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 inextricable connections between water and energy, also know as the Water-Energy Nexus.
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It is time (a little late this week) for our weekly reposting of the Climate Post, a weekly recap of climate related news, trends and events. Read on to learn more about how California and New Jersey are coming to be the next battlegrounds for greenhouse gas regulation, why Dolly Parton's sister hates clean water, and what is sparking the flames of a feud between the US Steelworkers Union and China.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has just released a fantastic new fact sheet called The Energy-Water Collision: 10 Things You Should Know, which highlights the water impacts of energy choices and ways to address them. The colorful fact sheet is packed full of great information, graphs and factoids that will send a clear message to policy makers and the general public about our water, energy and climate challenges.
Natures Voice Our Choice (NVOC) is a nonprofit organization working on water-energy issues through their Water Resource Management for Energy Conservation program, which focuses on balancing water supply and demand, using green infrastructure to manage stormwater and reducing water use in power production.
On Friday, September 10th, 2010, River Network’s Saving Water, Saving Energy program was invited to “inform, inspire and motivate” over 100 sixth through eighth graders during Making a Difference Day at Rosemont Ridge Middle School, located just outside of Portland, OR. The day was packed with fun activities – including the opportunity to take political action and experience first-hand the energy it takes to move water – as the schoolchildren learned about the important connections between water, energy and climate change.
YOU are invited to attend a joint NEWEA Energy & Sustainability Conference, Exhibits & Tour on October 19-20 in Hyannis, MA. The conference will focus on energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy sources for wastewater treatment facilities and will include...
Researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno just completed a successful pilot run of a new technology that allows wastewater treatment plants to produce significantly more energy from sewage sludge through a process of drying and gasifying the sludge after it has gone through biogas digesters. The research team believes their renewable energy technology will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut energy and waste disposal costs at treatment plants.
Once again, Thursday has past and we have the opportunity to share with you another great edition of the Climate Post. This week, continue reading to learn what caused the US to fall behind China as second best place to invest in renewable energy, how China manages to achieve it's national energy-saving targets, and how to prevent climate-spawned wars, amongst other things.
Circle of Blue reports that after four years and 22 different drafts, the U.S. Department of Energy continues to block the release of the National Energy-Water Roadmap, a congressionally mandated research agenda meant to help policy makers better understand the nation’s water-energy choke points and begin developing real world solutions. While the DOE's obstruction appears inexcusable, there is still plenty of information out there to start addressing our water-energy challenges.
Got a great idea for reducing the energy and greenhouse gas emissions embedded in water? ImagineH2O is offering $100,000 to individuals or small businesses with a great idea for improving the energy efficiency of water treatment, delivery and use. Interested parties need to submit a summary of their project no later than November 15th, 2010.
The Alliance for Water Efficiency just announced a request for proposals to help them design a new consumer-oriented water efficiency website equipped with an interactive water-use calculator that will show the public how much water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions they can save inside their home through simple water conservation and efficiency strategies. The new website and calculator are expected to launch in March 2011.
Last month it was reported that more than 30 new coal-fired power plants have been built in the United States since 2008 or are under construction. In the absence of comprehensive climate change legislation, an electric utility in Kansas is finding out that water – not air emissions – may prove to be a more persuasive argument against building new coal plants.
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.
The SWSE blog is produced by Travis Leipzig, River Network's Rivers, Energy & Climate Program Coordinator.