Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Historic Drought To Shrink California’s Hydroelectric Generation By 19%

Via Renewable Energy World, a report on the impact that California’s historic drought has had upon its hydroelectric generation: As a result of harsh drought conditions in California in 2021, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects the state’s hydroelectric generation to be lower in 2021 than it has been in recent years. In the first […]

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Water-Energy Nexus of Water and Wastewater Service in Lebanon

Via American University of Beirut, a paper on the watergy nexus of water and wastewater service in Lebanon: Though well established and understood by practitioners, policy-makers ignore the interrelation between energy and water when developing energy and water policies, known as the water-energy nexus This has led to the rise of complex challenges, especially in Lebanon, due to […]

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Cambodia Embraces Dirty Energy Fearing Drought-Driven Shortages

Via Third Pole, a report on how successive droughts in recent years have caused a power crisis in Cambodia, prompting the government to rapidly invest in and build coal and oil plants: In a span of two years, two big generators and a protective fence have been erected in what once used to be a […]

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China Hydropower Puts Pressure On Red River Communities

Via Third Pole.net, an article on the impact of China’s cascade of Red River dams on people in Vietnam: Every day, fisher Nguyen Thi Nan and her husband drop traps into the Red River in the city of Lao Cai. They hope to catch fish and prawns at this point in the river, near the […]

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Power Struggle On Afghanistan’s Frontline Over Key Dam

Via Terra Daily, a look at the power struggle between the Taliban and the Afghan government over Kajaki Dam: In the heart of territory under siege from the Taliban, one of Afghanistan’s most important hydroelectric dams is at the centre of a power struggle that symbolises the battle between the government and insurgents. Kajaki Dam, […]

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Why Covering Canals With Solar Panels Is a Power Move

Via Wired, a report on how covering waterways would, in a sense, make solar panels water-cooled, boosting their efficiency: PEANUT BUTTER AND jelly. Hall & Oates. Now there’s a duo that could literally and figuratively be even more powerful: solar panels and canals. What if instead of leaving canals open, letting the sun evaporate the water […]

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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.”