Did you know that, across North America, approximately 30 per cent of all treated drinking water is lost to leaks in pipes before reaching our homes? Or that there is more water in the air above it than there is in the mighty Amazon?
These are just a few of the pressing water-related issues that Tyler and Alex Mifflin highlight in the fourth season of The Water Brothers, which kicks off March 3rd at 7:30pm on TVO.
By now, you’ve likely heard of The Water Brothers. The Canadian documentary adventure series follows two young eco-adventurer brothers, Tyler and Alex Mifflin, who travel the world to explore the relationship between humans with water, highlighting problems and their potential solutions. The brothers’ adventures have taken them everywhere from the largest gathering of humans on earth, to the bottom of the ocean and up Mount Kilimanjaro.
Featuring six great episodes, this season is just as exciting and poignant as the previous ones.
We’ll see the brothers journey across the Amazon to show the effects of deforestation on the water cycle, hit the South Pacific nation of Palau to document how illegal fishing is threatening local food security, and explore the Athabasca glacier in Alberta to examine how snowpack loss and glacial melt threatens the water supplies.
This season also highlights how sushi dishes can contribute to the extinction of some of the ocean’s biggest commercial fish, and examines the widespread problem of seafood fraud.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. The brothers offer thoughtful and practical solutions to dealing with the water crisis – like how drones and satellites can help developing nations establish low-cost methods for surveillance and enforcement of illegal fishing, or how sushi chefs can introduce customers to more sustainable seafood options.
“We’re incredibly excited for the launch of Season 4 and really want to show viewers, how small changes in their everyday lives can have a big impact when it comes to protecting water around the world,” says co-host, Alex. “Everyone has a role to play if we want to create a sustainable future where water and the biodiversity it supports are given the respect and protection they deserve,” adds co-host Tyler.
The new season also features six new interactive Dive Deeper stories. Produced in conjunction with the animation studio Thought Café, the series features episode guides so viewers can immerse themselves in the content in the format that best suits them.
The series has been nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards and is the winner of the BBC Earth Best Newcomers award at the UK’s Wildscreen Festival, known as the “Green Oscars.” The fourth season recently took home the Best Broadcast Series at the prestigious 2016 Blue Ocean Film Festival.
The recognition is definitely well deserved for the Mifflin brothers. Their work reminds us of the importance of science-based content to help us understand the world around us in order to better protect our most valuable resource – water.
So, you have another reason to feel better about staying in with takeout and sweats tonight. But if you miss it, all episodes are available for free streaming across Canada the day after they air on TVO on The Water Brothers’ website.
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Also, be sure to check out the Dive Deeper website, an interactive learning portal created by The Water Brothers TV Series, examining some of today’s most important environmental challenges and solutions. Launch. Explore. And discover a world full of possibilities.
