Ep 48: The Western Water Crisis
Synopsis
Teal Lehto, aka Western Water Girl joined the podcast to talk about the water crisis in the Western United States. We cover the history, current state, and future of the Colorado River Basin including how water is being used, and what technologies could potentially save the west. We mention policy, foreign affairs, cloud seeding, water bottles and….. beavers?
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Meet the Guest Star
Teal Lehto:
Teal, aka Western Water Girl, is a water rights activist located in Durango, Colorado. Teal currently runs a TikTok account dedicated to water conservation issues in the Colorado River Basin with over 55,000 followers, and was featured in NPR's Morning Edition and BBC’s Panorama for her advocacy work on the platform.
Teal became a certified raft guide before attending college, and founded the first Junior Women’s raft racing team in the US. Her team won the 2017 US Rafting Championships and represented the country at the World Rafting Championships in 2017 and 2018.
Teal attended Fort Lewis College where she founded a club dedicated to water resource issues in the southwest, and then graduated in 2020 with a degree in Environmental Studies and Political Science. These experiences created a deep love for rivers and whitewater, and respect for the connections they can bring across cultural barriers.
