07,654
that hold over 400
million gallons of waste.

989
00:57:12,865 --> 00:57:13,659
Mama, get you plate?

990
00:57:13,660 --> 00:57:19,766
What do you want?

991
00:57:19,767 --> 00:57:24,668
We're really concerned about
health issues with as young

992
00:57:24,669 --> 00:57:27,429
as our granddaughter is.

993
00:57:27,430 --> 00:57:29,879
My granddaughter could
never play in the creeks

994
00:57:29,880 --> 00:57:37,782
and the streams because
of what was happening.

995
00:57:37,783 --> 00:57:41,337
I'm just a country girl
and I've taught myself

996
00:57:41,338 --> 00:57:45,687
to do water sampling.

997
00:57:45,688 --> 00:57:48,274
You have your
antibiotics that they give

998
00:57:48,275 --> 00:57:51,692
to the animals, growth
hormones, chemicals.

999
00:57:51,693 --> 00:57:53,763
And now, you've got
a toxic waste

1000
00:57:53,764 --> 00:57:55,419
that they're spreading
untreated on land.

1001
00:57:55,420 --> 00:57:58,249
We have some bad stuff here.

1002
00:57:58,250 --> 00:58:02,494
Yeah, we sure do.

1003
00:58:02,495 --> 00:58:06,118
I have lots of names.

1004
00:58:06,119 --> 00:58:08,396
The white haired
witch, the pooper razzi,

1005
00:58:08,397 --> 00:58:14,990
shit huggers, a lot I can't say.

1006
00:58:16,991 --> 00:58:19,233
The.

1007
00:58:19,234 --> 00:58:19,959
Yes, they there are.

1008
00:58:19,960 --> 00:58:21,477
Here they come.

1009
00:58:21,478 --> 00:58:24,824
They're to the illegal lagoon.

1010
00:58:24,825 --> 00:58:26,205
He's dumping right now.

1011
00:58:26,206 --> 00:58:28,069
Look at him shoot it out.

1012
00:58:28,070 --> 00:58:32,280
In
Michigan, a lot of the problems

1013
00:58:32,281 --> 00:58:34,695
that we've had deal
with the CAFOs

1014
00:58:34,696 --> 00:58:36,697
that have dairy cows at them.

1015
00:58:36,698 --> 00:58:39,148
And the reason for that is
just simply the amount of waste

1016
00:58:39,149 --> 00:58:44,497
that the cow generates, 150
pounds of manure every day.

1017
00:58:44,498 --> 00:58:51,504
One cow would equal 23 humans
for the same amount of waste.

1018
00:58:51,505 --> 00:58:55,300
So, when you're talking about
a dairy that has 5 or 6000 cows

1019
00:58:55,301 --> 00:58:57,854
on it, you're really talking the
amount of waste being produced

1020
00:58:57,855 --> 00:59:00,650
in a day that a fairly large
site city would be producing.

1021
00:59:00,651 --> 00:59:03,790
You know, it reminds
you of the Jim Carrey movie

1022
00:59:03,791 --> 00:59:07,483
where you want to say, "Stop
breaking the law, asshole."

1023
00:59:07,484 --> 00:59:11,832
She's someone that, you know,

1024
00:59:11,833 --> 00:59:14,731
everyone in our department
knows quite well.

1025
00:59:14,732 --> 00:59:16,250
And I mean, she's
often the first one

1026
00:59:16,251 --> 00:59:18,804
out there with a camera.

1027
00:59:18,805 --> 00:59:20,150
We just
can't be out here every day,

1028
00:59:20,151 --> 00:59:21,461
we don't have the
resources to do it.

1029
00:59:21,462 --> 00:59:26,155
Okay, so the first we're
passing is.

1030
00:59:26,156 --> 00:59:31,609
I have never seen them
that full, unbelievable.

1031
00:59:33,749 --> 00:59:36,682
You can see where the
dead trees are in the corner.

1032
00:59:36,683 --> 00:59:40,996
With that overflow into the
corner; the lagoon is leaking.

1033
00:59:40,997 --> 00:59:43,239
Her work has come directly

1034
00:59:43,240 --> 00:59:46,656
to the table based
on what we've gotten.

1035
00:59:46,657 --> 00:59:51,419
We have reason to
deny this permit now.

1036
00:59:51,420 --> 00:59:55,250
The emissions
coming of, it's putrid.

1037
00:59:55,251 --> 00:59:59,668
I have lost a third of my
lung capacity from my work.

1038
01:00:03,742 --> 01:00:05,673
Once the damage has occurred,

1039
01:00:05,674 --> 01:00:08,538
there isn't anything
that's going to restore you

1040
01:00:08,539 --> 01:00:10,816
to a normal state of health.

1041
01:00:10,817 --> 01:00:14,440
So, I think avoidance
is the key.

1042
01:00:14,441 --> 01:00:17,132
Okay.

1043
01:00:17,133 --> 01:00:20,479
The illness is
associated with the bacteria

1044
01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:27,348
from CAFOs can be deadly.

1045
01:00:27,349 --> 01:00:31,800
Ecoli O157, there is no
medical treatment for that.

1046
01:00:31,801 --> 01:00:33,837
We've seen readings
as high as seven

1047
01:00:33,838 --> 01:00:37,218
and a half million Ecoli.

1048
01:00:37,219 --> 01:00:39,945
When people think, "Well,
it's just one stream, you know,

1049
01:00:39,946 --> 01:00:41,913
it's not that big of a deal."

1050
01:00:41,914 --> 01:00:44,778
All of the waterways in Michigan
are connected in one way

1051
01:00:44,779 --> 01:00:47,434
or another through surface
waters or through ground water.

1052
01:00:47,435 --> 01:00:49,678
It's really all one
big lake in a sense.

1053
01:00:49,679 --> 01:00:52,785
Well, it's a different
kind of trouble for the waters

1054
01:00:52,786 --> 01:00:55,132
of Lake Erie right now, algae.

1055
01:00:55,133 --> 01:00:57,823
Some blooms may be in
the city's drinking water.

1056
01:00:57,824 --> 01:00:59,480
The EPA is warning people

1057
01:00:59,481 --> 01:01:01,413
to limit their contact
with the water.

1058
01:01:01,414 --> 01:01:02,724
But those warnings didn't seem

1059
01:01:02,725 --> 01:01:05,658
to worry many people
at the beach today.

1060
01:01:11,306 --> 01:01:15,356
It's only a matter of time
before we have a catastrophe

1061
01:01:15,357 --> 01:01:17,807
because of all of the runoff

1062
01:01:17,808 --> 01:01:21,465
that is going in
to our waterways.

1063
01:01:21,466 --> 01:01:24,536
A lot of people have
gotten so frustrated.

1064
01:01:24,537 --> 01:01:25,124
They've moved.

1065
01:01:25,124 --> 01:01:25,918
They've sold.

1066
01:01:25,919 --> 01:01:30,853
They've given up.

1067
01:01:30,854 --> 01:01:32,924
One they had seen
me out monitoring,

1068
01:01:32,925 --> 01:01:35,892
I started getting
harassment and intimidation.

1069
01:01:35,893 --> 01:01:43,415
Dead animals left in my mailbox,
on my front porch and my car.

1070
01:01:43,416 --> 01:01:46,073
The most recent was my
two-year-old granddaughter's

1071
01:01:46,074 --> 01:01:47,488
bedroom window was shot out.

1072
01:01:47,489 --> 01:01:52,631
She was sleeping in her
bed when it happened.

1073
01:01:52,632 --> 01:01:57,912
If you're going to be a
cowardly enough to hurt a child,

1074
01:01:57,913 --> 01:02:02,054
then we really need to look
at this issue much harder

1075
01:02:02,055 --> 01:02:04,469
because people are at risk.

1076
01:02:04,470 --> 01:02:07,368
Watch your step.

1077
01:02:07,369 --> 01:02:10,785
We try and get on site and off
the site within two minutes.

1078
01:02:10,786 --> 01:02:11,786
You're McGyver.

1079
01:02:12,201 --> 01:02:13,546
Here.

1080
01:02:13,547 --> 01:02:16,860
The McGyver of water testing.

1081
01:02:16,861 --> 01:02:18,792
We're just middle-aged
women that, you know,

1082
01:02:18,793 --> 01:02:21,864
sensible shoes are not
the answer no more.

1083
01:02:21,865 --> 01:02:27,490
It's not bad, it's pretty warm.

1084
01:02:27,491 --> 01:02:29,942
It isn't too bad, is it?

1085
01:02:32,904 --> 01:02:34,404
The water is cold.

1086
01:02:34,581 --> 01:02:36,081
It's warm.

1087
01:02:40,952 --> 01:02:43,953
It's not one lake
that's contaminated,

1088
01:02:43,954 --> 01:02:49,510
it's 30, it's 300, it's 3000.

1089
01:02:49,511 --> 01:02:54,618
Every single state has emailed
me with some sort of problem.

1090
01:02:59,899 --> 01:03:02,901
25,000 inquiries in
a month to the point

1091
01:03:02,902 --> 01:03:05,834
where I've actually
started to create a map.

1092
01:03:05,835 --> 01:03:11,080
And what's scaring us is we
still have 700 more entries

1093
01:03:11,081 --> 01:03:12,426
to imput.

1094
01:03:12,427 --> 01:03:16,706
So, we're able to start
connecting those dots

1095
01:03:16,707 --> 01:03:20,468
to get some kind
of... there's just

1096
01:03:20,469 --> 01:03:24,230
so many accounts
of contamination.

1097
01:03:24,231 --> 01:03:28,820
You got a fish kill
here on the Neuse River.

1098
01:03:28,821 --> 01:03:30,477
We've lost over a billion fish.

1099
01:03:30,478 --> 01:03:32,928
Today, we're burying them on
the beach with bulldozers.

1100
01:03:32,929 --> 01:03:37,724
We would take a glass
of water out of the tap,

1101
01:03:37,725 --> 01:03:39,692
smell like diesel fuel.

1102
01:03:39,693 --> 01:03:44,283
My life is over without
my water.

1103
01:03:44,284 --> 01:03:47,664
Six of our neighbors within a
10-house span have brain tumors

1104
01:03:47,665 --> 01:03:49,701
and half of them died.

1105
01:03:49,702 --> 01:03:51,841
It was like, "Oh my
gosh, it's in the water.

1106
01:03:51,842 --> 01:03:53,498
We got to get the kids
out of here, you know,

1107
01:03:53,499 --> 01:03:56,431
we've got to do something."

1108
01:03:56,432 --> 01:03:58,364
So, all of a sudden, it's
like, "I can't just talk to you

1109
01:03:58,365 --> 01:04:00,987
about Hinkley, " because " Oh, it
makes me think of what's going

1110
01:04:00,988 --> 01:04:06,095
on in Arizona, and Alabama,
and Washington, and Texas,"

1111
01:04:06,096 --> 01:04:09,650
because it's happening
everywhere.

1112
01:04:09,651 --> 01:04:12,722
So, I just feel like this
is my contribution to take

1113
01:04:12,723 --> 01:04:16,104
in the information and
doing something with it.

1114
01:04:16,105 --> 01:04:20,211
In hopes that I can get it
somewhere or a message out

1115
01:04:20,212 --> 01:04:27,769
and do something about it.

1116
01:04:27,770 --> 01:04:30,531
You're reading too many times

1117
01:04:30,532 --> 01:04:36,777
and then you just
start getting antsy.

1118
01:04:36,778 --> 01:04:38,779
Okay. I am antsy.

1119
01:04:38,780 --> 01:04:40,057
You'll be fine.

1120
01:04:40,058 --> 01:04:42,921
So, what do you think after
all these years and six...

1121
01:04:42,922 --> 01:04:45,130
Are you going to make some
comment about me being 50 again?

1122
01:04:45,131 --> 01:04:46,648
Yeah, there you go.

1123
01:04:46,649 --> 01:04:48,892
You are an old hag.

1124
01:04:48,893 --> 01:04:50,273
You've been hanging
around Hinkley too much.

1125
01:04:50,274 --> 01:04:52,757
I think chromium-6
causes wrinkles.

1126
01:04:52,758 --> 01:04:56,002
You're such an ass.

1127
01:04:56,003 --> 01:04:58,211
You know what, Bob,
I could still kick your ass.

1128
01:04:58,212 --> 01:04:59,316
Absolutely.

1129
01:05:01,267 --> 01:05:07,184
These communities
are sending out an SOS.

1130
01:05:07,185 --> 01:05:10,015
Yet the system for
investigating, responding

1131
01:05:10,016 --> 01:05:13,362
and reporting these
concerns is inadequate.

1132
01:05:13,363 --> 01:05:16,227
Could I... could
somebody hold up that map?

1133
01:05:16,228 --> 01:05:19,195
It's unbelievable to me
that they would call you,

1134
01:05:19,196 --> 01:05:20,645
rather than call
the EPA or the NIH.

1135
01:05:20,646 --> 01:05:24,889
These people have said,

1136
01:05:24,890 --> 01:05:28,652
"We just don't know
where else to go."

1137
01:05:28,653 --> 01:05:31,067
It's a daunting process.

1138
01:05:31,068 --> 01:05:33,380
But just burying your head

1139
01:05:33,381 --> 01:05:36,866
in the sand isn't
little work anymore.

1140
01:05:36,867 --> 01:05:41,214
And for everybody else who's
not out there, Mr. Policymaker,

1141
01:05:41,215 --> 01:05:44,079
you better come out
here and take a look

1142
01:05:44,080 --> 01:05:45,322
at what's really going on.

1143
01:05:45,323 --> 01:05:47,531
So, don't get lost
in your bubble.

1144
01:05:47,532 --> 01:05:50,257
Don't get stuck up there in
your ivory tower and think

1145
01:05:50,258 --> 01:05:51,879
that the world out
here doesn't exist

1146
01:05:51,880 --> 01:05:53,191
around you because it does.

1147
01:05:53,192 --> 01:05:55,400
And it's happening.

1148
01:05:55,401 --> 01:05:57,575
So, see now you pissed me off.

1149
01:06:02,821 --> 01:06:06,272
Everywhere I go,
it's a huge question.

1150
01:06:06,273 --> 01:06:08,239
What am I supposed to drink?

1151
01:06:08,240 --> 01:06:11,587
We can't survive on Diet Coke.

1152
01:06:16,834 --> 01:06:20,146
When I'm in New York, I
typically drink bottled water.

1153
01:06:20,147 --> 01:06:23,528
I try to buy bottled water
because it just tastes cleaner.

1154
01:06:23,529 --> 01:06:26,635
I have some friends who
only drink bottled water.

1155
01:06:26,636 --> 01:06:27,498
They keep it in their fridge.

1156
01:06:27,499 --> 01:06:28,739
They would never
touch tap water.

1157
01:06:28,740 --> 01:06:33,399
They think it's disgusting.

1158
01:06:33,400 --> 01:06:35,401
When I was growing
up in New York City,

1159
01:06:35,402 --> 01:06:37,264
we never drank bottled water.

1160
01:06:37,265 --> 01:06:39,404
There was no bottled water.

1161
01:06:39,405 --> 01:06:41,303
Today, the United States
is the largest consumer

1162
01:06:41,304 --> 01:06:43,236
of bottled water in the world.

1163
01:06:43,237 --> 01:06:47,101
We're just increasingly fearful
of what comes out of our tap.

1164
01:06:47,102 --> 01:06:48,205
That's a problem.

1165
01:06:48,206 --> 01:06:50,759
But the solution is not
to drink bottled water.

1166
01:06:50,760 --> 01:06:52,727
I'd say bottled water
is probably regulated more

1167
01:06:52,728 --> 01:06:54,867
frequently just because
they have to sell it.

1168
01:06:54,868 --> 01:06:58,111
And so, obviously it has to
go through a ton of tests.

1169
01:06:58,112 --> 01:07:01,666
Bottled water's
regulated not by the U.S. EPA

1170
01:07:01,667 --> 01:07:03,012
which regulates our tap water.

1171
01:07:03,013 --> 01:07:05,255
But it's regulated as a
food product by the Food

1172
01:07:05,256 --> 01:07:06,670
and Drug Administration.

1173
01:07:06,671 --> 01:07:07,843
The testing is done

1174
01:07:07,844 --> 01:07:09,604
by the bottled water
companies themselves,

1175
01:07:09,605 --> 01:07:11,675
it's not as frequent.

1176
01:07:11,676 --> 01:07:14,436
I had to file some Freedom
of Information Act request

1177
01:07:14,437 --> 01:07:17,335
and it turns out there have
been more than a hundred cases

1178
01:07:17,336 --> 01:07:20,407
of bottled water recalls
that we know about for things

1179
01:07:20,408 --> 01:07:24,065
like Coliform bacteria,
sanitizer, mold,

1180
01:07:24,066 --> 01:07:27,723
glass particles,
crickets or cricket parts.

1181
01:07:27,724 --> 01:07:32,625
There's been just an
incredible marketing campaign

1182
01:07:32,626 --> 01:07:36,317
that convinces us that buying
bottled water is a smart

1183
01:07:36,318 --> 01:07:40,425
and rational thing to do rather
than an act of irrationality.

1184
01:07:40,426 --> 01:07:43,565
You buy Arctic Spring water and
it turns out it doesn't come

1185
01:07:43,566 --> 01:07:45,153
from anywhere near the Arctic.

1186
01:07:45,154 --> 01:07:49,053
Forty five percent
of the water sold

1187
01:07:49,054 --> 01:07:51,055
in the U.S. originates
as tap water.

1188
01:07:51,056 --> 01:07:56,232
We built an incredible tap
water system in this country and

1189
01:07:56,233 --> 01:07:58,717
yet we've forgotten
what it used to be like.

1190
01:07:58,718 --> 01:08:02,582
In New York City,
tens of thousands

1191
01:08:02,583 --> 01:08:05,861
of people were dying wave
after wave of cholera.

1192
01:08:05,862 --> 01:08:09,692
We got rid of water-related
diseases

1193
01:08:09,693 --> 01:08:14,144
when the U.S. built a high
quality municipal water system.

1194
01:08:14,145 --> 01:08:16,560
If we were to abandon that
system, what's the rest

1195
01:08:16,561 --> 01:08:17,561
of the world going to do?

1196
01:08:17,562 --> 01:08:18,666
They're going to
think, "All right, well,

1197
01:08:18,667 --> 01:08:20,806
we'll just make bottled
water too.

1198
01:08:20,807 --> 01:08:23,325
And the poorest people
are going to end

1199
01:08:23,326 --> 01:08:26,776
up drinking contaminated water."

1200
01:08:26,777 --> 01:08:28,399
There's water in the new stadium

1201
01:08:28,400 --> 01:08:31,055
in concession stand coolers
stacked against the wall,

1202
01:08:31,056 --> 01:08:34,093
but on the walls outside
the restrooms, none.

1203
01:08:34,094 --> 01:08:36,613
Under 2001 Code, bottled
water can take the place

1204
01:08:36,614 --> 01:08:37,683
of drinking fountains,

1205
01:08:37,684 --> 01:08:39,685
that's what you UCF
will do on Saturday.

1206
01:08:39,686 --> 01:08:43,653
Their first game was a hot day.

1207
01:08:43,654 --> 01:08:46,760
They ran out of bottled water
halfway through the game.

1208
01:08:46,761 --> 01:08:49,245
A dozen and a half
taken to the hospital.

1209
01:08:49,246 --> 01:08:52,799
UCS new football stadium
ran out of drinking water.

1210
01:08:52,800 --> 01:08:56,665
It's a way to
convert a public resource

1211
01:08:56,666 --> 01:08:59,149
into a private good
and a commodity.

1212
01:08:59,150 --> 01:09:03,533
The answer has got to be high
quality safe water for everyone.

1213
01:09:03,534 --> 01:09:07,882
There are billion people without
access to safe drinking water.

1214
01:09:07,883 --> 01:09:13,059
One of the most poignant images
is the woman lugging very heavy

1215
01:09:13,060 --> 01:09:15,303
bottles of water
back to their homes.

1216
01:09:15,304 --> 01:09:17,201
While here in the United States,

1217
01:09:17,202 --> 01:09:20,272
we have suburban shoppers
lugging cases of water back

1218
01:09:20,273 --> 01:09:25,450
to a home that has
perfectly potable water in it.

1219
01:09:25,451 --> 01:09:28,383
There are a lot of old
decaying pipes out there,

1220
01:09:28,384 --> 01:09:32,110
we need to upgrade the entire
infrastructure and get rid

1221
01:09:32,111 --> 01:09:35,010
of the new contaminants
that we're finding.

1222
01:09:35,011 --> 01:09:37,494
And in the end, what we
spend would be far less

1223
01:09:37,495 --> 01:09:42,603
than what we would spend
to buy bottled water.

1224
01:09:42,604 --> 01:09:46,020
The question is how can
we regain public trust

1225
01:09:46,021 --> 01:09:51,127
in our water system?

1226
01:09:51,128 --> 01:09:53,509
This is a brand
new bottle of water.

1227
01:09:53,510 --> 01:09:56,615
I'm going to open the
seal, and I'm going

1228
01:09:56,616 --> 01:10:00,757
to pour it into this glass.

1229
01:10:00,758 --> 01:10:02,966
Now, can I have our next course?

1230
01:10:02,967 --> 01:10:05,416
Now, what we have here
is two cockroaches.

1231
01:10:05,417 --> 01:10:09,937
I'm going to take one of them.

1232
01:10:09,938 --> 01:10:11,663
And I'm going to
put it in the water

1233
01:10:11,664 --> 01:10:13,631
and take it out, just like that.

1234
01:10:13,632 --> 01:10:15,148
Flick, flick.

1235
01:10:15,149 --> 01:10:20,326
Now, how about a
sip of this water?

1236
01:10:20,327 --> 01:10:23,156
You don't want it.

1237
01:10:23,157 --> 01:10:26,262
Nobody will drink this water.

1238
01:10:26,263 --> 01:10:30,128
They say, "It's a cockroach,
you cockroached the water."

1239
01:10:30,129 --> 01:10:34,062
Somehow, cockroachness
has entered into the water

1240
01:10:34,063 --> 01:10:37,548
and that's the point,
that's contagion.

1241
01:10:37,549 --> 01:10:39,343
I study disgust.

1242
01:10:39,344 --> 01:10:41,345
There's a veneer of fear.

1243
01:10:41,346 --> 01:10:44,623
Fear is an easy account
for why you're disgusted,

1244
01:10:44,624 --> 01:10:46,038
but often it's not that.

1245
01:10:46,039 --> 01:10:47,488
It's much deeper.

1246
01:10:47,489 --> 01:10:50,836
And this is a plastic cockroach.

1247
01:10:50,837 --> 01:10:55,495
Now, how would you like
to drink this water?

1248
01:10:55,496 --> 01:10:58,187
You don't want to see that
this isn't a real cockroach,

1249
01:10:58,188 --> 01:11:00,328
it's just a piece of rubber.

1250
01:11:00,329 --> 01:11:02,846
Disgust is never
really rational.

1251
01:11:02,847 --> 01:11:05,332
The problem is a mental problem

1252
01:11:05,333 --> 01:11:09,612
and this thinking can be
applied to recycled water.

1253
01:11:09,613 --> 01:11:13,994
The simplest way to get water is

1254
01:11:13,995 --> 01:11:16,583
to take the water you've
just used and make it

1255
01:11:16,584 --> 01:11:20,725
into usable water again,
that's recycled water.

1256
01:11:20,726 --> 01:11:22,968
Recycled water is
generally thought

1257
01:11:22,969 --> 01:11:26,316
to be the solution
to water shortage.

1258
01:11:26,317 --> 01:11:30,044
It's safe, it's efficient,
it's ecologically sound,

1259
01:11:30,045 --> 01:11:35,186
it makes total sense
but it's offensive.

1260
01:11:35,187 --> 01:11:41,260
Now, Singapore has handled
this problem rather well.

1261
01:11:41,261 --> 01:11:45,609
We are just a little island
but very densely populated.

1262
01:11:45,610 --> 01:11:47,473
In Singapore, no raw sewage

1263
01:11:47,474 --> 01:11:50,751
or used water go
south into the sea.

1264
01:11:50,752 --> 01:11:52,857
Because we recycle it,
producing a product

1265
01:11:52,858 --> 01:11:55,342
that we call "New Water".

1266
01:11:55,343 --> 01:11:58,862
We don't even use the term
sewage, we just tell them,

1267
01:11:58,863 --> 01:12:04,143
you know, "It's used water."

1268
01:12:04,144 --> 01:12:09,492
The concern of course was
how would people respond.

1269
01:12:09,493 --> 01:12:14,773
And so, we explain the
technology behind your water

1270
01:12:14,774 --> 01:12:16,637
with reverse osmosis.

1271
01:12:16,638 --> 01:12:20,813
What you get is practically
just new water.

1272
01:12:20,814 --> 01:12:23,160
In solving our water problems,

1273
01:12:23,161 --> 01:12:26,991
I think we have turned what
has been a vulnerability if you

1274
01:12:26,992 --> 01:12:29,579
like into a strength
for Singapore.

1275
01:12:29,580 --> 01:12:33,100
Thirty percent of Singapore's
water supply will come

1276
01:12:33,101 --> 01:12:35,482
from new water.

1277
01:12:35,483 --> 01:12:38,345
Ironically, recycled water
can be the cleanest water

1278
01:12:38,346 --> 01:12:39,933
out there.

1279
01:12:39,934 --> 01:12:42,177
Every highly stressed city ought

1280
01:12:42,178 --> 01:12:44,490
to be considering
using recycled water.

1281
01:12:44,491 --> 01:12:51,254
How about a cold glass
of recycled sewer water.

1282
01:12:51,255 --> 01:12:53,187
Sounds pretty disgusting,
doesn't it?

1283
01:12:53,188 --> 01:12:56,085
Other California cities
are also looking into the idea

1284
01:12:56,086 --> 01:12:59,364
that they are wary of the
public reacting, "Yuck!"

1285
01:12:59,365 --> 01:13:02,920
We got involved, we
talked to the people

1286
01:13:02,921 --> 01:13:05,542
who run the recycled
water facilities.

1287
01:13:05,543 --> 01:13:08,752
The problem wasn't making
the water pure, it is pure.

1288
01:13:08,753 --> 01:13:11,341
The problem was convincing
people to drink it.

1289
01:13:11,342 --> 01:13:15,033
Out of stormy public hearing,
many citizens blasted the plan.

1290
01:13:15,034 --> 01:13:17,346
Don't ever let this
happen to the public.

1291
01:13:17,347 --> 01:13:21,039
Cities have struggled to
introduce recycled water.

1292
01:13:21,040 --> 01:13:24,766
They couldn't get
past the yuck factor.

1293
01:13:24,767 --> 01:13:27,044
The principle of
contagion is that once

1294
01:13:27,045 --> 01:13:29,909
in contact always in contact.

1295
01:13:29,910 --> 01:13:32,049
In the case of recycled water,

1296
01:13:32,050 --> 01:13:35,120
the image of its origin
is just too clear.

1297
01:13:35,121 --> 01:13:43,121
We live by necessity
in the contaminated world.

1298
01:13:43,922 --> 01:13:50,583
We face disgusting
contamination all the time.

1299
01:13:50,584 --> 01:13:53,965
We just get through life
like with a lot of things

1300
01:13:53,966 --> 01:13:57,175
by basically not
thinking about it.

1301
01:13:57,176 --> 01:14:00,350
All water comes from sewage but
the point is you don't think

1302
01:14:00,351 --> 01:14:01,868
about it when you turn your tap.

1303
01:14:01,869 --> 01:14:05,389
You can see Nicole
is demonstrating a...

1304
01:14:05,390 --> 01:14:09,945
on the inside is the
urine tunnel that's used

1305
01:14:09,946 --> 01:14:10,740
in the stations over there.

1306
01:14:10,741 --> 01:14:13,051
Astronauts recycle water.

1307
01:14:13,052 --> 01:14:14,880
They're drinking
the processed urine

1308
01:14:14,881 --> 01:14:17,849
of not just themselves
but other people.

1309
01:14:17,850 --> 01:14:21,265
It's a potential
universe of disgust.

1310
01:14:21,266 --> 01:14:22,611
Of course, that's something

1311
01:14:22,612 --> 01:14:25,856
that every shuttle crew member
wants to see if it's really

1312
01:14:25,857 --> 01:14:27,064
as good as they say it is.

1313
01:14:27,065 --> 01:14:30,101
Probably by the end
of a week of a mission,

1314
01:14:30,102 --> 01:14:32,171
they're not even
thinking about it.

1315
01:14:32,172 --> 01:14:35,899
Here's a toast to everybody
drinking the recycled urine.

1316
01:14:35,900 --> 01:14:37,176
There's a general principles

1317
01:14:37,177 --> 01:14:38,937
in psychology called
mere exposure.

1318
01:14:38,938 --> 01:14:42,422
If you're exposed to
something that's not negative,

1319
01:14:42,423 --> 01:14:44,010
you tend to get to like it.

1320
01:14:44,011 --> 01:14:47,358
So, part of the problem
is getting recycled water

1321
01:14:47,359 --> 01:14:49,980
into people.

1322
01:14:49,981 --> 01:14:55,089
Bottled water has a positive
image, safety and purity.

1323
01:14:55,090 --> 01:14:57,988
Ironically, people
might be willing to pay

1324
01:14:57,989 --> 01:15:01,612
for recycled water but not
to drink it from the tap.

1325
01:15:01,613 --> 01:15:06,168
What a crazy idea that
is, but it might be true.

1326
01:15:06,169 --> 01:15:10,827
The guys who sold bottled water
to Americans should be working

1327
01:15:10,828 --> 01:15:15,141
on selling recycled
water to Americans.

1328
01:15:15,142 --> 01:15:17,074
So Paul, we've been tasked

1329
01:15:17,075 --> 01:15:19,144
with creating a marketing
campaign

1330
01:15:19,145 --> 01:15:23,217
to help introduce the idea
of reclaimed water to people.

1331
01:15:23,218 --> 01:15:26,358
How do we sort of overcome
the physical rejection

1332
01:15:26,359 --> 01:15:27,842
that people might
have over trying

1333
01:15:27,843 --> 01:15:29,464
to drink something like this?

1334
01:15:29,465 --> 01:15:31,639
I think we... when
we do these researches,

1335
01:15:31,640 --> 01:15:33,779
we use Hitler's sweater,
would you be willing

1336
01:15:33,780 --> 01:15:35,401
to wear Hitler's sweater, okay?

1337
01:15:35,402 --> 01:15:36,540
And for most

1338
01:15:36,541 --> 01:15:39,404
people, even after you
clean it and wash it,

1339
01:15:39,405 --> 01:15:41,268
and changed the color
into anything you want,

1340
01:15:41,269 --> 01:15:43,650
they still don't
want to wear it.

1341
01:15:43,651 --> 01:15:45,168
The only way we can
possibly get people to wear

1342
01:15:45,169 --> 01:15:48,792
Hitler's sweater is to
actually put it on Mother Teresa

1343
01:15:48,793 --> 01:15:51,657
or Michael Jordan, or
whoever your hero is.

1344
01:15:51,658 --> 01:15:55,591
So that their spirit enters
and conquers Hitler's spirit.

1345
01:15:55,592 --> 01:15:58,214
So, if someone finds
something disgusting,

1346
01:15:58,215 --> 01:15:59,698
it is possible for them
to change their mind

1347
01:15:59,699 --> 01:16:01,044
on something like that?

1348
01:16:01,045 --> 01:16:02,287
Yes, we all do that.

1349
01:16:02,288 --> 01:16:06,083
People go into public
toilets and they survive!

1350
01:16:06,084 --> 01:16:07,429
Everyone is managing.

1351
01:16:07,430 --> 01:16:11,813
By the way, there's a new
book just written on this

1352
01:16:11,814 --> 01:16:15,574
by Peter Gleick, G-L-E-I-C-K.

1353
01:16:15,575 --> 01:16:16,369
Morning.

1354
01:16:16,369 --> 01:16:16,921
Morning.

1355
01:16:16,921 --> 01:16:17,612
Good morning.

1356
01:16:17,613 --> 01:16:18,784
I'm Peter Gleick.

1357
01:16:18,785 --> 01:16:20,441
There's so much money to
be made in bottled water.

1358
01:16:20,442 --> 01:16:23,409
Money that municipal agencies
don't have for advertising,

1359
01:16:23,410 --> 01:16:25,031
it's not a fair fight.

1360
01:16:25,032 --> 01:16:29,035
This one is I Am
Lucky, eternally pure,

1361
01:16:29,036 --> 01:16:32,003
no nasty side effects like
stinky breath or rotten teeth.

1362
01:16:32,004 --> 01:16:33,280
I always worry
about that with water.

1363
01:16:33,281 --> 01:16:36,075
How hard is this
particular challenge?

1364
01:16:36,076 --> 01:16:38,250
The idea of raw sewage
going in tap

1365
01:16:38,251 --> 01:16:41,805
and literally being able to
drink it convincing consumers

1366
01:16:41,806 --> 01:16:45,567
of that I think is
almost impossible.

1367
01:16:51,159 --> 01:16:55,127
So I can kick this off with one
of my favorite names on the wall

1368
01:16:55,128 --> 01:16:57,716
and has to be Porcelain Springs.

1369
01:16:57,717 --> 01:16:59,925
And Porcelain has certain
connotations that, you know,

1370
01:16:59,926 --> 01:17:01,340
white, you know, clean.

1371
01:17:01,341 --> 01:17:04,135
It doesn't attempt
to talk very directly

1372
01:17:04,136 --> 01:17:05,930
about getting over disgust.

1373
01:17:05,931 --> 01:17:08,346
There is, get over it,
because it just looks

1374
01:17:08,347 --> 01:17:10,175
like something you'd
find at IKEA.

1375
01:17:10,176 --> 01:17:11,005
It really does though.

1376
01:17:11,006 --> 01:17:12,660
I mean, that's... if I were...

1377
01:17:12,661 --> 01:17:13,454
Where's the?

1378
01:17:13,455 --> 01:17:15,524
We got 80 more names.

1379
01:17:15,525 --> 01:17:18,769
There better be
a winner in there somewhere.

1380
01:17:18,770 --> 01:17:20,115
So we go with.

1381
01:17:20,116 --> 01:17:25,741
That's the sense
we were going with.

1382
01:17:25,742 --> 01:17:29,123
So when we last met, we
narrowed it down to six names

1383
01:17:29,124 --> 01:17:32,885
that we thought were successful,
started with Porcelain Springs.

1384
01:17:32,886 --> 01:17:36,060
Water from the most
peaceful place on earth.

1385
01:17:36,061 --> 01:17:38,476
This bottle
contains purified sewage water

1386
01:17:38,477 --> 01:17:39,684
and you get that.

1387
01:17:39,685 --> 01:17:42,790
Future Water, so the
choice you have to make is

1388
01:17:42,791 --> 01:17:46,587
to drink the solution
or ignore the problem.

1389
01:17:46,588 --> 01:17:49,727
Celebrity endorsement or
you could try to get someone

1390
01:17:49,728 --> 01:17:52,696
who has already got a
reputation that's relevant just

1391
01:17:52,697 --> 01:17:55,181
like Al... let's say Al Gore.

1392
01:17:55,182 --> 01:17:58,804
On the other hand, it might be
Newt Gingrich who doesn't have

1393
01:17:58,805 --> 01:18:02,843
that reputation, a person
who's universally respected

1394
01:18:02,844 --> 01:18:05,950
could help.

1395
01:18:06,675 --> 01:18:07,813
Hey, sorry I'm late.

1396
01:18:07,814 --> 01:18:09,020
Don't worry about it.

1397
01:18:09,021 --> 01:18:11,127
We're going to save
the fucking world, right?

1398
01:18:12,197 --> 01:18:13,197
Jack, we're so
excited you've agreed

1399
01:18:13,198 --> 01:18:14,232
to be the face of
Porcelain Springs.

1400
01:18:14,233 --> 01:18:17,579
I can't wait to
taste this stuff.

1401
01:18:17,580 --> 01:18:19,236
I was like, "Jack
is going to love this."

1402
01:18:19,237 --> 01:18:22,136
They're literally straining
the poop juice right

1403
01:18:22,137 --> 01:18:25,829
out of the water
that you and I drink.

1404
01:18:25,830 --> 01:18:29,107
Okay, quiet out here.

1405
01:18:29,108 --> 01:18:31,351
Whenever you want to, Jack.

1406
01:18:31,352 --> 01:18:34,492
Yeah, it's just a mental thing.

1407
01:18:34,493 --> 01:18:37,529
Yeah.

1408
01:18:42,500 --> 01:18:44,812
Yeah!

1409
01:18:44,813 --> 01:18:48,124
Woo!

1410
01:18:48,125 --> 01:18:49,229
It really tastes good.

1411
01:18:49,230 --> 01:18:51,714
This is someone I
think I'd like to trust.

1412
01:18:51,715 --> 01:18:52,819
He's my man.

1413
01:18:52,820 --> 01:18:54,579
I would be drinking
whatever he's drinking.

1414
01:18:54,580 --> 01:18:55,786
So Porcelain Springs,

1415
01:18:55,787 --> 01:18:58,478
it's water from the most
peaceful place on earth.

1416
01:18:58,479 --> 01:18:59,411
The river.

1417
01:18:59,412 --> 01:19:01,517
Where is the Porcelain Springs?

1418
01:19:02,725 --> 01:19:05,830
It's French.

1419
01:19:05,831 --> 01:19:06,831
Get?

1420
01:19:07,039 --> 01:19:07,867
Get over it.

1421
01:19:07,868 --> 01:19:10,489
Get over it, okay, got it.

1422
01:19:10,490 --> 01:19:12,560
Porcelain... oh, Porcelain
Springs, we're idiots.

1423
01:19:12,561 --> 01:19:15,286
This bottle contains
purified sewage water.

1424
01:19:15,287 --> 01:19:16,632
Sewage water?

1425
01:19:16,633 --> 01:19:17,220
Yuck.

1426
01:19:17,220 --> 01:19:18,049
Awesome.

1427
01:19:18,050 --> 01:19:19,670
This is a little scary to me.

1428
01:19:19,671 --> 01:19:20,844
We're recycling water.

1429
01:19:20,845 --> 01:19:21,983
Tell me, that sounds great.

1430
01:19:21,984 --> 01:19:22,778
That's good.

1431
01:19:22,779 --> 01:19:24,674
The sewage water?

1432
01:19:24,675 --> 01:19:26,849
Oh.

1433
01:19:26,850 --> 01:19:30,162
Can I taste it?

1434
01:19:30,163 --> 01:19:32,199
So, will you drink it?

1435
01:19:32,200 --> 01:19:33,302
Yeah, no.

1436
01:19:33,303 --> 01:19:36,409
I'd do anything once
because I'm curious.

1437
01:19:36,410 --> 01:19:39,550
This better be okay.

1438
01:19:39,551 --> 01:19:43,864
The more you see that
something is widely done,

1439
01:19:43,865 --> 01:19:47,729
the more acceptable it becomes.

1440
01:19:47,730 --> 01:19:48,352
Taste good?

1441
01:19:48,352 --> 01:19:49,042
Taste great.

1442
01:19:49,043 --> 01:19:50,180
Taste like tap water.

1443
01:19:50,181 --> 01:19:51,319
Cleaner than tap water.

1444
01:19:51,320 --> 01:19:54,045
Purified sewage water
is actually really good.

1445
01:19:54,046 --> 01:19:55,840
I might get over it.

1446
01:19:55,841 --> 01:19:58,878
Even though the majority
of people might accept it,

1447
01:19:58,879 --> 01:20:00,465
some people might not.

1448
01:20:00,466 --> 01:20:04,537
No chance that I'm going to
drink sewage water whatsoever.

1449
01:20:04,538 --> 01:20:05,780
Disgusting.

1450
01:20:05,781 --> 01:20:08,541
I want to pour it out
right here, maybe on you.

1451
01:20:08,542 --> 01:20:11,302
If we need to recycle sewage
water, that must mean we're

1452
01:20:11,303 --> 01:20:14,753
in some sort of shortage
that I'm not aware of.

1453
01:20:14,754 --> 01:20:16,686
To be completely honest this
whole issue just doesn't seem

1454
01:20:16,687 --> 01:20:18,999
like one that's that
important to me right now.

1455
01:20:19,000 --> 01:20:22,933
When I do that map
of... from outer space,

1456
01:20:22,934 --> 01:20:27,213
there's a lot of water.

1457
01:20:27,214 --> 01:20:28,421
Oh.

1458
01:20:28,422 --> 01:20:31,976
People think that the
problem is merely drought

1459
01:20:31,977 --> 01:20:33,391
and that once the
drought is over,

1460
01:20:33,392 --> 01:20:37,015
we can go back to
business as usual.

1461
01:20:37,016 --> 01:20:40,638
It's the hydro-illogical cycle.

1462
01:20:40,639 --> 01:20:44,850
We humans have an infinite
capacity to deny reality,

1463
01:20:44,851 --> 01:20:48,854
to think that there's some
oasis out there somewhere

1464
01:20:48,855 --> 01:20:52,235
that we can go to
get more water.

1465
01:20:52,236 --> 01:20:55,514
Tow an iceberg from the
Arctic or divert a river

1466
01:20:55,515 --> 01:20:57,447
from British Columbia.

1467
01:20:57,448 --> 01:20:59,414
NASA said, today,
a significant source

1468
01:20:59,415 --> 01:21:02,003
of water was found when it
deliberately crushed a rocket

1469
01:21:02,004 --> 01:21:04,005
into the lunar surface
last month.

1470
01:21:04,006 --> 01:21:06,283
We could get moon water,
just think about that.

1471
01:21:06,284 --> 01:21:08,560
I mean, nobody has
touched this stuff.

1472
01:21:08,561 --> 01:21:09,768
Moon water would be, mwah.

1473
01:21:09,769 --> 01:21:13,151
I'm sure they can
treat the ocean water.

1474
01:21:13,152 --> 01:21:16,775
The de-saltation of the ocean.

1475
01:21:16,776 --> 01:21:18,845
Of all the things
that people ask me about,

1476
01:21:18,846 --> 01:21:21,227
the most common thing
is desalination.

1477
01:21:21,228 --> 01:21:24,678
Two-thirds of the earth is
covered by water and it seems

1478
01:21:24,679 --> 01:21:26,301
like that's the obvious
solution.

1479
01:21:26,302 --> 01:21:29,682
Desalination is the
most expensive source

1480
01:21:29,683 --> 01:21:34,273
of water we have, at leaves
behind it a concentrated brine.

1481
01:21:34,274 --> 01:21:38,932
It's not quite like spent
nuclear fuel but it's close.

1482
01:21:38,933 --> 01:21:41,245
Because it's so
energy-intensive,

1483
01:21:41,246 --> 01:21:44,696
it produces huge quantities
of greenhouse gases.

1484
01:21:44,697 --> 01:21:51,219
There are more than
14,000 desalination plants

1485
01:21:51,220 --> 01:21:52,220
around the world.

1486
01:21:52,221 --> 01:21:55,533
The idea that
desalination is going

1487
01:21:55,534 --> 01:21:57,984
to solve all our
problems is a myth.

1488
01:21:57,985 --> 01:22:01,332
There's no reason to
build desalination

1489
01:22:01,333 --> 01:22:02,954
if you haven't done
the conservation

1490
01:22:02,955 --> 01:22:05,542
and efficiency that's cheaper.

1491
01:22:05,543 --> 01:22:08,648
Let's wash our clothes
with efficient fixtures.

1492
01:22:08,649 --> 01:22:10,547
Let's think about how
to do what we want

1493
01:22:10,548 --> 01:22:15,654
as efficiently as possible.

1494
01:22:15,655 --> 01:22:17,001
There's enormous potential

1495
01:22:17,002 --> 01:22:19,796
to do much more especially
in agriculture.

1496
01:22:19,797 --> 01:22:23,007
We could grow as much
food as we're growing now

1497
01:22:23,008 --> 01:22:24,145
with a lot less water.

1498
01:22:24,146 --> 01:22:26,906
Conservation is important

1499
01:22:26,907 --> 01:22:30,565
but is this crisis something
we can conserve our way out of?

1500
01:22:30,566 --> 01:22:33,498
That's a deep... so that's
a deep thought question.

1501
01:22:33,499 --> 01:22:37,019
So let me give it 10
seconds of deep thought

1502
01:22:37,020 --> 01:22:39,297
because I've thought about it
...I've thought about it myself

1503
01:22:39,298 --> 01:22:41,644
and you know, I think
the answer is no.

1504
01:22:41,645 --> 01:22:47,683
We have to couple the water
picture that we see now

1505
01:22:47,684 --> 01:22:52,033
with population growth,
when there's more people

1506
01:22:52,034 --> 01:22:55,069
and there's no more water
coming from the Sierras

1507
01:22:55,070 --> 01:22:57,106
and the Colorado River Basin.

1508
01:22:57,107 --> 01:23:01,248
What exactly are we going to do?

1509
01:23:01,249 --> 01:23:03,870
Right now, we're hovering
under 7 billion people

1510
01:23:03,871 --> 01:23:10,566
and there's about 211,000
more people added every day.

1511
01:23:10,567 --> 01:23:13,051
That's the size of the city

1512
01:23:13,052 --> 01:23:15,743
where I'm from, Irvine,
California.

1513
01:23:15,744 --> 01:23:20,058
Imagine a new Irvine popping
up on the map every day?

1514
01:23:20,059 --> 01:23:23,301
Project that out
10 years, 20 years.

1515
01:23:23,302 --> 01:23:26,615
Where is that water
going to come from?

1516
01:23:26,616 --> 01:23:29,100
It is not just the Sierras
that are losing snow pack,

1517
01:23:29,101 --> 01:23:33,862
it's the Rocky Mountains, it's
the Alps, it's the Himalayas.

1518
01:23:33,863 --> 01:23:37,073
What will happen to the 2
billion people that live

1519
01:23:37,074 --> 01:23:41,248
in that region when their
waster source disappears?

1520
01:23:41,249 --> 01:23:45,494
An infinitely growing
population cannot be satisfied

1521
01:23:45,495 --> 01:23:49,152
with a finite amount of
water on this planet.

1522
01:23:49,153 --> 01:23:51,361
I do worry that we're
going to see more

1523
01:23:51,362 --> 01:23:53,742
and more conflict over water.

1524
01:23:53,743 --> 01:23:55,020
One person has been killed

1525
01:23:55,021 --> 01:23:57,815
in the beach battle
over water in Mumbai.

1526
01:23:57,816 --> 01:24:01,197
The government here has
recorded 5,000 water conflicts

1527
01:24:01,198 --> 01:24:02,992
in this one province,

1528
01:24:02,993 --> 01:24:05,374
50 are serious enough
to end in violence.

1529
01:24:05,375 --> 01:24:07,272
In Brazil, tension
turned to violence

1530
01:24:07,273 --> 01:24:09,860
to protest the multibillion
dollar dam.

1531
01:24:09,861 --> 01:24:13,346
These water tensions
could lead to a water war

1532
01:24:13,347 --> 01:24:16,108
in the Middle East,
a doomsday scenario.

1533
01:24:16,109 --> 01:24:19,386
When I first got involved
academically in water resources,

1534
01:24:19,387 --> 01:24:23,321
people were generally
talking about water wars.

1535
01:24:23,322 --> 01:24:26,944
There's no question that water
causes potential disputes all

1536
01:24:26,945 --> 01:24:28,325
over the world.

1537
01:24:28,326 --> 01:24:31,362
Islamabad blames New Delhi of
stealing its water leading many

1538
01:24:31,363 --> 01:24:35,401
to force the fourth war
between two countries.

1539
01:24:35,402 --> 01:24:37,712
When we say there's
going to be war,

1540
01:24:37,713 --> 01:24:41,268
now I want to know
what the evidence is.

1541
01:24:41,269 --> 01:24:43,684
We did a study where we
actually looked at all

1542
01:24:43,685 --> 01:24:46,996
of the documented
disputes over 50 years,

1543
01:24:46,997 --> 01:24:49,275
there were actually 1800,

1544
01:24:49,276 --> 01:24:51,208
of those two-thirds
are cooperative,

1545
01:24:51,209 --> 01:24:55,074
very little actual violence and
no wars in the last 50 years.

1546
01:24:55,075 --> 01:24:56,729
I was absolutely surprised.

1547
01:24:56,730 --> 01:24:59,146
I was kind of seduced by
the water war's argument.

1548
01:24:59,147 --> 01:25:00,526
It was very exciting.

1549
01:25:00,527 --> 01:25:04,185
I mean, well, I'm involved in an
issue that leads people to war.

1550
01:25:04,186 --> 01:25:08,361
Well, no, but I'm involved in
an issue that brings people

1551
01:25:08,362 --> 01:25:10,501
in the room to talk about peace.

1552
01:25:10,502 --> 01:25:13,711
Everywhere, at all
scales, water is brought,

1553
01:25:13,712 --> 01:25:16,195
people you wouldn't think to
would be in the same room,

1554
01:25:16,196 --> 01:25:18,818
into the same room to think
about their shared futures.

1555
01:25:18,819 --> 01:25:24,789
We look around the United
States when we see competition

1556
01:25:24,790 --> 01:25:27,309
between ranchers
and endangered fish.

1557
01:25:27,310 --> 01:25:30,139
We need to be looking to
our friends around the world

1558
01:25:30,140 --> 01:25:32,900
for how they've coped with
crisis that are orders

1559
01:25:32,901 --> 01:25:38,146
of magnitude worse than ours.

1560
01:25:38,147 --> 01:25:42,805
Even during war, water
committees used to meet.

1561
01:25:42,806 --> 01:25:43,944
Throughout The Intifada.

1562
01:25:43,945 --> 01:25:46,326
Okay. Then throughout
The Intifada and even

1563
01:25:46,327 --> 01:25:48,880
between the Jordanians
and Israelis before.

1564
01:25:48,881 --> 01:25:49,675
So...

1565
01:25:49,676 --> 01:25:50,916
Before the Peace Treaty.

1566
01:25:50,917 --> 01:25:53,539
It's not that, you know,
if there's a conflict,

1567
01:25:53,540 --> 01:25:55,886
there must be war over water,

1568
01:25:55,887 --> 01:25:58,371
but you will see it
the other way around.

1569
01:25:58,372 --> 01:26:04,342
People meeting secretly to
really solve their differences.

1570
01:26:04,343 --> 01:26:07,448
Friends of the Earth Middle
East is the only regional

1571
01:26:07,449 --> 01:26:10,624
organization, very
sadly, that exists.

1572
01:26:10,625 --> 01:26:15,179
There is no other organization
that brings together Israelis,

1573
01:26:15,180 --> 01:26:20,460
Palestinians, Jordanians as
one organization in any field.

1574
01:26:49,106 --> 01:26:53,765
You will always have problems
when you are living in a castle

1575
01:26:53,766 --> 01:26:55,871
and your neighbor
is in a cottage.

1576
01:26:55,872 --> 01:27:02,773
When the Israelis enjoy
waters 24/7, in Jordan,

1577
01:27:02,774 --> 01:27:07,226
it's one day per week, and in
Palestine, they'll be lucky

1578
01:27:07,227 --> 01:27:10,436
if they get it one day per week.

1579
01:27:42,293 --> 01:27:47,296
You cannot stop a bird from
flying across a certain border.

1580
01:27:47,297 --> 01:27:52,715
You cannot stop water to flow,
you know, across borders.

1581
01:27:52,716 --> 01:27:55,613
The demise of the Jordan
River is very much connected

1582
01:27:55,614 --> 01:27:57,615
to the conflict.

1583
01:27:57,616 --> 01:28:01,170
Only 2 percent of the
historical flow is left

1584
01:28:01,171 --> 01:28:09,171
in the so-called mighty Jordan.

1585
01:28:09,178 --> 01:28:12,491
How deep is that river?

1586
01:28:12,492 --> 01:28:15,182
How deep is that river?

1587
01:28:15,183 --> 01:28:19,014
I don't want to know
where it's coming from.

1588
01:28:19,015 --> 01:28:22,776
I don't need to know
where it's going to.

1589
01:28:22,777 --> 01:28:30,231
Before I place my trust in you,
I just want to know, how deep?

1590
01:28:30,232 --> 01:28:35,787
Christians say Jesus
was baptized in that river.

1591
01:28:35,788 --> 01:28:40,067
The Jewish, they looked upon the
promise land across the river.

1592
01:28:40,068 --> 01:28:42,242
The Muslims, so many

1593
01:28:42,243 --> 01:28:45,727
of the Prophet Muhammad
companions are buried

1594
01:28:45,728 --> 01:28:48,454
by the banks of the river.

1595
01:28:48,455 --> 01:28:51,871
Every single heavenly
religion talked about water.

1596
01:28:51,872 --> 01:28:56,392
I don't
need to know if it's safe

1597
01:28:56,393 --> 01:28:59,809
to swim before I
put my trust in Him.

1598
01:28:59,810 --> 01:29:03,261
I just want to know, how deep?

1599
01:29:04,366 --> 01:29:06,263
Half of these people
I baptized at Lake Mead

1600
01:29:06,264 --> 01:29:08,576
and they've traveled from Las
Vegas all the way over here.

1601
01:29:08,577 --> 01:29:10,440
It's just magnificent.

1602
01:29:10,441 --> 01:29:11,681
It is holy water.

1603
01:29:11,682 --> 01:29:16,583
I was baptized as a baby
but that was just a symbol.

1604
01:29:16,584 --> 01:29:18,999
This is real.

1605
01:29:19,000 --> 01:29:24,279
Yardenit was created
because it's the only site left

1606
01:29:24,280 --> 01:29:26,971
where there is real
fresh water flowing

1607
01:29:26,972 --> 01:29:31,734
in that three kilometer
stretch of the Jordan River.

1608
01:29:31,735 --> 01:29:37,430
The legend tells us that the
real baptism of Christ is here.

1609
01:29:42,331 --> 01:29:46,437
Here, there has been pollution
released from hundreds

1610
01:29:46,438 --> 01:29:49,888
of thousands of residents,
Palestinian, Jordanian,

1611
01:29:49,889 --> 01:29:56,170
and Israeli that
live along its banks.

1612
01:29:56,171 --> 01:29:58,516
I wouldn't go into this
water knowing what we know.

1613
01:29:58,517 --> 01:30:05,937
It's really unbelievable
what we have done

1614
01:30:05,938 --> 01:30:13,938
to a river holy to
half of humanity.

1615
01:30:14,532 --> 01:30:18,120
What we
see here is the raw sewage

1616
01:30:18,121 --> 01:30:21,779
of some 50,000 Israeli
residents around the Sea

1617
01:30:21,780 --> 01:30:24,644
of Galilee dumped here.

1618
01:30:24,645 --> 01:30:28,301
They're people, especially,
they're really just a Christian.

1619
01:30:28,302 --> 01:30:30,752
They don't know that
this is the water

1620
01:30:30,753 --> 01:30:34,342
that goes to the baptism site.

1621
01:30:34,343 --> 01:30:38,587
Imagine then if the people knew.

1622
01:30:38,588 --> 01:30:41,175
On water, we must cooperate.

1623
01:30:41,176 --> 01:30:45,076
It's not an issue of doing
a favor to the other side.

1624
01:30:45,077 --> 01:30:47,940
It's an issue of
self-interest and the fact

1625
01:30:47,941 --> 01:30:51,840
that the water resources is
shared makes it mutual interest.

1626
01:30:51,841 --> 01:30:53,566
Let's go, let's go.

1627
01:30:53,567 --> 01:30:56,188
Okay.

1628
01:30:56,189 --> 01:30:59,640
We've been able to call out
to our decision makers to speak

1629
01:30:59,641 --> 01:31:03,472
in our respective parliaments
that this is unacceptable.

1630
01:31:03,473 --> 01:31:07,716
There're certain issues that
cannot wait for the politicians

1631
01:31:07,717 --> 01:31:10,201
to solve their differences
and then look

1632
01:31:10,202 --> 01:31:12,134
at the water situation.

1633
01:31:12,135 --> 01:31:14,239
By the end of next year,

1634
01:31:14,240 --> 01:31:18,623
there will be no raw sewage
emitted from the Israeli side.

1635
01:31:18,624 --> 01:31:22,040
Next, we still need to
continue pushing the Jordanian

1636
01:31:22,041 --> 01:31:26,284
and the Palestinian authority
to further build sewage systems.

1637
01:31:26,285 --> 01:31:29,771
This is the... just
the beginning.

1638
01:31:29,772 --> 01:31:36,224
Being in the Middle East,
if you are not optimistic,

1639
01:31:36,225 --> 01:31:39,780
you will have a heart attack.

1640
01:31:39,781 --> 01:31:41,575
Know how to cross it yet.

1641
01:31:41,576 --> 01:31:47,856
Before I get my spirit wet,
I just want to know how deep.

1642
01:31:47,857 --> 01:31:51,893
The worst case scenario
basin is the Jordan Basin.

1643
01:31:51,894 --> 01:31:55,690
If the Jordan can work out their
water crisis in the absence

1644
01:31:55,691 --> 01:31:57,899
of violence, certainly,
California can.

1645
01:31:57,900 --> 01:32:00,177
Certainly, other basins
around the world can.

1646
01:32:00,178 --> 01:32:03,904
I don't want to
know if it's yours or mine,

1647
01:32:03,905 --> 01:32:08,462
I just want to know how deep.

1648
01:32:15,709 --> 01:32:19,401
There's no doubt
that humanity is capable

1649
01:32:19,402 --> 01:32:21,437
of screwing things up.

1650
01:32:21,438 --> 01:32:23,784
There's also no doubt in
my mind that we're capable

1651
01:32:23,785 --> 01:32:25,786
of fixing things when
what we're screwing

1652
01:32:25,787 --> 01:32:27,408
up is really important to us.

1653
01:32:27,409 --> 01:32:31,826
The more we know, the
more likely we are

1654
01:32:31,827 --> 01:32:33,862
to do the right things.

1655
01:32:33,863 --> 01:32:40,247
And in the end, we... you do
what you can and you trust

1656
01:32:40,248 --> 01:32:46,218
in the ability of
people to learn.

1657
01:32:46,219 --> 01:32:49,531
Porcelain Springs, water

1658
01:32:49,532 --> 01:32:52,431
from the most peaceful
place on earth.

1659
01:33:08,537 --> 01:33:12,345
It's going to be about
Western survival and we'll want

1660
01:33:12,346 --> 01:33:16,487
to fight but we can't.

1661
01:33:16,488 --> 01:33:19,455
We can't afford that war.

1662
01:33:26,359 --> 01:33:32,087
It is not clear to me that
we can reverse this situation.

1663
01:33:32,088 --> 01:33:40,088
But we certainly are not going
to be reversing climate change.

1664
01:33:40,405 --> 01:33:44,408
We can take steps to ensure

1665
01:33:44,409 --> 01:33:47,410
that there's a sustainable
water supply

1666
01:33:47,411 --> 01:33:51,449
over a much longer
period of time.

1667
01:33:51,450 --> 01:33:54,901
It's not a solvable problem but
it's truly a manageable problem.

1668
01:33:54,902 --> 01:33:59,111
But we need to start
addressing it now.

1669
01:33:59,112 --> 01:34:00,146
I tell people all the time,

1670
01:34:00,147 --> 01:34:03,218
I'm still a little
boy who likes frogs.

1671
01:34:03,219 --> 01:34:08,360
We're losing species faster
than we ever have before.

1672
01:34:08,361 --> 01:34:09,396
We think that we're
here forever,

1673
01:34:09,397 --> 01:34:11,881
but all species go extinct.

1674
01:34:11,882 --> 01:34:15,470
But that doesn't mean we have
to speed along and continue

1675
01:34:15,471 --> 01:34:17,438
on track the way
that we are doing.

1676
01:34:31,451 --> 01:34:35,108
This isn't going to
be resolved tomorrow.

1677
01:34:35,109 --> 01:34:36,662
It's just not.

1678
01:34:36,663 --> 01:34:40,458
But, look what you have done.

1679
01:34:40,459 --> 01:34:44,185
The EPA, they are going
to finally set a standard

1680
01:34:44,186 --> 01:34:49,259
for hexavalent chromium
in drinking water.

1681
01:34:49,260 --> 01:34:57,197
So, we've made some progress.

1682
01:34:57,198 --> 01:35:00,442
I got a phone call, a
lady on the other end says,

1683
01:35:00,443 --> 01:35:03,271
"Congratulations Lynn,
you've been chosen to...

1684
01:35:03,272 --> 01:35:06,136
for the Goldman Prize,"
and I was kind of,

1685
01:35:06,137 --> 01:35:08,829
"Yeah, right," you know?

1686
01:35:08,830 --> 01:35:12,728
So, I looked it up and I'm
like, "Wow, they do exist!"

1687
01:35:12,729 --> 01:35:18,009
I mean I've been on a plane
once in my life and it was

1688
01:35:18,010 --> 01:35:20,873
like being Dorothy
on the Wizard of Oz.

1689
01:35:20,874 --> 01:35:26,292
When I went to reach to shake
his hand, he says, "Hi Lynn."

1690
01:35:26,293 --> 01:35:29,054
Did you kiss the President?

1691
01:35:29,055 --> 01:35:30,055
He kissed me.

1692
01:35:34,991 --> 01:35:37,130
I wonder how many of
these people when we started

1693
01:35:37,131 --> 01:35:40,442
out 10 years ago said we're
just wasting our time.

1694
01:35:40,443 --> 01:35:43,307
I wonder what they're
thinking now.

1695
01:35:43,308 --> 01:35:45,482
My two-year-old
granddaughter deserves

1696
01:35:45,483 --> 01:35:46,759
to grow up in a clean world.

1697
01:35:46,760 --> 01:35:50,452
I hope you'll join
me at our fight.

1698
01:35:57,736 --> 01:36:04,292
When you see it all at once,
that becomes the eye opener.

1699
01:36:04,293 --> 01:36:07,501
There's a common agenda for
all of us, for every walk

1700
01:36:07,502 --> 01:36:13,093
of life and that's water.

1701
01:36:13,094 --> 01:36:16,096
We might find ourselves
in a pivotal moment here

1702
01:36:16,097 --> 01:36:18,097
where we can do the right thing.

1703
01:36:18,098 --> 01:36:22,377
I always felt hopeful
that things work

1704
01:36:22,378 --> 01:36:26,829
out where everything
converges at once.

1705
01:36:26,830 --> 01:36:30,419
Maybe that moment
is happening now.

1706
01:36:46,192 --> 01:36:54,192
Time, reverse
and rewind, erase and revise,

1707
01:36:56,511 --> 01:37:02,413
and try to start again.

1708
01:37:02,414 --> 01:37:06,899
You, don't you turn this around.

1709
01:37:06,900 --> 01:37:14,900
I have not touched the ground
in I don't know how long.

1710
01:37:16,081 --> 01:37:20,049
You say to

1711
01:37:20,050 --> 01:37:24,156
walk it back,

1712
01:37:24,157 --> 01:37:28,263
walk it back,

1713
01:37:28,264 --> 01:37:33,405
walk it back.

1714
01:37:33,406 --> 01:37:37,513
Time,

1715
01:37:37,514 --> 01:37:41,655
time,

1716
01:37:41,656 --> 01:37:48,178
time, it cannot abide.

1717
01:37:48,179 --> 01:37:51,043
You,

1718
01:37:51,044 --> 01:37:54,390
you can't turn away,

1719
01:37:54,391 --> 01:37:56,875
you've asked me to stay

1720
01:37:56,876 --> 01:38:02,949
but something needs to change.

1721
01:38:02,950 --> 01:38:07,195
Why can't you?

1722
01:38:07,196 --> 01:38:11,301
Walk it back.

1723
01:38:11,302 --> 01:38:15,374
Walk it back.

1724
01:38:15,375 --> 01:38:20,516
Walk it back.

1725
01:38:20,517 --> 01:38:23,485
Time,

1726
01:38:23,486 --> 01:38:27,454
reverse and rewind,

1727
01:38:27,455 --> 01:38:30,905
erase and revise,

1728
01:38:30,906 --> 01:38:35,220
and try to start again.

1729
01:38:35,221 --> 01:38:37,187
You,

1730
01:38:37,188 --> 01:38:41,259
don't you turn this around.

1731
01:38:41,260 --> 01:38:48,860
I have not touched the ground
in I don't know how long.

1732
01:38:50,441 --> 01:38:54,306
You say to

1733
01:38:54,307 --> 01:38:58,481
walk it back,

1734
01:38:58,482 --> 01:39:02,658
walk it back,

1735
01:39:02,659 --> 01:39:04,350
walk it back.