The Social Infrastructure of Water

Important, Not Important

What have we learned from millennia of water insecurity, of climate changes and disasters, of building along freshwater ways and the ocean, that we can apply today?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Amber Wutich.

Dr. Wutich is an ASU President's Professor, Director of the Center for Global Health, and 2023 MacArthur Fellow.

She's an expert on water insecurity, and directs the Global Ethnohydrology Study, a cross cultural study of water knowledge and management in over 20 countries.

Dr. Wutich’s two decades of community based field work explore how people respond individually and collectively to extremely water scarce conditions. She leads the NSF Action for Water Equity, a participatory convergence study that develops collaborative water solutions with water insecure U.S. communities. Her teaching has been recognized with many awards, including the Carnegie Case Arizona Professor of the Year.

As maybe the most important thing that neither you or I can live without, water is both becoming more scarce in Central America, Northern India, Syria and other places, and more prevalent through sea level rise, flooding and storms where we're not ready for it.

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INI Book Club:

• Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club

Links:

• Connect with Amber on LinkedIn, Twitter, and BlueSky
• Donate or volunteer with Water For People
• Donate to Dig Deep
• Learn more about Amber's work with NSF-funded Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network
• Learn more about the National Science Foundation

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• Edited by Anthony Luciani
• Produced by Willow Beck
• Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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