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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Alliance for Water Efficiency just sent out an update on the unprecedented opportunity to include water efficiency rebates side-by-side with energy efficiency incentives in a piece of federal legislation.
Western Resource Advocates and Environmental Defense Fund released a new report this month that, “shines a spotlight on the strong ties between climate, energy, and water in the West and highlights pioneering policies and practices already taking place in the region. These practices, in tandem with federal legislation that limits carbon pollution, will help build a stronger clean energy economy in the West.”
"More than 1,100 U.S. counties -- a full one-third of all counties in the lower 48 states -- now face higher risks of water shortages by mid-century as the result of global warming, and more than 400 of these counties will be at extremely high risk for water shortages, based on estimates from a new report by Tetra Tech for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)."
Last week, I had the opportunity to take a tour of the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant in Portland, OR and learn firsthand about how Oregon’s largest sewage treatment plant is cutting energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions thanks to a cogeneration system running off the plant’s abundant biogas. While the plant should definitely be lauded for its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, I can't help but feel like there are still valuable opportunities to reap even greater energy savings.
The POLIS Water Sustainability Project has released a video based on the findings from their report on the water-energy nexus in Ontario. The seven minute video provides a great overview of the water-energy-climate connection, focusing on how energy is embedded in the water we use and how municipalities and individual citizens can begin reducing the carbon footprint of their water use.
The record high temperatures sweeping the nation this week provide us all with a sweltering reminder that summer is finally here, and in many communities, so are the water shortages. Although there are plenty of tried and true strategies to conserve water, there is one strategy that often gets over looked: energy conservation.
IEEE Spectrum, the flagship publication of IEEE – the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity – released a special report this week looking at…you guessed it: the water-energy nexus. Before you sigh at the news of yet another general report on the connections between water and energy, I recommend taking a look at the graphics and interesting factoids that IEEE has compiled.
The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is pleased to announce the official launch of the 2011 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies (CSU). This program offers rural communities the opportunity to protect their natural resources and be part of the climate adaptation solutions urgently needed across the country. The Model Forest Policy Program anticipates offering scholarships to up to ten (10) communities to participate in the 2011 Climate Solutions University program, subject to available funding. This educational opportunity is being conducted in partnership with the Cumberland River Compact. The 11 month program is scheduled to begin February, 2011.
The International Herald Tribune, which is the global edition of the New York Times, has just published a mini-series of articles on the NY Times website that explore the water-energy nexus. Two of the articles – one on saving energy through water conservation and the other on how water is becoming a constraining factor for power production – feature statistics and quotes from River Network.
A couple months ago, the White House Interagency Climate Adaptation Task Force released an interim progress report outlining a strategy to begin planning climate adaptation efforts across government agencies. The report was vague but it nonetheless provided fodder for public comments; my comments are reproduced below.
Today you have the opportunity to help secure – for the first time ever – water efficiency rebates in a major piece of federal legislation! The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 is a proposed bill designed to create jobs, promote energy security, save Americans money on utility bills and fight climate change by providing rebates for energy efficient retrofits. Since saving water does all of the above and so much more, a coalition of stakeholders has come together to urge the Senate to include water efficiency rebates in the bill. With limited time to influence the legislation, the Alliance for Water Efficiency is asking you to contact your Senator immediately and urge them to protect our rivers by supporting water efficiency!
Dr. Allan R. Hoffman, Senior Analyst at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy, has written a short article about the water-energy nexus for the Clean Water America Alliance.
A new report just released by the POLIS Water Sustainability Project provides the first-ever estimate of water-related energy use in the province of Ontario. The report’s insights are relevant to anybody interested in the water-energy nexus as it provides a valuable place-based analysis and contribution to the relatively small, but growing, body of literature on water-related energy use. Among the reports key findings: pumping and treating water and wastewater in Ontario consumes enough energy to light every single home in the province. When water heating and steam generation are included, the energy used in Ontario for water-related services could heat every home in Canada.
In 2009, the Obama Administration initiated the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force to develop, within one year, Federal recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts. Last month the Task Force released an interim progress report and is currently accepting public comments through the middle of May.
River Network’s National River Rally 2010 is taking place in Snowbird, Utah and you don’t want to miss out on this unparalleled opportunity for concentrated and focused learning, extensive networking, and the inspiration and celebration you need to recharge. This year we’re offering over 80 workshops on a variety of critical topics, including our Warming Watersheds track focusing on climate justice, freshwater resiliency through water efficiency and low impact development, and the water-energy connection.
Communities across the country are discovering how Low Impact Development (LID), or Green Infrastructure – which includes a variety of practices such as rain gardens, tree planting, bioswales, green roofs and rainwater harvesting – can cost-effectively keep polluted stormwater out of rivers while reducing the energy costs of water pumping and treatment. Now, my hometown of Portland, OR is discovering another economic benefit of LID: tourism.
In just under 20 minutes, Surfrider Foundation has not only managed to illustrate the craziness with which we develop and manage water in the United States, but they also explain how we can fix it! Their new animated video, called The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water, communicates complex topics like integrated water management, climate change impacts, the water-energy nexus and human influences on the hydrologic cycle in a way that people of all ages and familiarity with water issues can understand.
In an implicit recognition that water footprints are becoming just as noteworthy as carbon footprints, the Carbon Disclosure Project has launched a program aimed at persuading over 300 global companies to begin issuing detailed reports on their water use.
The Great Lakes Commission, an interstate compact agency that promotes the orderly, integrated and comprehensive development, use and conservation of the water and related natural resources of the Great Lakes basin and St. Lawrence River, has released a new report on the implications of the water-energy nexus for the Great Lakes region.
The Indian Point nuclear power plant 35 miles north of New York City has been denied water-quality certification by the State of New York due to its outmoded cooling technology, which is blamed for violating the Clean Water Act and killing billions of fish each year. The ruling, seen as a major victory for environmentalists, will require the power station to upgrade its cooling systems and drastically curtail the 2.5 billion gallons of water it withdraws each day from the Hudson River.
