Energy companies should provide better data on fracking water use, and investors should push for quantifiable water targets, according to a sustainable investing advocacy group.
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water-energy nexus
A U.S. Senate hearing on drought and energy provided some statements to ponder.
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When a Greenpeace China rapid response team ventured to a chemical spill site in the Shanxi province, they found that the area’s water supply was dwindling rapidly to support the growing coal production there, reports The New York Times. Much like the water-energy nexus story that Circle of Blue uncovered in other Northern Chinese provinces, [...]
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Smart water meters—digital meters that measure usage and transmit data wirelessly—are coming under fire from opponents across the U.S. They argue that high up-front costs and more accurate readings will push water utility rates up, USA Today reported, without any lasting benefits for most. Water as Power Every gallon of fuel pumped into cars requires [...]
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The Bureau of Land Management will open some 274,000 hectares (677,000 acres) of public land in three Western states for oil shale and tar sands research, development and demonstration leases, according to a broad federal environmental review. Companies must submit an application to explore on these lands, which, unlike for oil and gas leases, will [...]
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Sometime this week, the House of Representatives will consider H.R. 3409, which its sponsor, an Ohio Republican, has dubbed the Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012. The bill would prevent the Interior Department from issuing regulations until December 2013 that might cut jobs in the coal sector or restrict the industry’s access to [...]
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A federal judge ruled that the Tennessee Valley Authority, a utility owned by the U.S. government, is responsible for a spill in 2008 of toxic waste from a coal-fired power plant. The Associated Press reports that in the next phase of the case, the judge will determine compensation for each of the more than 800 [...]
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A massive U.S. government study shows what an electrical grid powered largely by renewable sources looks like, but not the path to get there.
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Renewable energy consumption increases, but King Coal is tenacious.
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Can putting a monetary value on natural resources reign in unfettered development? The Associated Press reports on the complex evolution of green accounting. Expectations are running low days before the Rio+20 global summit on sustainable development, The Wall Street Journal says, but can a different approach focused on “bottom up” efforts, local solutions and smaller [...]
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Statistics Aging water and sewer infrastructure and finding the money to pay for repairs are top concerns for U.S. water utility leaders, according to a survey from Black and Veatch, an engineering and consulting firm. BP released its annual Statistical Review of World Energy, a comprehensive assessment of global energy trends. Energy demand in the [...]
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Investments Because climate change will make rivers warmer and reduce their flow, the generating capacity for coal-fired and nuclear power plants—which rely on water for cooling—will decrease by between 4 and 16 percent in the U.S. and between 6 and 19 percent in Europe in the years 2031-2060, Reuters reports, citing a study published in [...]
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The falling price of photovoltaic panels and public concerns about aquifers and rivers in the western United States are boosting solar energy technologies that save water.
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Solar Review The deadline for submitting public comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s broad environmental review of solar energy development in six western U.S. states is Friday. The review will result in changes to the agency’s resource management plans, allowing it to concentrate solar energy projects on the most suitable parcels of land. Comments [...]
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News headlines are often dominated by the big, unexpected events — BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, for example, or Japan’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear catastrophes in 2011 — but some events come with advance warning. Here is a preview of the water news to look for in 2012.
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At the forefront of a national trend, this region is already suffering from intense conflicts that willy only worsen with climate change and population growth. However, the report also highlights several ways to dramatically reduce the water requirements for electricity generation.
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A new community on the Yangtze River has, so far, been more successful at attracting ducks than people. But city officials have their sights set high for Lingang Port City, which they say could be home to nearly a million people by 2050. Cleaner water will be a big help.
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The United States has started a $27 million project to remove two dams on the Elwha River in Washington, according to Reuters. What does the European debt crisis mean for Europe’s renewable energy development? Energy, climate change and water will be the most urgent development challenges facing countries over the next year, according to a [...]
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A draft report by the U.S. Energy Department’s natural gas advisory subcommittee urged regulators to require natural gas drillers to release more information about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, even though the risk of water pollution from the technique is “remote,” Reuters reported. Meanwhile, scientists from 22 universities have questioned the integrity of the [...]
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The energy target will be the highlight of a document to come later this year, as well as a cornerstone of China’s efforts to curb soaring greenhouse gas emissions, which currently stand at a quarter of the global total. Cutting coal consumption will inevitably also cut water use, as coal is China’s largest industrial user of water.
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