Nepal’s Hydropower Ambitions at the Crossroads of Climate Shocks

Via The Diplomat, a look at how Nepal’s vulnerability to climate-related water shocks is exacerbated by its unique geological and hydrological features Several devastating floods and landslides hit Nepal during this year’s monsoon season. The most recent occurred in late September, affecting millions of people, causing widespread loss of life, and considerable destruction of infrastructure, including ravaging […]

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In Arid New Mexico, A Debate Over Reusing Oil-Industry Wastewater

Via Grist, a report on the New Mexico governor’s plan to use treated water from oil and gas drilling: This year, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission held a hearing in Santa Fe to seek public input on regulating wastewater discharge from the oil and gas industry. It ended up dealing a blow to Governor […]

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Grumble in the Jungle: Sinohydro’s Difficult Decade in Bolivia

Via Dialogue Earth, a look at how Sinohydro has struggled with its six projects in Bolivia, facing complaints over environmental harms, labour issues and quality of works In the early hours of 6 May, a jaguar was run over by a vehicle near the site of works to widen a section of the Cochabamba-Santa Cruz highway, […]

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Brazil Mega Dams Promised A Green Future. Then Came Climate Change

Via the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a look at how Brazilian President Lula bet big on mega dams in the 2000s to expand clean energy. Now climate change is hurting Brazil’s green ambitions: Amazon mega dams running well below capacity as river levels low Underperformance not new but worsened by record-setting drought Brazil turns to polluting […]

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How Much Energy Does Desalination Use?

Via Sustainability by Numbers, a look at how much energy does desalinisation use? Is it “absurdly cheap”? Elon Musk has said several times recently that desalinisation is “absurdly cheap”.1  This was surprising to me. When I was younger I was taught the mantra that desalinisation “uses lots of energy and is really expensive”. And to be honest, […]

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Amazon Says It’s Going ‘Water Positive’ — But There’s A Problem

Via Grist, a look at how one company’s pledge to conserve water at its data centers doesn’t account for the thirsty power plants that keep them running: Earlier this year, the e-commerce corporation Amazon secured approval to open two new data centers in Santiago, Chile. The $400 million venture is the company’s first foray into locating its data facilities, […]

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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.”