Episode 67: Wildfire and Water Infrastructure
“Urban water systems aren’t equipped to fight wildfires and haven’t been expected to do so
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“There’s water, there’s disaster, there’s power and climate change in the background of everything. So it’s a really complex set of things that communities are going to have to decide for themselves and then you end up with these equity issues
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A conversation with Drs. Greg Pierce (UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation) and Faith Kearns (ASU Water Innovation Initiative) about water infrastructure before, during, and following wildfires. Released January 24, 2025.
guests on the show
Gregory Pierce
Dr. Greg Pierce (he/him) is the co-director of the Luskin Center for Innovation and the director of the Human Right to Water Solutions Lab within the center. He is also the co-director of the UCLA Water Resources Group within the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and serves as faculty in the department of urban planning. Since joining the Luskin Center in 2015, he has been instrumental in guiding the Center's leadership to produce rigorous, engaged research which informs Human Right to Water policy in California, as well as across the United States. He has authored 50+ peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous major research reports. His broader research interests lie at the intersection of public finance, infrastructure planning and environmental justice. Greg holds a PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA. Learn more about Dr. Greg Pierce here.
Faith Kearns
Dr. Faith Kearns is a scientist and research communication practitioner. She writes and talks primarily about water, wildfire, and climate change. Her work has been published at New Republic, On Being, Bay Nature, and more. Kearns' award-winning book Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Engagement (Island Press) is widely available. She co-hosts the award-winning Water Talk podcast with Mallika Nocco and Samuel Sandoval.
In previous roles, Kearns has developed science communication projects at the Ecological Society of America, served as a AAAS Science and Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, managed a wildfire research and outreach center at the University of California - Berkeley, bridged science and policy advocacy efforts at the Pew Charitable Trusts, and led science communication efforts with the California Institute for Water Resources in the University of California's Division of Ag and Natural Resources/Cooperative Extension.
Kearns currently serves as the Director of Research Communication with the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at ASU.