Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

A Thirst For Power: Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants
November 17th, 2011

While discussed in a previous post, here is a direct link to the Union of Concerned Scientist’ recent report on the water-energy nexus.  As the report’s summary says: Power plants are thirsty. Take the average amount of water flowing over Niagara Falls in a minute. Now triple it. That’s almost how much water power plants […]

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Thirsty Power Plants Threaten American Watersheds
November 16th, 2011

Two articles on a recent Union of Concerned Scientists/Energy and Water in a Warming World report looking at the watergy nexus in the United States. The first, via the New York Times, notes:   Data from 2008 show that power plants in Texas and Massachusetts consume the most water in the cooling process. The first […]

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The Energy, And Expense, Of Bringing Water To Southern California
November 14th, 2011

Via The Los Angeles Times, an interesting article on the impact that power costs and climate-change regulations are having upon Southern California’s long reliance upon imported water.  As the report notes: The Julian Hinds Pumping Plant is one of the hydraulic hearts of California’s vast water supply system, built to push water from where it […]

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How Saving Water Could Help Keep the Lights On
November 13th, 2011

Via KQED, an article on an earlier report we’ve discussed from the Pacific Institute: The Gordian knot of interdependence between water & power (not the political kind — that’s another story) has been getting a lot of attention lately as the “water-energy nexus.” A new report from Oakland’s Pacific Institute warns that as population grows […]

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Gas or Water: China Has To Decide
November 11th, 2011

Via AFP, a report on how China’s desire to tap its vast shale gas reserves may be impacted by its scarce water suppliers.  As the article notes: Energy-hungry China is tapping its vast shale gas reserves to reduce its reliance on dirty coal and imports, but experts warn its lack of technical expertise and scarce […]

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Water For Energy
November 3rd, 2011

A new Pacific Institute report is out – Water for Energy: Future Water Needs for Electricity in the Intermountain West – which examines the water requirements for current and projected electricity generation within the Intermountain West.  As the report notes, under current trends, by 2035, water withdrawals and consumption for electricity generation in the region […]

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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.”