Archive for April, 2012

Western China’s Watergy Crisis

Via Yale’s Environment 360 blog, a look at how China - In its quest to find new sources of energy – is increasingly looking to its western provinces. But, as the article notes, the nation’s push to develop fossil fuel and alternative sources has so far ignored a basic fact — western China simply lacks the […]

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Private Water Companies Partner With Fracking Lobby

Via AlterNet, an interesting report that two of the nation’s biggest private water utilities may soon profit from treating the wastewater generated after they sell water for fracking purposes: Two of the country’s largest private water utility companies are participants in a massive lobbying effort to expand controversial shale gas drilling — a heavy industrial […]

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Nuclear Power Proposal in Utah Reignites a Century-Old Water War

Via Inside Climate News, a report on the rising tension over the water use of a proposed nuclear power station in Utah: For more than 100 years and maybe back to the days of outlaw Butch Cassidy, water from the Green River has nourished fields of sweet watermelons near the tiny town of Green River, […]

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Tar Sands’ Water Cycles: Price Of Oil May Be Defined By Actual Price Or Cost of Managing Water

Via Circle of Blue, an interesting article examining the water cycle of the tar sands and noting in particular that the price of oil may be defined, and, in some cases probably already is, by the actual price or the cost of managing water: The Suncor refinery in Edmonton, Alberta produces 135,000 barrels per day […]

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The Coming Power Struggle for Water?

Via Aquadoc and AWWA.org, an interesting paper by Frederick Bloetscher on the coming power struggle for water.  As the abstract notes: Water has much competition for its use. Many basins are overtaxed, and demands continue to increase. Water supplies can become more reliable and sustainable through comprehensive planning that includes using alternative water sources and […]

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Desalination: Drinking Energy

Via Lightbucket, a look at desalination’s energy impact: Very large scale desalination projects may be needed to meet the world’s future fresh water needs. There’s certainly enough seawater, but how much energy does it take? In many areas, fresh water is getting used up faster than it’s being replenished, and demand for water is growing. […]

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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.”