After a long, cold winter, Spring has finally sprung. As flowers begin to bloom and trees sprout new leaves, we are finally seeing evidence of the changing season across most of the country. For a large majority of homeowners, that means it’s time to start thinking about landscaping projects. A well-designed landscape not only adds beauty to… Keep reading →
Keeping with today’s UN World Water Day theme – the official day was Saturday – this comment comes from IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven and shows the energy-water nexus is increasingly recognized at high levels as one of today’s critical energy development challenges. “Water availability is a growing concern for energy and assessing… Keep reading →
Across the globe, a number of dynamics, such as new technology, financial pressures and changing community outlooks, are impacting businesses large and small. The demand to do more with less has never been greater. This new operating reality also holds true for water utilities around much of the world. To balance these competing forces, water… Keep reading →
The importance of energy to modern society cannot be overstated and energy-related products are virtually ubiquitous in our homes, workplaces and modes of transport. “Chemical engineering is a remarkable profession. It can take the smallest of discoveries in laboratories – from all fields of science and technology – and replicate them on a mass scale,… Keep reading →
A 30-megawatt offshore wind pilot project will use 5 floating turbines to generate electric power routed back to the mainland in Coos Bay, Oregon. “We’re not as anxious to commercialize it, but it’s still worth getting the projects into the water and testing them,” said Belinda Batten, director of the Northwest National Marine Renewable… Keep reading →
It is the time of the year again – Davos in Switzerland is playing host to the 2014 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. This is arguably the world’s most influential gathering of business and political leaders, economists and anybody else who thinks he or she has a big idea for improving the state… Keep reading →
It’s no secret that electricity generation requires substantial amounts of water, and different energy sources require varying amounts of water. Nor is it a surprise that Texas and other areas in the West and Southwest are in the midst of a persistent drought. Given these realities, it is surprising that water scarcity is largely absent from… Keep reading →
First there were the Gasland movies, then Matt Damon’s Promised Land, more recently celebrities were acting silly on You Tube, and now it appears a fracking-related zombie film is set to hit theaters (or streaming video services) later this year. While the film will clearly not be the science-based discourse this important issues deserves, as… Keep reading →
Wednesday, 21 leading scientists, engineers and technical experts submitted a letter* to Governor Jerry Brown endorsing the benefits of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in California. The AP reported: The letter…comes after California adopted regulations requiring oil companies to test groundwater and disclose chemicals used in fracking. The group said the strict new rules, which become permanent in… Keep reading →
Water-Energy Nexus Critical to Future Water Policy
By Roman KilisekOn March 22 in Tokyo, UN-Water will release its World Water Development Report in conjunction with its annual World Water Day 2014 celebrations. This annual event is meant to raise awareness for water – indispensable for human life on earth. This year’s theme is “Water & Energy”. Despite its apparent importance, the issue of water rarely… Keep reading →