The Saving Water, Saving Energy blog provides the latest news, resources and analysis on water, energy and climate change issues with an emphasis on the connection between water and energy
(aka the Water-Energy Nexus).
A while back I wrote about the benefits – including water protection and potential energy savings - of recycling human waste for use as composting material.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California - which is the largest supplier of drinking water in the United States and one of California's largest energy consumers - has just adopted new energy management policies. These policies will help the district move forward on programs, projects and initiatives for reducing the rising costs of electricity, implementing renewable energy projects and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the face of climate change.
Thursday has past and another edition of The Climate Post is available. Have you ever heard of the Kochtopus? Keep reading below to learn, among many other things, about how the oil and gas industry out-spent environmental groups by a factor of 8:1 in the run-up to the defeat of the climate bill in the U.S. Senate, and why upholding AB32 – California’s Kyoto-style emissions standards that is coming under attack by the usual suspects – is a critical step toward addressing climate change at the national level.
It looks like solar developers are finally realizing the value of water. A large-scale concentrating solar thermal plant proposed in Kern County, California has been approved by California regulators after developers agreed to cool the plant with reclaimed water that will be piped in from a neighboring community.
Thanks to a readers suggestion, I just stumbled across some great articles featured on Circle Of Blue Waternews which address our nations current energy supply strategies, developmental trends, and energy's dependence on water.
Pennsylvania is one of the largest coal producing states in the country, with more than 250 mines churning out 65,414,000 short tons of coal per year, or more than 130 billion pounds of the country’s dirtiest source of energy. A report sponsored by the Citizens Coal Council and released last month provides an in-depth look at regulatory practices in Pennsylvania and finds that laws protecting water supplies from underground coal mining, specifically longwall mining, are inadequate and/or poorly enforced.
What is my favorite thing about Thursday's? Is it: A) It's my last day of the workweek. B) The Climate Post comes out. or C) Two Fillet-o-Fish sandwiches for two bucks at McDonald's down the street from my house. Read on for the answer.
It’s bad enough that climate legislation is dead in the Senate at a time when we are seeing clear signs of human-caused global warming all over the world. To make matters worse, in the absence of climate legislation, more than 30 traditional coal-fired power plants have been built in the United States since 2008 or are under construction, signaling that coal will continue to pollute our water and warm our atmosphere for decades to come.
An oft-cited criticism of clean, low-water using energy technologies such as wind and photovoltaic solar is that they generate energy intermittently and can overload power grids with electricity at times when nobody needs it. The Bonneville Power Administration is exploring one potential solution to this problem: storing surplus power in water heaters.
As town's across the country adopt low impact development and green infrastructure strategies to manage their stormwater, many are finding that the benefits of these approaches go far beyond clean water. A report produced by the Bureau of Environmental Services in Portland, OR has quantified some of these benefits, including the direct energy savings resulting from the city's innovative Grey to Green Initiative, illustrating the significant energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions that can be achieved through low impact development.
A solar project proposed in California’s San Joaquin Valley has been embraced by environmentalists and farmers alike, making the project a potential model for how to address the political, environmental and financial challenges associated with large-scale solar development.
The Pacific Institute has just released an awesome new public outreach and education tool called the WECalc – Your Home Water, Energy and Climate Calculator. The user-friendly WECalc allows anybody to quantify their personal or household’s water use and its associated energy and greenhouse gas emissions, then provides specific tips based on your water use habits.
We have once again reached Thursday and it is time for another addition of our weekly re-posting of Eric Roston's The Climate Post, a summary of news, trends and events related to climate change.
Later this month, North Carolina State University will be hosting a three day international specialty workshop, Decentralized Water and Wastewater Reuse For Clean, Green and Smart Rural and Urban Communities. This conference will include over 20 workshops as well as a full day of field site visits.
The Bureau of Reclamation just announced that $12.8 million dollars has been awarded for innovative projects that conserve water, and the energy required to provide water. The projects are a good showcase of the variety of ways that water managers in different states are coming up with ways to supply sustainable, low-energy water in the face of growing demands and a changing climate.
Residents and neighbors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin: mark your calendars! The Environmental Leadership Program is holding a national conference, Tapping Into Solutions: The Future of Water, in Milwaukee in late September and River Network will be there to talk about the water-energy-climate connection.
An electric utility in Portland, OR has rolled out a new program that helps customers save energy by saving water through high-performance water efficient shower heads. The program provides a great example of how energy utilities should turn to water-oriented strategies as a way to achieve their energy conservation goals.
In an effort to keep our readers up to date and informed on all the latest jazz and hip-happenings in the world of climate change, once a week the Saving Water, Saving Energy Blog will now be reposting some great content from The Climate Post with permission from the author, Eric Roston, a senior Associate at Duke University's Nicholas Institute.
River Network’s Water and Energy program has just released the Water-Energy Toolkit: Understanding the Carbon Footprint of Your Water Use. This guidebook features descriptions and links to download 11 different tools or calculators that are designed to help river advocates, water managers and the general public understand the carbon footprint of their water use and the numerous benefits of water efficiency and the “soft path” approach.
