Archive for September, 2010

Watergy Nexus: Competition for Scarce Water Growing Ever Fierce

Courtesy of Circle of Blue, an interesting article on the relationship between energy production and need for vast amounts of water and how – in this era of climate change, population growth and steadily increasing demand for energy – this nexus is resulting in ever more fierce competition for water at every stage of the […]

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Water-Energy-Climate Nexus To Challenge Humanity

Via The Energy Collective, some interesting commentary on the water-energy-climate change conundrum.  As the article notes: “…The energy-water-climate nexus is one of the nastiest and most perverse facets of the complex of sustainability challenges humanity is currently facing. We’ve all heard and used the mantra — “it takes energy to deliver water, it takes water […]

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Rising Energy Demand + Diminishing Water Supply = An Increasingly Tense Watergy Nexus

Via Global Geopolitics, an article on how meeting the growing demand for energy in the U.S., even through sustainable means, could entail greater threats to the environment.  Circle of Blue calls this intersection of a rising demand for energy and diminishing supply of water a “choke point” – we call it the Watergy Nexus – […]

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A Vexing Watergy Nexus In India: Cheap Energy Endangers India’s Ability to Feed Itself

Via IEEE’s Spectrum magazine, an excellent look at how the watergy nexus is causing farmers to pump Punjab dry, while endangering India’s ability to feed itself over the long-term.  As the article notes: “…The northern Indian state of Punjab is the country’s historic breadbasket, and 60-year-old Harnek Singh is one of the million farmers who […]

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Watergy: China’s Looming National Security Crisis

Courtesy of The Green Leap Forward, an interesting examination of China’s watergy challenge: China is not going to solve its energy problem if it does not solve is water problem (see previous post on “China’s Water Torture“).  It is as simple as that. The fact is, the exploitation of just about every energy resource (including […]

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In the American Southwest, the Energy Problem Is Water

Courtesy of IEEE’s Spectrum, a careful look at how the intricate relationship between water supply and electricity generation is playing out dramatically in the American Southwest.  As the article notes: “At the edge of the Salton Sea, Mark Gran surveys the clanking, hissing labyrinth of pipes that curl up from the desert in the distance. […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
As the scarcity of water and energy continues to grow, the linkage between these two critical resources will become more defined and even more acute in the months ahead.  This blog is committed to analyzing and referencing articles, reports, and interviews that can help unlock the nascent, complex and expanding linkages between water and energy -- The Watergy Nexus -- and will endeavor to provide a central clearinghouse for insightful articles and comments for all to consider.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy.  Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation.  He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”