Last Call at the Oasis (2011) - full transcript

>> Water is everything.

The single most necessary
element for any of us to sustain

and live and thrive is water.

>> I grew up in the Mid-West

and I have a father who'd
actually worked for industry

and he used to sing
me songs all the time.

Sometimes we'd be at the creeks
and he just make up little songs

about see that lovely water, you
know, trickling down the spring,

don't take it for granted,
someday it might not be seen.

He promised me, in my lifetime

that we would see water
become more valuable than oil.



He said because there
will be so little of it.

I think that time is here.

>> It's the third week in
a row without any water.

The army has been called

in to protect the
capital's water pumps.

>> There's been a lot
of talk about peak oil

when the production
of oil reaches a peak

and then inevitably
starts to decline.

Like peak oil, there
is peak water.

We're reaching the
limits of what we can use.

>> Once the fourth largest
freshwater lake in the world,

the Aral Sea has been diminished

to about one tenth
its original size.

>> The levels in Brazil's
Amazon region reach record lows.



>> Spain is the grip of drought.

>> The drought ravaging China's
southwest is being called the

worst --

>> -- the worst in 40 years.

>> Worst drought in 70 years.

>> -- The worst in the century.

>> Every region of the world
is facing water problems

from China to the Middle East.

>> Half the world's hospital
beds are occupied by patients

with water-borne diseases.

>> By 2025, half of the
world's population will not have

adequate access to water.

I mean, it could
not be more serious.

>> We've seen what happens
in other parts of the world

and we just always think
that never can be me.

It already is you.

>> Why so serious.

So raise your glass
if you are wrong,

in all the right
ways, all my underdogs

we will never, never
be anything but loud.

>> I know it's a
surprise to some people

that there is a crisis.

But the reality is
in the United States,

we Americans are spoiled.

We have the biggest water
footprint in the world.

>> Raise your glass.

Won't you come on and come
on, and raise your glass.

Just come on and come
on and raise your glass.

Won't you come on and come
on and raise your glass.

>> When there's a water problem,
the ripple effect is enormous.

Downstream, the water
finds its way to you

and it definitely
rocks the boat.

>> Oh shit, my glass is empty,

that sucks.

>> People love water, especially

when it's 118 degrees
outside in the summer.

We sell virtual reality.

People come to Las Vegas
to escape their reality.

And part of that is the
cooling sensation of fountains,

it looks like prolific waste.

What they don't understand is

that the entire Las Vegas
strip uses 3 percent

of this community's water supply

and is the single largest
contributor this state's

economic product.

>> We see growth every
time it snows in Buffalo

and water consumption all of
a sudden began skyrocketing.

>> The amazing thing about
Vegas is that it refuses

to let the lack of water
constrain its growth.

Las Vegas has built
housing developments

as large as San Francisco.

They never worried about
water because right next door

to Vegas is Hoover Dam and
behind Hoover Dam is Lake Mead,

the largest reservoir
in the country.

>> Hoover Dam and its
power plant serve water

and power needs in
California, Nevada and Arizona.

>> When it was built, Hoover
Dam and Lake Mead were going

to save the west forever.

>> Colorado River waters
that once destroyed man

and his property now serve him.

>> You don't have to be
a scientist to understand

that if you take more water
out of the bathtub than you put

in to the bathtub, the bathtub
will eventually go empty.

The elevation has been
dropping 10 feet every year.

Today, it's only
about 40 percent full.

We're measuring 1086.

>> Las Vegas will lose our
upper intake at elevation 1050.

1050 will be a wakeup
call because at 1050,

Hoover Dam stops
generating electricity.

>> You've only got
36 feet to go.

That's four years.

>> No one ever imagined
that that was possible.

In my mind, it's not a question
of if, it's a question of when.

>> In our original work,
we looked at the situation

where the lakes go dry,
actually dead pool.

By 2025, we could've reached
that with the probability

about 50 percent
and we were shocked.

>> When I think of
water, I think of it

as giant milkshake glass.

And I think of each demand for
water as a straw in a glass.

>> With the amount
of water being taken

out of the Colorado system
is maxed out right now,

and yet there's going
to be less.

>> If we don't do anything,

Las Vegas is a dead
city, period, full stop.

>> They are proposing to build
a 3 billion dollar pipeline,

250 miles long to
draw water out of one

of the last oases in Nevada.

>> This is a project
out of sheer desperation

because there's nothing
else available.

>> If I get the water
line in here,

it'll just turn into
a dust bowl.

>> If you haven't got
any water, you're done.

If they take that,
where do I go?

I'm done. And my kids are done.

>> This is Goliath
Water.

He's from Southern Nevada
and he wants your water.

>> The very people
you wouldn't hurt

if they were your neighbors,
you'll fight to the death

over a glass of water.

>> This project may
succeed over my dead body.

>> Can you afford
not to build it.

Are you willing to put
your family at risk?

That's what it gets down to.

>> This pipeline.

It's going to be
built, isn't it?

>> There is no option.

So am I supposed to
sit here and say,

"The fate of 2 million
people doesn't matter to me,

they're just going
to have to live

with whatever Mother
Nature decides to dole out."

That is about as
irresponsible a statement

as I've ever heard
someone come up with.

>> The way the city
was developed,

the way it was planned,

politicians just let people
build whatever the heck

they wanted.

>> If you want to say it should
never have happened, well,

the cows have left the barn.

>> If Las Vegas is going to keep
growing, they'll take this water

and then they'll still
run out of water.

>> It's easy to point
the finger at Vegas.

But when you look at
the future of growth

in water, we are all Vegas.

>> When we get hit, Phoenix gets
hit, and Los Angeles gets hit.

>> The mighty Rio Grande, now
nothing more than a dirt road.

>> People in Atlanta are
actually praying for rain.

>> Lake Superior is
said to be disappearing.

>> Thirty-six US states
face water shortages

in the next three years.

>> Junior, it's time for you
to visit your mother earth.

>> Oh pop, let me
stay here with you.

>> When we think of water,
we think of it as the air.

Infinite and inexhaustible.

>> This is the cycle of water
by which all life survives.

>> All the water there
ever was still is.

We are drinking the same water
that the dinosaurs drank.

So how can it possibly be a
problem with the water supply?

>> Turn the faucet
and there is water

at any hour of the day or night.

>> The resource is renewable.

That's the beauty of
the hydrologic cycle.

But when you use such quantities
that it exceeds the capacity

of the system to renew itself,
then you have a problem.

>> You know, I used to think

that it might be impossible
to run out of water.

There's a lot of
water on the earth.

But less than 1 percent is
freshwater that's available

to drink.

There are places that could
actually run out of water

and California is one of them.

When I would drive
through the Central Valley,

I'd see all these
signs about water.

That's actually how
I get interested

in studying the valley
was by seeing those signs

and then trying to
understand what was going on.

I really had no idea that I was
opening such a Pandora's Box.

>> For California's valley,
a good supply of water all

through the year has
changed a worthless desert

into productive farmland.

>> Back in the '30s,
the government turned

on the tap for the farmers.

The Central Valley
produces about 25 percent

of the food consumed
in the United States.

We now have about 7
million irrigated acres.

We're stretching a limited
resource to its limits.

It really is a giant
can of worms.

>> These almonds
are being removed

because of the lack of water.

I had to walk away, yeah.

I knew it was coming,

but I couldn't take the
hardship to watch, yeah.

Certainly, it's heartbreaking.

When I was out here putting the
trees in the ground 23 years ago

and now we've had the rug
pulled up from under us.

>> Some people say, "This is
the first instance of people

in the United States turning on
the tap and not getting water."

>> West Valley farmers will
not get any federal water

this season.

>> That decision is a
result of less water pumping

to protect fish populations
in Northern California.

>> The Central Valley

of California was once
considered the bread basket

of America.

But now, farms all over that
region have been allowed

to dry up.

Now why? Because of
a two-inch minnow

on the endangered species list.

>> Where I come from,
we call that bait.

>> Somebody has got to
turn the water back on --

>> Either that or put us on
the endangered species list.

You're going to
get your vegetables from China

and I understand they made
great baby milk formula.

>> By the way, be sure to check

out Sean Hannity's new
children's book, One Fish,

Two Fish, Red Fish, boo!

Boo fish.

>> It's been convenient for
certain politicians to say,

"Look, we're hurting people.

Why should we protect
this little fish

at the expense of people?"

But that's wrong.

The Delta smelt is a small
insignificant little fish.

But it's not insignificant

if you realize the delta
smelt is just a symbol

of a much bigger problem.

It's a symbol of an
ecosystem that's collapsing.

>> The water for the Central
Valley comes from the Sierras.

It ends up in the Bay Delta.

>> This is the greatest
estuary on the West Coast

and we've allowed it to crash.

All of the fish, it's
not only the salmon,

it's not only the Delta smelt,
it's going to impact everything.

It's going to impact the people.

The last two seasons, we
didn't have any salmon

fishing whatsoever.

You know, we still sell
fish but we bring it

in from someplace else.

We could see the absolute demise
of salmon here in California.

We fishermen have to speak up.

We've become politicians
and activists.

>> No water for the farmers
because of this fish.

>> Boo!

>> Yeah, that fish.

>> California in many
ways is the epitome

of the global water problem.

>> We need water!

We need water!

>> We love water!

>> The truth is there's
not enough water

to do everything
everybody wants.

>> Farmers use most
of the water.

That's about 80 percent
in most states.

In some western states,
it's as high as 90 percent.

So when we want to talk
about the future of water,

we have to talk about farm use.

>> The people that have
taken the water away

from us have told us,
"Well, your solution is

to turn to groundwater."

So I ask them, "Is it going to
be on your watch that we now dry

up all the groundwater source
in the San Joaquin Valley?"

Hard decisions, aren't they?

>> The water that gets
deep into the ground stores

up as a subterranean treasure.

>> Farmers have had their
surface water cut way, way back.

And so, the logical thing to
do then is to pump groundwater.

>> All around the United
Sates, the water table

in the aquifers is going down
and it took in many places,

thousands of years for
this water to accumulate

in the aquifers and yet,

we're going through
it in mere decades.

>> For many years,
I've been working

with a satellite called GRACE.

If you are looking at an area
that's had a big mass change,

say from groundwater
depletion, GRACE can see

that because the
mass change is so big

that it's actually
sensed by the satellites.

We can see a significant
depletion in California.

We've been keeping a close
eye on the Central Valley.

If we go back to 1998, the
aquifer has lost about one

and a half times the
volume of Lake Mead.

That's a huge amount of water.

>> How much is left
in the aquifer?

>> Let me see how I
can sugarcoat this.

You know, I ran some back of
the envelop numbers looking

at how long it would take
at those pumping rates

for the aquifer to be depleted.

And I got a number between
say, 60 and 100 years.

So at the low end, 60
years, that's frightening.

I think California
is in trouble.

The combination of
climate change growth

and groundwater depletion
spells a train wreck.

>> Well, if you had to pick
one place in the United States,

it's really right
in the crosshairs,

it's got to be Southern
California.

What would happen if we
suddenly didn't have the water?

That's when people will
finally say, "Oh my god,

we have a water problem.

Build new dams, do
this, do that."

Too late.

>> We need to start planning
for the future and it's a future

in which we're not going to have
a huge snow pack in the Sierras

or the Rocky Mountains.

It's just -- it's not
going to be there.

>> If you told your parents that
by the end of the 21st century,

there would be no
snow in California,

do you think they'd believe you?

This is the future.

Okay, this is the water --

>> They'll see it happen.

They'll experience it.

That's a very difficult
thing for people to grasp.

It's been like watching
a Polaroid develop truly.

It's like an, "oh my god
moment" and you realize,

I can't believe this
is happening and I need

to tell somebody about it.

California faces a water crisis
of potentially epic proportions.

You know, how we respond today
will define who we are tomorrow.

>> Need additional storage.

I mean, they've built
reservoirs for a reason.

Shasta, Hoover.

>> You owe the bank
and the county taxes.

You're going to try to
farm as much as you can.

>> They're not going
to make more water.

The only solution to this
thing is conservation.

>> I agree.

We should look into
conservation,

but that's not going to
yield or have any effect

on our groundwater shortage.

>> I didn't want
to give into this.

But your arguments
about conservation

and efficiency are just wrong.

And if you're right,
the conservation

and efficiency isn't
going to get us anything.

And if I'm right, there's not
a lot of new supply out there.

Then what are we left with?

Take land out of production,

I don't know anyone
who wants that.

>> Your arguments just
don't make any sense.

You have to live in the valley,

you have to understand the
management of water here.

>> Well, that's a
bad management.

And you're one of the managers.

I'm sorry.

>> What I'm telling you
is 1.2

>> That whole system --

>> And they wanted to
make clearly the statement

that we do face a crisis
now of epic proportions.

And I said that.

And I'm not sure that
it really resonated

which to me is a
little startling.

>> Whether we talk
about water --

>> We need a plan and
we don't have one.

And it is complex.

We're screwed, yeah.

>> Australia is much like
California in many ways.

It has a very large agricultural
community that uses most

of the water that
humans in Australia use.

The one thing that
Australia has had

that California has not
had is nearly a decade

of incredibly severe drought.

>> We're seeing it
as a whole host

of bizarre problems
that are cropping up.

>> Australians in Sydney
woke up this morning

to find the skies glowing red.

>> The inland parts are so dry.

It picked up vast
quantities of topsoil.

>> There is a plague ravaging
the Australian outback.

Drought is driving the
animals into towns.

>> Crews in Australia battling
the deadliest wildfires

in the country's
history right now.

>> The California of tomorrow
was the Australia of today.

They're having to dramatically

and radically rethink
agriculture.

>> There was actually
nothing that grew.

You put the crop in, and
you had nothing but dust.

I was at a guy's house once,

the stock was the worst
they've ever seen.

In my opinion, some of
these cattle might have

to be put down.

How would you cope with that?

He said, he will kill himself.

He told me straight
out, "I'll kill myself."

>> I go to farms in
a couple of shires

and ask them how they're going.

Well over here where
are you going today,

they haven't hit any water
allocation for five years.

>> So we'll have to
buy in a lot of food

because we can't grow it
ourselves with no water.

So the milk price doesn't
cover the cost of production.

>> You must have had enormous
stress on your families

and yourself going through
all this

with no water and --

>> That's an understatement.

>> That would be
an understatement.

>> Yeah. That's an
understatement.

>> It's our cows.

They're my babies.

There is no future here because
of the control of the water.

They are taking it
away from the farmers.

>> When you go to
two or three houses

and you hear the same story
about stress, anxiety, debt.

>> I would never know
what I was coming home to.

>> You had a fear of that?

>> Yeah, absolutely.

Be wondering about
it the whole time.

>> Yeah.

>> I'd better just make
sure he was still alive

and that sort of thing.

>> Yeah. In the area
that I work,

there has been eight people
that have taken their own life.

One was fairly recent where
I've done all the referrals

that I could and he had his
medication, there's nothing

that I know or that anybody
that I work with could have put

in place more than what it was.

And he took his own
life last September.

And the way that I
cope with that is

through my family and my horses.

All day I
face the barren waste

without the taste of water.

Cool clear water.

>> Here's the burning question,
do you believe what's going

on in the last few
years is climate change?

>> Look. I think the climate
has constantly changed.

I don't think there's been any
short-term thing that's made

a difference.

>> Personal opinion, climates
change all the time don't they,

Ivan?

>> We're hoping that's a
severely dry cycle in Australia

and not climate change,
because if it is climate change,

this part of Australia
is in deep shit.

>> In the scientific
community, we're starting

to think it's not drought, it's
really part of climate change.

Australia is way past
what many people consider

to be the carrying
capacity in terms

of how much water there is.

They're way past it.

>> We're having an
auction which we're selling

around about 170 head of
their cows that's starting

to wind the farm down.

>> We're seeing good friends
go through the same issues.

So we know what -- got
a bit of an inkling

of what we're headed for.

>> What would be the hardest
thing for you two to see today?

>> I suppose a farm with no
black and white cows on it.

Anyway --

>> All day
I face a barren waste

without the taste of water.

Cool, water.

Old Dan and I, with
throats burnt dry

and souls that cry for water.

Cool, clear water.

>> The whole nature of the
water cycle is changing driven

by changing climate.

In our new study, we found that
the water cycle is intensified.

That truly means a
much more stormy future

in many parts of the world.

And then other regions will
have more extreme droughts.

These are first of
their kind observations.

There have been many
studies that suggested

that this may be
happening in the future

and our research has shown this
is actually happening right now.

Will the water cycle
spin out of control?

It's hard in the United
States to fathom the scope

of the potential change.

And the scope is huge.

>> These current
findings as this is going

to get people's attention.

>> I don't think so.

We think that we have this
right to use as much water

as we can get our hands on.

There aren't many things
that my neighbors do

that drive me crazy.

And one of the biggest is
over-watering the yard.

In arid and sub-arid regions,
watering the lawn may account

for 50 to 75 percent
of household water use.

We're talking about three times
the volume of Lake Mead just

to water the grass every year.

>> The biggest mistake
in thinking

about water has always
been thinking about it

as disconnected from
everything else.

>> There are hidden
costs of water

in almost every product we use.

>> In most households,
the single largest user

of water is the toilet.

Now, this is a high
efficiency toilet.

It uses 1.2 gallons
every time you flush it.

There I've just wasted
1.2 gallons.

The toilets in many people's
homes still use 6 gallons.

That's 6 billion
gallons a day that we use merely

to flush away human waste.

>> The plan itself
is an amazing process

where you can actually take
dirty, filthy, disgusting water

and make it clean so it's
fishable and swimmable

in the area around New York.

Understanding waste
water is just one step

in understanding everything
about your environment.

>> All this is like
pretty Egyptian technology.

This is just the wheel
moving up and down

with a simple rake embedding
the tides in between the spaces

and clearing the debris away.

The debris that comes in
is the debris that comes

from our toilets, our
sinks, our bathrooms,

and also from the street.

As emerging things change, they
wind up in the waste stream

that we see it here up until
maybe eight years ago or so,

we very rarely saw a bottled
water, it's very prevalent now,

the spirit of the times.

I'm about to open up one of
the four doors that allow you

to see what goes on here.

You can see the condoms floating
on the top of the surface.

It is what it is.

If 100 pounds of waste product
comes in with all that water,

I have to remove 85 pounds of it

and the 15 pounds remaining
is legally allowed to go

into the receiving water.

>> The treatment sewage is a
very simple biological process

in which we're just
speeding up nature.

There's a lot of talk
nowadays about chemicals coming

in to the systems
and antibiotics

that are coming in
to the systems.

And those things were not --

never meant to be treated

in a domestic waste
water treatment plant.

Right now, they cannot
possibly deal with the myriad

of chemicals that are out there.

>> The traditional pollution
scenario was a large industrial

pipe sticking out of the side
of a factory spewing brown gunk

into the pristine waters

and seeing the fish
and the ducks die.

Then there were a few
astonishing examples

of water pollution.

The Cuyahoga River in Ohio
burst into flames in 1969.

>> It was just so bizarre.

How can water catch fire?

>> This case made
national headlines

and galvanized the
environmental movement.

>> People start pollution.

People can stop it.

>> The net result of
that was the foundation

of the Environmental
Protection Agency,

the signing of the
Clean Water Act

and the Safe Drinking Water
Act in the early '70s.

It was originally
a very strong law.

But times have changed.

Pollution in America
is increasing rather

than decreasing.

In the five years
between 2004 and 2009,

the Clean Water Act was
violated a half a million times.

The old pollution
was a river on fire.

The new pollution is
something you can't even see.

>> Whether it's birth
control pills,

erectile dysfunction
medicines, hormone supplements,

our bodies absorb some of them.

We excrete the rest of the
chemicals, we flush them away,

they go to the treatment plant
and they are not removed.

>> Consider vast Lake Mead.

Tests have found trace
levels of birth control,

steroids, narcotics, and more.

>> The U.S. is the
leading producer

of these new contaminants.

We don't know how harmful
these chemicals are.

And there are more
added all the time.

The EPA approves 1 to
2,000 chemicals a year.

>> The more difficult

and dangerous ones are
industrial contaminants.

These are the chemicals

that were the subject
of Erin Brockovich.

>> Counselors.

>> The scene where -- you know,
so funny to say Ed Masry and I,

but Albert Finney and Julia,
are on one side of the table

and PG&E's defense
attorneys were

on the other and Julia says --

>> "By the way, we
had that water brought

in special for you folks.

It came from a well in Hinkley."

>> Why would you pick up
and knowingly drink a glass

of contaminated water?

You wouldn't.

I just think that said so much.

That was my wakeup
call in Hinkley.

I would see the absence of
wildlife, I would listen

to these people's accounts

of what was happening
to their health.

And I thought, what
is happening here?

What's the common denominator
that is affecting all of this?

And I was like, "Uh, water."

And remember way back when I
began my work out there in 1991

that it was an isolated
incident.

And it is far from
anything isolated.

For 20 years, I'm
down on the ground.

And we've got these communities,

maybe they've noted too
many children with cancer,

the animals that are
dying with tumors

and we don't know what it is,
you ask for their people here

in this room that may
have cancer or leukemias.

>> Can I see a show of hands?

Oh my, can you keep
your hands up?

>> People started
looking around the room

and I'm like, you have cancer.

I didn't know you
have that cancer.

Your child has that cancer?

Well, my child has that cancer.

So that is what's starting
to really rattle me.

>> A developing story out
of Midland this evening,

high profile environmental
activist, Erin Brockovich is

in town tonight with a toxic
contaminated water problem.

>> Concerned residents called in
Brockovich, who was a consultant

for two environmental
law firms to investigate.

>> A year ago, one of the
community members came to me.

Her granddaughter was having
these very strange skin rashes

and sent me a picture of a
swimming pool that was green.

Oh yeah. Definitely greener.

And I was just immediately
-- I'm like, "Uh-oh,

I have a feeling I
know what this is,

the hexavalent chromium."

The reason I had to contact
her is because we went

through our local government.

I bet I wrote over a
thousand letters to all

of our congressmen and
legisla -- everybody.

They've just failed us.

>> I emailed Erin Brockovich

and she emailed me
back in 30 minutes.

I hadn't even seen the
movie Erin Brockovich.

I had never seen it
until after I met Erin,

then I watched the movie.

>> Hexavalent chromium.

It's poisonous.

>> Yeah.

>> Oh my gosh, the biggest
scene was when she's talking

to the lady and she
looks out there

and her kids are
playing in the pool.

>> Ashley, Jenna,
get out of the pool.

>> How come?

>> That's how I felt
when I realized

that I had been putting my
grandkids in toxic water

in that swimming pool.

It was very, very
emotional for me.

My grandkids all said,
"The pool hurts us."

And I didn't even
put it together.

>> Here is Janet
now and --

>> There were very high
numbers of hexavalent chromium.

Higher than anything I've
ever seen in Hinkley.

>> You can't go on city water?

>> Well, if they're telling
us there's no water for us.

>> No water for you.

>> Yeah.

>> And -- just drink
the poisons.

>> "Not my problem."

>> This is part of the 40
million Americans are still

on their own well water.

>> Forty million?

>> Yeah.

>> People just fall
off the grid.

>> One of the big loopholes
in American water law is

for so-called domestic wells.

Many of these are never
tested for chemicals.

>> The state acted
pretty quickly,

they got filtration
systems on there.

But then that's kind
of where it ends.

>> Honestly, when I got
the letter from the state,

I really thought, you know,
it said my water was safe

for drinking so we
haven't really stopped.

I mean, we bathe,
we take showers,

we -- I mean, we have to.

This is where we live.

>> Our tests showed
dangerously high levels

of hexavalent chromium.

That poor guy could
have gone years.

It could have been years
that he'd consume this water.

The chemical concentration
of chromium-6 here

in Midland is the largest
I've ever seen anywhere.

The concentrations
are just extreme.

>> My house is right
here where it's 319.

Right now, we're at 818.

But right here, where Angie
died, it was 1,100 last year.

Angie lives right next
door to ground zero.

She passed away three
weeks ago from lupus

which I've got the
forerunner to lupus now.

>> Are you feeling okay?

>> That's my -- my fear is not
living long enough to take care

of everybody out here and
especially my grandkids.

>> So what their last
resort is some litigation.

How long is that going to take?

Fifteen, 20 years?

>> You know, I just
get so aggravated

because they're not
listening, they're not caring,

and they're not even
trying to find who did it.

>> There was this out
here that you've got --

>> This is the pits.

We believe all the oil field
companies dumped in that pit.

>> Through our investigative
work,

we actually believe
it's a company,

Schlumberger just
up the road here.

>> This particular Schlumberger
facility is the mother ship.

Schlumberger's official
statement is

that they never used
hexavalent chromium

and the EPA's initial report
never identified the source.

Through further investigation,
we will get to the bottom of it.

What makes it so frustrating is
that you can't find out what any

of the chemicals are
that are being deployed

out into the environment
under something referred

to as the Halliburton Loophole.

The Halliburton Loophole
was pushed

through by then Vice
President Cheney.

Cheney exempted all of the
oil and gas fracking companies

from the Safe Drinking
Water Act.

It's insanity.

>> Whoa, it's good to
be in Midland, Texas.

I'm calling to
George W. Bush is thinking

right now,

is the
Texas airspace.

>> Midland, Texas is one of
North America's most aggressive

in oil and gas field
development.

And it is the childhood
home of George Bush.

People don't usually poison
their own neighborhoods.

What's the old saying is, "You
don't shit where you eat."

>> We live about a
block and a half west

of the contaminated area.

Are we really safe?

>> What can we do to
protect ourselves now?

>> Are we still going

to be declared a
Superfund in your opinion?

>> They can come in and
issue you a Superfund status,

but that ain't going
to stop anything.

This agency is broke.

>> They don't have any money?

>> Oh, EPA is broke.

They got nothing.

Nothing. Nothing.

They have 1,200 Superfund sites
now they can't do anything with.

I'm telling you,
Superman is not coming.

>> People still believe
that that arm

of government is
going to come save us.

And the look on their face
even kind of startled me.

>> I wish that I could
come here tonight

and tell you it's
going to be okay.

But that's not what's
going to happen

and I don't want to lie to you.

>> We moved here from Mesa.

I've done hair there for
years and I do hair here.

I have more clients
here with cancer,

I have shaved more heads
here in three years

than I ever did there.

And I'm just concerned about
our own children are waking

up with nosebleeds.

>> I don't think I need
to tell you nor do I want

to scare you how carcinogenic
hexavalent chromium is.

>> You know, when we first saw
the numbers, I have to tell you,

some people I work with,
we looked at each other

and it was -- they're
walking dead.

And at that point for
me, it gets really hard

to be a cheerleader
and always try

to find some hope
in it for them.

>> If you stay together
and you use your voice

and you push back, you
will make some progress.

At least you know the truth.

>> We the community,
we want water.

That's all we want, is
good, potable water.

Something when we turn on the
faucet and we know it's okay

to brush our teeth with it.

>> Some of these
chemicals can take

up to 100 years to get rid of.

And what are we supposed
to do in the interim?

I mean, there's this vast
world underneath our feet

that we don't see.

Out of sight, out of mind, we
don't see it, we don't know

where it goes, and therefore,
we don't pay attention.

>> I've been fascinated
by amphibians

for as long as I can remember.

So as a child, I was
fascinated by metamorphosis,

watching tadpoles
turn into frogs.

Then I ended up at Harvard
where I majored in biology.

And I ended up in a
laboratory there where I focused

on amphibian development.

My work was getting
fairly well-known.

Fork in the road,
should we take it?

Twelve years ago,
I've never heard of atrazine.

Atrazine is an herbicide
or a weed killer.

Until a few years ago,

it was the number one
selling agricultural pesticide

in the world.

I was approached by the
manufacturer to examine whether

or not atrazine was an endocrine
disruptor in amphibians.

The term endocrine
disruptor refers to anything

that would interfere with
the hormone's action.

And we found that the
atrazine-exposed animals weren't

making testosterone properly.

In some cases, the atrazine
makes them make enough estrogen

that they actually
turn into females.

These are two genetic males
that were exposed to atrazine

that actually developed
into females.

So as you can see, the males
are smaller but now genetically,

right, these are all males.

The guy on top is a male,

and that's his brother
that he's on top of.

It's a hard thing to describe.

What does this have
to do with people?

Why do we care?

Frogs and fish which live
in the contaminated water,

they're much more
sensitive as they're going

through these developmental
stages.

On the other hand, a human fetus
is inside an amniotic sac filled

with water, that's going through
critical developmental stages

where hormones are important.

The same estrogen for example
that makes my frogs turn

into hermaphrodites, that
same estrogen is important

in breast cancer.

When people think of science,
you know, they think of CSI.

In field work, you
really have to sort

through all these
potential suspects.

I think there's a line from
a lot of the guys in CSI,

how do you find the answer?

>> Follow the evidence even if
we don't like where it takes us.

>> And that's really what
we're doing is in this case,

following the atrazine.

Atrazine is the most
common pesticide contaminant

of drinking water, groundwater.

And there're a couple of
studies came out showing

that atrazine is
associated with breast cancer

and birth defects in humans.

There's a factory where
Syngenta produces atrazine.

The prostate cancer in their
workers is 8.4 times higher.

The U.S. Geological Survey
says they can detect it

in the rainwater in Minnesota

from when they're
applying it in Kansas.

>> I'm the principle
scientist here

at Syngenta Crop Protection.

On the occasions where
atrazine is found

in water it's extremely low
in the part per billion range.

>> Starting at 0.1
parts per billion,

we started getting
these hermaphrodites.

And that's an incredible
number, 0.1 parts per billion.

The drinking water standard for
atrazine is 3 parts per billion.

That's 30 times higher than we
know is biologically harmful

in amphibians and in fish.

That's an average over the year.

So at that season
when it's applied,

it's going to be
much higher than that

and those data now coming to
light especially in the Midwest

where most of the
atrazine is used.

>> Several Southern Illinois
water districts have joined a

lawsuit against an
herbicide maker.

And they claim the chemical
atrazine is contaminating their

water supply.

>> Water utilities in Illinois,
Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas,

and Iowa are suing
Syngenta to recover the cost

and filtering out atrazine.

>> The company that
makes atrazine,

they're based out
of Switzerland.

That's a funny thing because
atrazine is effectively banned

in Europe.

In Europe, they utilize
something called the

precautionary principle which
says that if there is any data

that suggest that something is
harmful, the manufacturer has

to prove that it's safe
or it's off the market.

So you're guilty
until proven innocent.

In the U.S., it's the opposite,

you're innocent until
proven guilty.

So the company is
charged with proving

that their compound
is bad, otherwise,

it stays on the market.

>> These companies,
they're really the only ones

with the money to pay for
all of the scientific studies

that cost millions and
millions of dollars to do.

More often than not,
industry are self-regulating.

>> The goal here is
to keep your product

on the market as
long as possible.

So if you don't look
for a problem,

you won't find a problem,

and you can continue
selling your product.

There's been some cases

where test results are
thrown away, set aside.

>> You know, I had
lots of friends

who would say, "Well,
be careful."

And I said, "What do I
have to be careful about?"

And I was a bit surprised when
the company, their response was,

"Well, let's make it go away."

And then I sort of thought,
you know, this is not the kind

of person that I want to be
that this is not the sense

of social responsibility
that my parents,

you know, had taught me.

It was Albert Einstein who said,
"Those who have the privilege

to know have the duty to act."

I have actively advocated
for banning atrazine.

And that's two more ovaries.

It's not normal.

There're
multiple sites

where you can sign petitions
to stop the use of atrazine.

>> The pesticide industry,
it's us versus them.

What you do is who's ever
attacking you, you try

and destroy their credibility.

>> They followed me around to
meetings, they disrupt lectures

that I'm giving, they
once filed a false claim

that I was harassing endangered
species with my research,

and I had armed guys
come and take me

out of my classroom
to arrest me.

Atrazine is used on corn.

And corn is our number
one product.

You're not going
to mess with corn.

It's about corn, it's
about the ethanol lobby,

it's the big guys.

The first EPA hearing, I was the
only academic there presenting

data for atrazine that
wasn't paid by Syngenta.

You know, one of the biggest
disillusionments I've had

in this whole thing
is with the EPA.

>> Based on the Toxic Substances
Control Act, since 1976,

EPA has issued regulations

to control only five
existing chemicals determined

to present an unreasonable risk.

That is five out of almost
80,000 existing chemicals.

A 2005 study found 287
different chemicals

in the cord blood of
10 newborn babies.

Our kids are getting
steady infusions

of industrial chemicals before
we even give them solid food.

I have one simple message
and that is that EPA is back

on the job for the
American people

to protect human --

>> We got a new head of EPA.

And one of the first things
he announced was, "We're going

to reopen up this
atrazine thing."

>> The EPA examined
well over 6000 studies

and they reregistered
atrazine in 2006.

So we really don't
think this is necessary.

>> Atrazine is the poster
child for what needs to be done

to reorganize how the
EPA evaluates the safety

of chemicals.

>> I've recently been joined by
39 scientists from 12 countries.

That data is stacking
up, and I would suggest

that it's time for action.

>> You're talking about two

and a half billion dollar
to growers

who ultimately pays the price

for higher cost that
growers have.

>> There are times when I
just think, "Geez I'm tired."

It's going to be interesting
to see how the EPA responds

to this last set of reviews.

I'm hopeful and I would
like to be optimistic.

But it's a tough call.

>> This new EPA?

Is there a new --
Is there a new EPA?

I don't see a new agency.

I wish them luck because
they've got a hell

of a task in front of them.

And they're understaffed,

they are overburdened,
and they're broke.

There's many highly
qualified awesome human beings

within these agencies that
want to do the right things.

But their hands are tied.

>> If EPA has adequate data
and wants to protect the public

against known risk, the
law creates obstacles

to quick and effective action.

>> We have to stop looking
to them for the answers

because I don't know
that they have them.

>> Hinkley, California.

After the worldwide attention
that came with a Hollywood film,

people who live here thought

that their problems would
have ended a long time ago.

It turns out those toxic
chemicals have been spreading

over time.

>> I feel like Groundhog's Day.

This huge giant utility company.

You're still not
telling the truth.

You're still poisoning people,
what do you want me to say?

They're pathetic.

You set a standard there's
no one around to enforce it.

You can just get
away with murder.

>> We've got to shake ourselves
out of this false sense

of security and we're
all going to go have

to roll our sleeves up.

>> I'm a family farmer,
grandmother, mother, wife,

water sentinel for the
Michigan Sierra Club.

Most people have the bucolic
vision of a small world farm.

When the CAFOs came in,

we've seen a deterioration
of the communities.

>> CAFO stands for Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operation.

It's generally defined as
a large, industrial farm

that has 700 or more cows.

Where so much manure is produced
that the only way for them

to get rid of it is to store
it in giant lagoons then

to spread it on fields
in a liquid form.

>> Within a 10-mile radius
here, we have over 60 lagoons

that hold over 400
million gallons of waste.

>> Mama, get you plate?

What do you want?

>> We're really concerned about
health issues with as young

as our granddaughter is.

>> My granddaughter could
never play in the creeks

and the streams because
of what was happening.

I'm just a country girl
and I've taught myself

to do water sampling.

You have your
antibiotics that they give

to the animals, growth
hormones, chemicals.

And now, you've got
a toxic waste

that they're spreading
untreated on land.

We have some bad stuff here.

>> Yeah, we sure do.

>> I have lots of names.

The white haired
witch, the pooper razzi,

shit huggers, a lot I can't say.

The.

>> Yes, they there are.

>> Here they come.

They're
to the illegal lagoon.

He's dumping right now.

Look at him shoot it out.

>> In
Michigan, a lot of the problems

that we've had deal
with the CAFOs

that have dairy cows at them.

And the reason for that is
just simply the amount of waste

that the cow generates, 150
pounds of manure every day.

>> One cow would equal 23 humans
for the same amount of waste.

>> So, when you're talking about
a dairy that has 5 or 6000 cows

on it, you're really talking the
amount of waste being produced

in a day that a fairly large
site city would be producing.

>> You know, it reminds
you of the Jim Carrey movie

where you want to say, "Stop
breaking the law, asshole."

>> She's
someone that, you know,

everyone in our department
knows quite well.

And I mean, she's
often the first one

out there with a camera.

We just
can't be out here every day,

we don't have the
resources to do it.

>> Okay, so the first we're
passing is.

I have never seen them
that full, unbelievable.

>> You can see where the
dead trees are in the corner.

With that overflow into the
corner; the lagoon is leaking.

>> Her work has come directly

to the table based
on what we've gotten.

We have reason to
deny this permit now.

>> The emissions
coming of, it's putrid.

I have lost a third of my
lung capacity from my work.

>> Once the damage has occurred,

there isn't anything
that's going to restore you

to a normal state of health.

So, I think avoidance
is the key.

>> Okay.

>> The illness is
associated with the bacteria

from CAFOs can be deadly.

Ecoli 0157, there is no
medical treatment for that.

>> We've seen readings
as high as seven

and a half million Ecoli.

>> When people think, "Well,
it's just one stream, you know,

it's not that big of a deal."

All of the waterways in Michigan
are connected in one way

or another through surface
waters or through ground water.

It's really all one
big lake in a sense.

>> Well, it's a different
kind of trouble for the waters

of Lake Erie right now, algae.

>> Some blooms may be in
the city's drinking water.

>> The EPA is warning people

to limit their contact
with the water.

But those warnings didn't seem

to worry many people
at the beach today.

>> It's only a matter of time
before we have a catastrophe

because of all of the runoff

that is going in
to our waterways.

>> A lot of people have
gotten so frustrated.

They've moved.

They've sold.

They've given up.

>> One they had seen
me out monitoring,

I started getting
harassment and intimidation.

Dead animals left in my mailbox,
on my front porch and my car.

The most recent was my
two-year-old granddaughter's

bedroom window was shot out.

She was sleeping in her
bed when it happened.

If you're going to be a
cowardly enough to hurt a child,

then we really need to look
at this issue much harder

because people are at risk.

Watch your step.

We try and get on site and off
the site within two minutes.

>> You're McGyver.

>> Here.

>> The McGyver of water testing.

>> We're just middle-aged
women that, you know,

sensible shoes are not
the answer no more.

It's not bad,
it's pretty warm.

>> It isn't too bad, is it?

>> The water is cold.

>> It's warm.

>> It's not one lake
that's contaminated,

it's 30, it's 300, it's 3000.

Every single state has emailed
me with some sort of problem.

25,000 inquiries in
a month to the point

where I've actually
started to create a map.

And what's scaring us is we
still have 700 more entries

to imput.

So, we're able to start
connecting those dots

to get some kind
of -- there's just

so many accounts
of contamination.

>> You got a fish kill
here on the Neuse River.

We've lost over a billion fish.

Today, we're burying them on
the beach with bulldozers.

>> We would take a glass
of water out of the tap,

smell like diesel fuel.

My life is over without
my water.

>> Six of our neighbors within a
10-house span have brain tumors

and half of them died.

It was like, "Oh my
gosh, it's in the water.

We got to get the kids
out of here, you know,

we've got to do something."

>> So, all of a sudden, it's
like, "I can't just talk to you

about Hinkley,"because"Oh, it
makes me think of what's going

on in Arizona, and Alabama,
and Washington, and Texas,"

because it's happening
everywhere.

So, I just feel like this
is my contribution to take

in the information and
doing something with it.

In hopes that I can get it
somewhere or a message out

and do something about it.

>> You're reading too many times

and then you just
start getting antsy.

>> Okay. I am antsy.

>> You'll be fine.

So, what do you think after
all these years and six --

>> Are you going to make some
comment about me being 50 again?

>> Yeah, there you go.

You are an old hag.

You've been hanging
around Hinkley too much.

I think chromium-6
causes wrinkles.

>> You're such an ass.

You know what, Bob,
I could still kick your ass.

>> Absolutely.

>> These communities
are sending out an SOS.

Yet the system for
investigating, responding

and reporting these
concerns is inadequate.

>> Could I -- could
somebody hold up that map?

It's unbelievable to me
that they would call you,

rather than call
the EPA or the NIH.

>> These people have said,

"We just don't know
where else to go."

>> It's a daunting process.

But just burying your head

in the sand isn't
little work anymore.

And for everybody else who's
not out there, Mr. Policymaker,

you better come out
here and take a look

at what's really going on.

So, don't get lost
in your bubble.

Don't get stuck up there in
your ivory tower and think

that the world out
here doesn't exist

around you because it does.

And it's happening.

So, see now you pissed me off.

Everywhere I go,
it's a huge question.

What am I supposed to drink?

We can't survive on Diet Coke.

>> When I'm in New York, I
typically drink bottled water.

>> I try to buy bottled water
because it just tastes cleaner.

>> I have some friends who
only drink bottled water.

They keep it in their fridge.

They would never
touch tap water.

They think it's disgusting.

>> When I was growing
up in New York City,

we never drank bottled water.

There was no bottled water.

Today, the United States
is the largest consumer

of bottled water in the world.

We're just increasingly fearful
of what comes out of our tap.

That's a problem.

But the solution is not
to drink bottled water.

>> I'd say bottled water
is probably regulated more

frequently just because
they have to sell it.

And so, obviously it has to
go through a ton of tests.

>> Bottled water's
regulated not by the U.S. EPA

which regulates our tap water.

But it's regulated as a
food product by the Food

and Drug Administration.

The testing is done

by the bottled water
companies themselves,

it's not as frequent.

I had to file some Freedom
of Information Act request

and it turns out there have
been more than a hundred cases

of bottled water recalls
that we know about for things

like Coliform bacteria,
sanitizer, mold,

glass particles,
crickets or cricket parts.

There's been just an
incredible marketing campaign

that convinces us that buying
bottled water is a smart

and rational thing to do rather
than an act of irrationality.

You buy Arctic Spring water and
it turns out it doesn't come

from anywhere near the Arctic.

Forty five percent
of the water sold

in the U.S. originates
as tap water.

We built an incredible tap
water system in this country and

yet we've forgotten
what it used to be like.

In New York City,
tens of thousands

of people were dying wave
after wave of cholera.

We got rid of water-related
diseases

when the U.S. built a high
quality municipal water system.

If we were to abandon that
system, what's the rest

of the world going to do?

They're going to
think, "All right, well,

we'll just make bottled
water too.

And the poorest people
are going to end

up drinking contaminated water."

>> There's water
in the new stadium

in concession stand coolers
stacked against the wall,

but on the walls outside
the restrooms, none.

Under 2001 Code, bottled
water can take the place

of drinking fountains,

that's what you UCF
will do on Saturday.

>> Their first game
was a hot day.

They ran out of bottled water
halfway through the game.

>> A dozen and a half
taken to the hospital.

UCS new football stadium
ran out of drinking water.

>> It's a way to
convert a public resource

into a private good
and a commodity.

The answer has got to be high
quality safe water for everyone.

There are billion people without
access to safe drinking water.

One of the most poignant images
is the woman lugging very heavy

bottles of water
back to their homes.

While here in the United States,

we have suburban shoppers
lugging cases of water back

to a home that has
perfectly potable water in it.

There are a lot of old
decaying pipes out there,

we need to upgrade the entire
infrastructure and get rid

of the new contaminants
that we're finding.

And in the end, what we
spend would be far less

than what we would spend
to buy bottled water.

The question is how can
we regain public trust

in our water system?

>> This is a brand
new bottle of water.

I'm going to open the
seal, and I'm going

to pour it into this glass.

Now, can I have our next course?

Now, what we have here
is two cockroaches.

I'm going to take one of them.

And I'm going to
put it in the water

and take it out, just like that.

Flick, flick.

Now, how about a
sip of this water?

You don't want it.

Nobody will drink this water.

They say, "It's a cockroach,
you cockroached the water."

Somehow, cockroachness
has entered into the water

and that's the point,
that's contagion.

I study disgust.

There's a veneer of fear.

Fear is an easy account
for why you're disgusted,

but often it's not that.

It's much deeper.

And this is a plastic cockroach.

Now, how would you like
to drink this water?

You don't want to see that
this isn't a real cockroach,

it's just a piece of rubber.

Disgust is never
really rational.

The problem is a mental problem

and this thinking can be
applied to recycled water.

The
simplest way to get water is

to take the water you've
just used and make it

into usable water again,
that's recycled water.

Recycled water is
generally thought

to be the solution
to water shortage.

It's safe, it's efficient,
it's ecologically sound,

it makes total sense
but it's offensive.

Now, Singapore has handled
this problem rather well.

>> We are just a little island
but very densely populated.

In Singapore, no raw sewage

or used water go
south into the sea.

Because we recycle it,
producing a product

that we call "New Water".

We don't even use the term
sewage, we just tell them,

you know, "It's used water."

The concern of course was
how would people respond.

And so, we explain the
technology behind your water

with reverse osmosis.

What you get is practically
just new water.

In solving our water problems,

I think we have turned what
has been a vulnerability if you

like into a strength
for Singapore.

Thirty percent of Singapore's
water supply will come

from new water.

>> Ironically, recycled water
can be the cleanest water

out there.

Every highly stressed city ought

to be considering
using recycled water.

>> How about a cold glass
of recycled sewer water.

Sounds pretty disgusting,
doesn't it?

>> Other California cities
are also looking into the idea

that they are wary of the
public reacting, "Yuck!"

>> We got involved, we
talked to the people

who run the recycled
water facilities.

The problem wasn't making
the water pure, it is pure.

The problem was convincing
people to drink it.

>> Out of stormy public hearing,
many citizens blasted the plan.

>> Don't ever let this
happen to the public.

>> Cities have struggled to
introduce recycled water.

They couldn't get
past the yuck factor.

>> The principle of
contagion is that once

in contact always in contact.

In the case of recycled water,

the image of its origin
is just too clear.

>> We live by necessity
in the contaminated world.

We face disgusting
contamination all the time.

We just get through life
like with a lot of things

by basically not
thinking about it.

All water comes from sewage but
the point is you don't think

about it when you turn your tap.

>> You can see Nicole
is demonstrating a --

on the inside is the
urine tunnel that's used

in the stations over there.

>> Astronauts recycle water.

They're drinking
the processed urine

of not just themselves
but other people.

It's a potential
universe of disgust.

>> Of course, that's something

that every shuttle crew member
wants to see if it's really

as good as they say it is.

>> Probably by the end
of a week of a mission,

they're not even
thinking about it.

>> Here's a toast to everybody
drinking the recycled urine.

>> There's a general principles

in psychology called
mere exposure.

If you're exposed to
something that's not negative,

you tend to get to like it.

So, part of the problem
is getting recycled water

into people.

Bottled water has a positive
image, safety and purity.

Ironically, people
might be willing to pay

for recycled water but not
to drink it from the tap.

What a crazy idea that
is, but it might be true.

The guys who sold bottled water
to Americans should be working

on selling recycled
water to Americans.

>> So Paul, we've been tasked

with creating a marketing
campaign

to help introduce the idea
of reclaimed water to people.

How do we sort of overcome
the physical rejection

that people might
have over trying

to drink something like this?

>> I think we -- when
we do these researches,

we use Hitler's sweater,
would you be willing

to wear Hitler's sweater, okay?

And for most

people, even after you
clean it and wash it,

and changed the color
into anything you want,

they still don't
want to wear it.

The only way we can
possibly get people to wear

Hitler's sweater is to
actually put it on Mother Teresa

or Michael Jordan, or
whoever your hero is.

So that their spirit enters
and conquers Hitler's spirit.

>> So, if someone finds
something disgusting,

it is possible for them
to change their mind

on something like that?

>> Yes, we all do that.

People go into public
toilets and they survive!

Everyone is managing.

By the way, there's a new
book just written on this

by Peter Gleick, G-L-E-I-C-K.

>> Morning.

>> Morning.

>> Good morning.

>> I'm Peter Gleick.

There's so much money to
be made in bottled water.

Money that municipal agencies
don't have for advertising,

it's not a fair fight.

>> This one is I Am
Lucky, eternally pure,

no nasty side effects like
stinky breath or rotten teeth.

>> I always worry
about that with water.

>> How hard is this
particular challenge?

>> The idea of raw sewage
going in tap

and literally being able to
drink it convincing consumers

of that I think is
almost impossible.

So I can kick this off with one
of my favorite names on the wall

and has to be Porcelain Springs.

And Porcelain has certain
connotations that, you know,

white, you know, clean.

>> It doesn't attempt
to talk very directly

about getting over disgust.

There is, get over it,
because it just looks

like something you'd
find at IKEA.

It really
does though.

I mean, that's -- if I were --

>> Where's the?

>> We got 80 more names.

There better be
a winner in there somewhere.

So we go with.

That's the sense
we were going with.

>> So when we last met, we
narrowed it down to six names

that we thought were successful,
started with Porcelain Springs.

>> Water from the most
peaceful place on earth.

This bottle
contains purified sewage water

and you get that.

>> Future Water, so the
choice you have to make is

to drink the solution
or ignore the problem.

>> Celebrity endorsement or
you could try to get someone

who has already got a
reputation that's relevant just

like Al -- let's say Al Gore.

On the other hand, it might be
Newt Gingrich who doesn't have

that reputation, a person
who's universally respected

could help.

>> Hey, sorry I'm late.

>> Don't worry about it.

>> We're going to save
the fucking world, right?

>> Jack, we're so
excited you've agreed

to be the face of
Porcelain Springs.

>> I can't wait to
taste this stuff.

>> I was like, "Jack
is going to love this."

They're literally straining
the poop juice right

out of the water
that you and I drink.

>> Okay, quiet out here.

Whenever you want to, Jack.

>> Yeah, it's just
a mental thing.

Yeah.

>> Yeah!

Woo!

>> It really tastes good.

>> This is someone I
think I'd like to trust.

>> He's my man.

I would be drinking
whatever he's drinking.

>> So Porcelain Springs,

it's water from the most
peaceful place on earth.

>> The river.

>> Where is the Porcelain
Springs?

>> It's French.

>> Get?

>> Get over it.

>> Get over it, okay, got it.

>> Porcelain -- oh, Porcelain
Springs, we're idiots.

>> This bottle contains
purified sewage water.

>> Sewage water?

>> Yuck.

>> Awesome.

>> This is a little scary to me.

>> We're recycling water.

>> Tell me, that sounds great.

>> That's good.

>> The sewage water?

Oh.

Can I taste it?

>> So, will you drink it?

>> Yeah, no.

>> I'd do anything once
because I'm curious.

>> This better be okay.

>> The more you see that
something is widely done,

the more acceptable it becomes.

>> Taste good?

>> Taste great.

>> Taste like tap water.

>> Cleaner than tap water.

>> Purified sewage water
is actually really good.

>> I might get over it.

>> Even though the majority
of people might accept it,

some people might not.

>> No chance that I'm going to
drink sewage water whatsoever.

>> Disgusting.

>> I want to pour it out
right here, maybe on you.

>> If we need to recycle sewage
water, that must mean we're

in some sort of shortage
that I'm not aware of.

>> To be completely honest this
whole issue just doesn't seem

like one that's that
important to me right now.

>> When I do that map
of -- from outer space,

there's a lot of water.

>> Oh.

>> People think that the
problem is merely drought

and that once the
drought is over,

we can go back to
business as usual.

It's the hydro-illogical cycle.

We humans have an infinite
capacity to deny reality,

to think that there's some
oasis out there somewhere

that we can go to
get more water.

Tow an iceberg from the
Arctic or divert a river

from British Columbia.

>> NASA said, today,
a significant source

of water was found when it
deliberately crushed a rocket

into the lunar surface
last month.

>> We could get moon water,
just think about that.

I mean, nobody has
touched this stuff.

Moon water would be, mwah.

>> I'm sure they can
treat the ocean water.

>> The de-saltation
of the ocean.

>> Of all the things
that people ask me about,

the most common thing
is desalination.

>> Two-thirds of the earth is
covered by water and it seems

like that's the obvious
solution.

>> Desalination is the
most expensive source

of water we have, at leaves
behind it a concentrated brine.

It's not quite like spent
nuclear fuel but it's close.

>> Because it's so
energy-intensive,

it produces huge quantities
of greenhouse gases.

>> There are more than
14,000 desalination plants

around the world.

>> The idea that
desalination is going

to solve all our
problems is a myth.

There's no reason to
build desalination

if you haven't done
the conservation

and efficiency that's cheaper.

Let's wash our clothes
with efficient fixtures.

Let's think about how
to do what we want

as efficiently as possible.

There's enormous potential

to do much more especially
in agriculture.

We could grow as much
food as we're growing now

with a lot less water.

>> Conservation is important

but is this crisis something
we can conserve our way out of?

>> That's a deep -- so that's
a deep thought question.

So let me give it 10
seconds of deep thought

because I've thought about it
-- I've thought about it myself

and you know, I think
the answer is no.

We have to couple the water
picture that we see now

with population growth,
when there's more people

and there's no more water
coming from the Sierras

and the Colorado River Basin.

What exactly are we going to do?

>> Right now, we're hovering
under 7 billion people

and there's about 211,000
more people added every day.

That's the size of the city

where I'm from, Irvine,
California.

Imagine a new Irvine popping
up on the map every day?

Project that out
10 years, 20 years.

Where is that water
going to come from?

It is not just the Sierras
that are losing snow pack,

it's the Rocky Mountains, it's
the Alps, it's the Himalayas.

What will happen to the 2
billion people that live

in that region when their
waster source disappears?

>> An infinitely growing
population cannot be satisfied

with a finite amount of
water on this planet.

I do worry that we're
going to see more

and more conflict over water.

>> One person has been killed

in the beach battle
over water in Mumbai.

>> The government here has
recorded 5,000 water conflicts

in this one province,

50 are serious enough
to end in violence.

>> In Brazil, tension
turned to violence

to protest the multibillion
dollar dam.

>> These water tensions
could lead to a water war

in the Middle East,
a doomsday scenario.

>> When I first got involved
academically in water resources,

people were generally
talking about water wars.

There's no question that water
causes potential disputes all

over the world.

>> Islamabad blames New Delhi of
stealing its water leading many

to force the fourth war
between two countries.

>> When we say there's
going to be war,

now I want to know
what the evidence is.

We did a study where we
actually looked at all

of the documented
disputes over 50 years,

there were actually 1800,

of those two-thirds
are cooperative,

very little actual violence and
no wars in the last 50 years.

>> I was absolutely surprised.

I was kind of seduced by
the water war's argument.

It was very exciting.

I mean, well, I'm involved in an
issue that leads people to war.

Well, no, but I'm involved in
an issue that brings people

in the room to talk about peace.

Everywhere, at all
scales, water is brought,

people you wouldn't think to
would be in the same room,

into the same room to think
about their shared futures.

>> We look around the United
States when we see competition

between ranchers
and endangered fish.

We need to be looking to
our friends around the world

for how they've coped with
crisis that are orders

of magnitude worse than ours.

>> Even during war, water
committees used to meet.

>> Throughout The Intifada.

>> Okay. Then throughout
The Intifada and even

between the Jordanians
and Israelis before.

So --

>> Before the Peace Treaty.

>> It's not that, you know,
if there's a conflict,

there must be war over water,

but you will see it
the other way around.

People meeting secretly to
really solve their differences.

>> Friends of the Earth Middle
East is the only regional

organization, very
sadly, that exists.

There is no other organization
that brings together Israelis,

Palestinians, Jordanians as
one organization in any field.

>> You will always have problems
when you are living in a castle

and your neighbor
is in a cottage.

When the Israelis enjoy
waters 24/7, in Jordan,

it's one day per week, and in
Palestine, they'll be lucky

if they get it one day per week.

>> You cannot stop a bird from
flying across a certain border.

You cannot stop water to flow,
you know, across borders.

>> The demise of the Jordan
River is very much connected

to the conflict.

Only 2 percent of the
historical flow is left

in the so-called mighty Jordan.

>> How
deep is that river?

How deep is that river?

I don't want to know
where it's coming from.

I don't need to know
where it's going to.

Before I place my trust in you,
I just want to know, how deep?

>> Christians say Jesus
was baptized in that river.

The Jewish, they looked upon the
promise land across the river.

The Muslims, so many

of the Prophet Muhammad
companions are buried

by the banks of the river.

Every single heavenly
religion talked about water.

>> I don't
need to know if it's safe

to swim before I
put my trust in Him.

I just want to know, how deep?

>> Half of these people
I baptized at Lake Mead

and they've traveled from Las
Vegas all the way over here.

It's just magnificent.

>> It is holy water.

I was baptized as a baby
but that was just a symbol.

This is real.

>> Yardenit was created
because it's the only site left

where there is real
fresh water flowing

in that three kilometer
stretch of the Jordan River.

The legend tells us that the
real baptism of Christ is here.

Here, there has been pollution
released from hundreds

of thousands of residents,
Palestinian, Jordanian,

and Israeli that
live along its banks.

>> I wouldn't go into this
water knowing what we know.

It's really unbelievable
what we have done

to a river holy to
half of humanity.

What we
see here is the raw sewage

of some 50,000 Israeli
residents around the Sea

of Galilee dumped here.

>> They're people, especially,
they're really just a Christian.

They don't know that
this is the water

that goes to the baptism site.

Imagine then if the people knew.

>> On water, we must cooperate.

It's not an issue of doing
a favor to the other side.

It's an issue of
self-interest and the fact

that the water resources is
shared makes it mutual interest.

>> Let's go, let's go.

Okay.

>> We've been able to call out
to our decision makers to speak

in our respective parliaments
that this is unacceptable.

>> There're certain issues that
cannot wait for the politicians

to solve their differences
and then look

at the water situation.

>> By the end of next year,

there will be no raw sewage
emitted from the Israeli side.

>> Next, we still need to
continue pushing the Jordanian

and the Palestinian authority
to further build sewage systems.

This is the -- just
the beginning.

>> Being in the Middle East,
if you are not optimistic,

you will have a heart attack.

>> Know
how to cross it yet.

Before I get my spirit wet,
I just want to know how deep.

>> The worst case scenario
basin is the Jordan Basin.

If the Jordan can work out their
water crisis in the absence

of violence, certainly,
California can.

Certainly, other basins
around the world can.

>> I don't want to
know if it's yours or mine,

I just want to know how deep.

>> There's no doubt
that humanity is capable

of screwing things up.

There's also no doubt in
my mind that we're capable

of fixing things when
what we're screwing

up is really important to us.

The more we know, the
more likely we are

to do the right things.

And in the end, we -- you do
what you can and you trust

in the ability of
people to learn.

>> Porcelain Springs, water

from the most peaceful
place on earth.

>> It's going to be about
Western survival and we'll want

to fight but we can't.

We can't afford that war.

>> It is not clear to me that
we can reverse this situation.

But we certainly are not going
to be reversing climate change.

We can take steps to ensure

that there's a sustainable
water supply

over a much longer
period of time.

It's not a solvable problem but
it's truly a manageable problem.

But we need to start
addressing it now.

>> I tell people all the time,

I'm still a little
boy who likes frogs.

We're losing species faster
than we ever have before.

We think that we're
here forever,

but all species go extinct.

But that doesn't mean we have
to speed along and continue

on track the way
that we are doing.

>> This isn't going to
be resolved tomorrow.

It's just not.

But, look what you have done.

The EPA, they are going
to finally set a standard

for hexavalent chromium
in drinking water.

So, we've made some progress.

>> I got a phone call, a
lady on the other end says,

"Congratulations Lynn,
you've been chosen to --

for the Goldman Prize,"
and I was kind of,

"Yeah, right," you know?

So, I looked it up and I'm
like, "Wow, they do exist!"

I mean I've been on a plane
once in my life and it was

like being Dorothy
on the Wizard of Oz.

When I went to reach to shake
his hand, he says, "Hi Lynn."

>> Did you kiss the President?

>> He kissed me.

>> I wonder how many of
these people when we started

out 10 years ago said we're
just wasting our time.

I wonder what they're
thinking now.

>> My two-year-old
granddaughter deserves

to grow up in a clean world.

I hope you'll join
me at our fight.

>> When you see it all at once,
that becomes the eye opener.

There's a common agenda for
all of us, for every walk

of life and that's water.

We might find ourselves
in a pivotal moment here

where we can do the right thing.

I always felt hopeful
that things work

out where everything
converges at once.

Maybe that moment
is happening now.

>> Time, reverse
and rewind, erase and revise,

and try to start again.

You, don't you turn this around.

I have not touched the ground
in I don't know how long.

You say to

walk it back,

walk it back,

walk it back.

Time,

time,

time, it cannot abide.

You,

you can't turn away,

you've asked me to stay

but something needs to change.

Why can't you?

Walk it back.

Walk it back.

Walk it back.

Time,

reverse and rewind,

erase and revise,

and try to start again.

You,

don't you turn this around.

I have not touched the ground
in I don't know how long.

You say to

walk it back,

walk it back,

walk it back.