Big Picture Science

Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water - you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar cells are key. Also, how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink it, and how to turn a salt pond back to a wetland. Plus, from Roman aqueducts to modern-day pumps: a history of quenching human thirst. And, why NASA strives to “follow the water.” Guests: Brian Fagan - Anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind John Bourgeois - Biologist and Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project Michael Meyer - Lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program Farouk El-Baz - Geologist and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University Michael Flynn - Principal investigator for NASA’s advanced life support branch, Ames Research Center Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices