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| Clean Energy and Water Division >> | January, 2008 |
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Preliminary Program AvailableExhibit Space AvailableSolar Success Dealer/Installer Training EventReceive specific equipment training from several BOS manufacturers and learn to run your business more effectively! Have you activated your on-line membership account?
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In this Issue: Dear ASES Clean Energy and Water Division Members, I hope the New Years finds you well and blessed. Let me reiterate that I am pleased to serve in this position as chair since Steve Sargent passed the role to me in Cleveland at SOLAR 2007. Thank you to Steve for getting this division started and rolling! I am sure that I only have met several of you, but I want to encourage you in your efforts towards a more sustainable future. Whether you are involved in business, academia, government, or you are a concerned citizen of this earth that we share, keep up the good work! I want to share that I believe our division has something important to offer. I will go into more detail below, but clean energy and water as our name describes are essential needs for our own survival and prosperity, the health of our planet, and the health of future generations to come. I would like to hear your feedback and thoughts about how our division might be able to gain some synergy between our own personal endeavors and offer a positive contribution not only to ASES but to the general public. I would be very pleased to hear from you in this regard as I am young in my professional career as well as in my experience as chair. Please take the time to update your ASES membership profile so that people can use it to network with you and share common ground if you choose to include your contact information. I hope that some of you were able to submit proposals for Solar 2008 in beautiful San Diego, CA, and I look forward to meeting you there in person. May you have a blessed holiday season and please remember those who have little and how our consumer choices impact the earth! Regards, Chair, ASES Clean Energy and Water Division |
SOLAR TODAY Magazine January/Feburary 2008 Features >>- Advancing a Market for Zero-Energy Homes ASES’ Green Collar Jobs Report“Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century”
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The Need for Clean Energy and Water The world’s demand for freshwater is continually increasing yet the supply is finite and in many cases unreliable as recent water shortages around the world have demonstrated. Growing populations along with increased agricultural production, energy crops, and industrialization have led to dramatic increases in freshwater demand. Climate change further exacerbates the problem including shrinking ice caps which store freshwater and a drastically uneven distribution of rainfall leading to both severe droughts and floods. The news headlines have told the tale recently of freshwater scarcity in the US from the Colorado River Basin to the Chattahoochee River Basin. On November 19th, Lake Lanier, which supplies freshwater to much of Georgia and areas of Alabama and Florida reached its lowest level since it was first created in the 1950’s. On the international scene, Greece declared a state of emergency this past summer to ensure that water taps did not run dry. Lake Chad, Africa’s fourth largest lake has dried up to less than 1/10th of its size since the 1960’s inflicting hardship on the people and ecosystems dependent on it. China’s severe drought in July and August left 18 million people short of adequate drinking water according to the Ministry of Water Resources. Water and energy are inextricably interdependent. Foremost, it is widely believed that anthropogenic forcing or human induced climate change is affecting the availability and distribution of freshwater supplies. If so, the growing water crisis is largely dependent on the fossil fuel emissions from power plant smoke stacks and automotive tailpipes over the last century. Secondly, traditional energy production is also dependent on a constant source of cooling water which is normally withdrawn from a freshwater river and then returned. Without this constant freshwater availability many power plants would be unable to operate. Hydroelectric sources of energy along with many industrial processes are also reliant on adequate freshwater sources. Thirdly, the boom of biofuel production from irrigated crops has lead to an increased strain on water sources and will continue to do so. Growing crops to feed our transportation energy needs must be done cautiously without neglecting the effects on land depletion, biodiversity, and especially water resources. Finally, as freshwater demands increase and their supply proves unreliable, desalination appears to be an obvious solution. Unfortunately, creating freshwater from our vast supply of seawater has a vast variety of drawbacks but most importantly it requires large amounts of energy. Even the most efficient methods require significant amounts of heat or electricity. Should fossil fuels be used for desalination which further depletes our natural resources and contributes to greenhouse emissions which are helping to cause water scarcity in the first place? Desalination from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and sustainable biomass should be used to help supplement freshwater supplies. This is just a sample of how the flows of water and energy are interdependent and how our management of these resources must be approached holistically. Action toward reducing fossil fuel use and their greenhouse emissions are a priority not only for the energy crisis but also for the globe’s water crisis. It is essential that efficiency, water recycling, and wise water management must take precedent through collaborative efforts across geopolitical boundaries not only to meet the freshwater needs of people but also the needs of sensitive ecosystems. With current supplies being managed appropriately, desalination from renewable energy sources can help supplement these supplies.
The Future Is Drying UpThe New York Times Magazine Growing Need for Water Desalination Plants Presents Two Opportunities For InvestorsEnergyTechStocks.com
Atlanta Water Shortage website: |
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Copyright © 2008 American Solar Energy Society • 2400 Central Ave., Ste. A, Boulder, CO 80301 P: 303.443.3130 • F: 303.443.3212 • ases@ases.org • www.ases.org |
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