Archive for January, 2012

Water-Intensive Fossil Fuel Production Is Overwhelming Water-Sipping Clean Energy

Courtesy of Circle of Blue, a look at the recent U.S. State of the Union address and the reality that – in an era of deficit and disinvestment – water-intensive fossil fuel production is overwhelming the water-sipping clean energy sector.  As the article notes: “Four years ago, when he campaigned for the office he now […]

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Ecosystem Economics And The Watergy Nexus

Via The Harvard Business Review, a short brief on water-food-energy nexus.  As the article notes: When we talk about natural resource constraints on business — such as shortages in water or increases in the cost of energy or agricultural products — we tend to forget how deeply intertwined these commodities are. In the business community, […]

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Texas Drought: Power Grid Concerns

Via The Huffington Post, a report on Texas’ increasing watergy stress: Texas Senate Democrats worried Tuesday that continued drought could lead to brownouts and keep major firms from expanding statewide because of fears about an unreliable power grid. A growing population has left state planners rushing to approve coal-fired power plants, expand nuclear facilities, create […]

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The Watergy Nexus: A New Report On Adding Water to the Energy Agenda

I recently read a new report entitled “The Water-Energy Nexus: Adding Water to the Energy Agenda,” by Diana Glassman, Michele Wucker, Tanushree Isaacman, and Corinne Champilou (New York: World Policy Institute and EBG Capital, March 2011.).  As it noted, “…as new energy policies are emerging– is the time to consider water. Energy decisions are a […]

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Unlocking The Secrets Behind Hydraulic Fracturing

Via The New York Times, a look at one state’s efforts to determine how much water is used in fracking.  As the article notes: A “fracking” operation near Big Wells, in which water and chemicals are injected deep underground to extract oil and natural gas. Starting Feb. 1, drilling operators in Texas will have to […]

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Hunt for Gas Hits The Thirsty Land, and South Africans Fear Risks

Via The New York Times, a reminder that the watergy nexus challenge posed by fracking is not solely a domestic issue.  As the article notes: Covering much of the roughly 800 miles between Johannesburg and Cape Town, this arid expanse — its name means “thirsty land” — sees less rain in some parts than the […]

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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.”