Archive for February, 2011

The Limited Potential Of Alternatives To Loosen China’s Watergy Crisis

Courtesy of Circle of Blue, an interesting analysis of the potential for wind/solar energy to loosen the ever-tightening watergy crisis in China: Over 5,000 wind turbines have been installed in northern Gansu Province. Already boasting an online capacity of 5,500 MW, the region’s wind-generating capacity will grow to 12,000 MW by 2015. JIUQUAN, China—Business for […]

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The Watergy Nexus in the Western U.S. – Projections to 2100

Via The Stockholm Environmental Institute, a new report on the watergy nexus in the western U.S.  As the abstract notes: “…Water and energy are deeply intertwined: production of electricity requires water, and water supply requires electricity. Demand for both is growing, while supply is constrained by limited resource availability, high costs, and the impacts of […]

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Confronting Water Scarcity and Energy Demand in China: An Escalating Confrontation Over Resources With Global Implications

Courtesy of The Circle of Blue, a detailed look at water scarcity and energy demand in China where there is an escalating confrontation over resources with global implications.  As the article notes: When these two tunnels beneath the Yellow River are completed by mid-decade, more than 35 million cubic meters (9 billion gallons) of water […]

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Every Drop Counts: Valuing Water Used To Generate Electricity

Via The Energy Collective, an article about a fascinating new report published by Western Resource Advocates titled ‘Every Drop Counts: Valuing the Water Used to Generate Electricity.’ Analyzing the water use for electrical power generation, in competition with growing agricultural and domestic water demand, this report concludes: At a minimum, utilities across the region should […]

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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.”