Water and Energy

Finding a solution to the energy problem will not be easy. Water is an even more challenging problem. In my Hainan talk, I mentioned the tension between water and power. Here is another article on the subject, noting the tension between water and solar energy.

http://michaelperelman.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/hainan1.pdf

Beamish, Rita (AP). 2009. "Future Cloudy for Desert Solar Drive." Sacramento Bee (19 April): p. A 4.

"A westward dash to power electricity-hungry cities by cashing in on the desert's most abundant resource -- sunshine -- is clashing with efforts to protect the tiny pupfish and desert tortoise and stinginess over the region's rarest resource: water. Water is the cooling agent for what traditionally has been the most cost-efficient type of large-scale solar plants. To some solar companies answering Washington's push for renewable energy on vast government lands, it's also an environmental thorn. The unusual collision pits natural resources protections against President Barack Obama's plans to produce more environmentally friendly energy."