Will We Run Out of Groundwater?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 June 2018
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Some of the biggest reserves of freshwater are right under our feet and they're really important for farming as well as providing us with water to drink. However, in some areas of the world, groundwater is being slurped up quicker than it can be replenished. In fact, about 1.7 billion people live in regions where groundwater is under stress, 60% of them in India and China. This figure is set to rise as the climate changes and as the population grows.
CrowdScience listener Waheed from Afghanistan wants to know if we will run out of groundwater and what the repercussions might be. Marnie Chesterton trots around the globe to find out, starting with a row on the River Thames before hearing from Afghanistan to understand what’s happening where Waheed lives. She learns of what has happened to London, Mexico and Malta when they over pumped their aquifers. Finally, Marnie looks to Bangalore where the population is booming to understand how they’re coping with increasing demands on water.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Graihagh Jackson
(Image: Children holding their hands up - asking for drinking water. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. You're listening to crowd science from the BBC World Service. I'm Marnie Chesterton. |
| 0:41.0 | This is the show that takes your listener questions about anything, life, earth, the |
| 0:45.7 | universe and aims to answer them, which is why we've all come to the banks of the River Thames |
| 0:51.9 | for a little row around. |
| 0:54.0 | How good? |
| 0:55.0 | I try not to crash into boats. |
| 1:00.0 | And the reason we're doing this mainly because it's fun but partly |
| 1:07.1 | because we've had this listener question from Waheed in Afghanistan. |
| 1:12.4 | Hello crowd science I I'm Waheid talking to you from Afghanistan, Ghazni province. |
| 1:18.0 | Let me put you this week topic for crowd science at the BBC World Service. |
| 1:23.0 | What happens in case that the underground water depends |
| 1:28.0 | and is it depletable? political. Weed, |
| 1:44.0 | listen, thank you so much for your voice message. |
| 1:47.0 | So you were asking crowd science if we could use up all of the groundwater, |
| 1:52.0 | is it depleable and I'm just |
| 1:54.5 | wondering why you want to know to if you could tell me a little bit more about |
... |
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