578. Water, Water Everywhere — But You Have to Stop and Think
2024/2/29
Freakonomics Radio
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Amy Kirby
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Brian Beach
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Marc Johnson
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Natalie Koch
Amy Kirby 认为污水监测是公共卫生的有效工具，可以提前预警疾病传播，且无需居民额外配合。她详细介绍了污水监测在 COVID-19 疫情中的应用，以及其在监测其他疾病和社区健康指标方面的潜力。她还强调了保护个人隐私的重要性，以及公众信任对污水监测项目持续开展的必要性。
Marc Johnson 讲述了通过污水监测发现新型冠状病毒隐秘谱系的故事，这些谱系可能来自个体感染者，而非动物。他描述了追踪这些谱系的复杂过程，以及由此引发的关于病毒持久性感染和长新冠的讨论。他指出，目前尚无法确定这些隐秘谱系是否构成公共卫生威胁，也存在伦理和隐私方面的挑战。
Brian Beach 探讨了美国城市供水和污水系统建设的历史，以及其与公共卫生的关系。他指出，历史上水传播疾病曾造成广泛的死亡，而城市供水和污水系统的建设极大地改善了公共卫生状况。他还揭示了美国南方种族隔离制度下，城市供水和污水系统建设的悖论：尽管存在种族歧视，但黑人社区也获得了相对平等的供水和污水服务，这在一定程度上改善了黑人社区的健康状况。他认为，美国城市水务管理长期以来都是被动的，主要是在应对危机时才采取行动。
Natalie Koch 分析了沙特阿拉伯乳制品公司在亚利桑那州种植苜蓿的案例，揭示了亚利桑那州水资源管理政策的缺陷。她指出，亚利桑那州宽松的地下水管理政策导致水资源价格低廉，吸引了大量用水企业，包括沙特阿拉伯公司，这加剧了亚利桑那州的水资源短缺问题。她认为，亚利桑那州需要改革其水资源管理政策，对地下水开采进行更严格的监管，并对水资源使用者收取合理的费用，以解决水资源短缺问题。
Amy Kirby detailed the use of wastewater surveillance in the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential for monitoring other diseases and community health indicators. She emphasized the importance of protecting individual privacy and the need for public trust in the success of wastewater surveillance programs. Marc Johnson recounted the discovery of cryptic lineages of the novel coronavirus through wastewater surveillance, lineages that may originate from individual infections rather than animals. He described the complex process of tracking these lineages and the resulting discussions about persistent infections and long COVID. He noted that it is currently unclear whether these cryptic lineages pose a public health threat, and that ethical and privacy challenges exist. Brian Beach explored the history of the construction of urban water and sewage systems in the United States and their relationship to public health. He pointed out that waterborne diseases historically caused widespread deaths, and that the construction of urban water and sewage systems greatly improved public health conditions. He also revealed the paradox of the construction of urban water and sewage systems in the American South under the system of racial segregation: despite the existence of racial discrimination, Black communities also received relatively equal access to water and sewage services, which to some extent improved the health of Black communities. He believes that urban water management in the United States has long been passive, primarily taking action in response to crises. Natalie Koch analyzed the case of Saudi Arabian dairy companies growing alfalfa in Arizona, revealing the flaws in Arizona's water resource management policies. She pointed out that Arizona's lax groundwater management policies have led to low water prices, attracting many water-intensive businesses, including Saudi Arabian companies, which has exacerbated Arizona's water shortage problem. She believes that Arizona needs to reform its water resource management policies, implement stricter regulations on groundwater extraction, and charge water users reasonable fees to address water shortages.
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