The Australian Coal Industry Uses Enough Water For Over 5 Million People

Via The Conversation, an article on the watergy impact of coal-fired power: Water is a highly contested resource in this long, oppressive drought, and the coal industry is one of Australia’s biggest water users. Research released today, funded by the Australian Conservation Foundation, has identified how much water coal mining and coal-fired power stations actually use […]

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Hydropower Along the Mekong Continues to Threaten the Future of the River

Via Future Directions International, a report on watergy impact of the future of the Mekong River: Thailand plans to raise its concerns about erratic flows in the Mekong at the next meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the organisation that monitors the longest river in South-East Asia. In December, the MRC warned that flows in the Mekong could […]

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Cambodia Struggles To Keep The Lights On Due To Water Scarcity

Via The Asia Times, a report on Cambodia’s struggles with power supply due to water shortages: Cambodia is racing to prevent a new spate of power outages, similar to the unexpected rolling blackouts suffered earlier this year that caused untold damage to the economy. Prime Minister Hun Sen warned in November that water levels at […]

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Top 5 Ways to Cut Water-Energy-Carbon Nexus Pressures

Via Medium, a look at a range of best practices to reduce water-energy-carbon nexus pressures: Abstracting, treating, and conveying water requires significant amounts of energy, most of which is derived from fossil fuels including coal, gas, or natural gas. Energy production from these sources generates carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Urban water utilities typically account […]

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Oil Industry Running Out Of Water

Via CNN, a report on the watergy constraints facing the fracking industry: America’s oil industry faces a number of challenges, including low oil prices, the rise of electric vehicles and proposals to limit fracking. But one of its biggest problems: The industry is running out of water. The US oil boom is being driven mostly by the growth of fracking — […]

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Renewable Energy Solutions to the Water-Energy-Climate Nexus

Via Connect4Climate, an article on the potential for renewable solutions to reduce the watergy crisis: The water sector is energy-hungry, with energy consumption by the sector equivalent to all the energy used by Australia. In 2014, around 4% of global electricity consumption was used to extract, distribute, and treat water and wastewater as well as […]

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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.”