The water we drink, the places we swim, and the plants and animals within our environment are increasingly threatened by one thing--pollution. Agricultural practices, household uses, urban runoff, and other sources significantly impact our communities and the world. The ways we use water, the pollutants found in it, and the issues that challenge its quality must be understood if we are to protect this vital resource. This award-winning program examines the threats, surveys the experts, and challenges you to make a difference through the choices you make.

In this episode of Voice of the Sea, we investigate how engineers study and design buildings to withstand destructive forces, like tsunamis. We'll learn about the dangers to Hawai'i, the plan for vertical evacuation in Honolulu, and the new building code.

Development can have negative effects on streams in urban and suburban areas. As a watershed becomes covered with pavement, sidewalks, and other types of urban land cover, stream organisms are confronted with an increased volume of storm water runoff, increased exposure to fertilizers and pesticides, and dramatic changes in physical living spaces within the stream itself.

This video shows how Rijkswaterstaat uses sand to keep the Dutch coast safely in its place. In this way the Netherlands is protected against the sea.

Scientists are puzzled by a disturbing trend in the waters along four Gulf Coast states. Almost 300 dead and dying dolphins have washed ashore since February, three times the usual number. Mark Strassman reports.

In this episode, we're at the University of Hawai'i at M?noa's School of Architecture. We're looking at projects designed to help coastal O'ahu communities adapt to climate change and sea level rise. We talk to students, researchers and faculty about their focus on sustainability and community resilience.

On today's show, our hosts are joined by Darilyn Turner, Executive Director of Zion Travelers Cooperative Center, and four of her trainees to talk about her organization and what makes the East Bank the best bank. ZTCC is an organization that's built around advocating for coastal restoration, disaster preparedness and connecting the youth of Plaquemines Parish to the environment.

Coastal residents are not strangers to environmental issues that threaten our land and lives. But how can we address them? In this TEDx talk, wetland ecologist Karen McKee explains some of the science behind land subsidence, the importance of coastal ecosystems, what this means for the future of communities, and discusses potential tools to move toward solutions.

In this episode, we're looking at eroding beaches of West Maui, where large condos are being threatened by loss of sand and sea-level rise with Hawai'i Sea Grant Coastal Hazards Expert Tara Owens and Maui County planner, Jim Buika.

Historically black neighborhoods in South Florida are facing the consequences of climate change in more ways than one. Some fear they'll be priced out of their neighborhoods because of it by what organizers call 'climate gentrification.'