Jan 25, 2023
As the planet warms, droughts will be prolonged and communities around the world are going to be without the most critical resource to sustaining human life – water. By 2030, global demand for freshwater will exceed supply by 40 percent and two-thirds of the world's population will face regular water shortages. At the same time, as the planet warms, glaciers, which currently contain two thirds of all the freshwater in the world, are calving new icebergs at an alarming rate. This has lawmakers, scientists, and corporations asking "Can we harvest these icebergs for freshwater?"
This week we're joined by Dr. Matthew Birkhold, associate professor at the Ohio State University, and author of the new book "Chasing Icebergs: How Frozen Freshwater Can Save the Planet". Our conversation goes into how iceberg harvesting could work, how soon that it might become a viable option, and what the potential risks are to the environment and surrounding communities.
Buy 'Chasing Icebergs'
Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly"
As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.