Archive for January, 2011

Energy’s Water Demand

An interesting report from the Congressional Research Service entitled Energy’s Water Demand: Trends, Vulnerabilities, and Management was submitted earlier this month to Congress.  Some of the key points include: “…Projections attribute to the energy sector 85% of the growth in domestic water consumption between 2005 and 2030. Water already plays a significant role in the […]

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Thirsty Energy, Scarce Water

Via The Journal of Energy Security, an interesting article on how the 21st century’s age of freshwater scarcity requires that water and energy strategies be integrated and managed together in order to achieve energy security.  As the report notes: “Wars of the 21st century will be fought over water, ” Former UN Secretary General Boutros […]

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The Thirsty Dragon: Working With China To Reduce the Tightening Watergy Nexus

Courtesy of The Circle of Blue, a look at the need for the U.S. and China to collaborate to resolve confrontation between rising energy demand and water scarcity in both countries.  As the article notes, there is powerful evidence that China’s dry and energy-rich northern and western provinces do not have enough water to both […]

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Role Of Energy Production In Water Consumption

Via JAWRA’s blog, a reference to an interesting report on the impact that energy production will have upon water consumption: The article investigates how meeting domestic energy production targets for both fossil and renewable fuels may affect future water demand. It combines projections of energy production with estimates of water consumption on a per-unit basis for […]

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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.”