When people use the internet, they rely on a data center to store, manage and disseminate information. To keep these centers running efficiently, a tremendous amount of energy and water are required, providing yet another example of the important nexus between water and energy resources. Digital cryptocurrencies cause similar concerns. How Do Data Centers Use […]
Food and water are connected. Have you ever looked at a plate of food and wondered, “How much water it takes to make a hamburger?” The largest portion of the average person’s water footprint comes from their diet. In order to lower water footprints, there’s no better place for a person to start than to […]
The water footprint concept is a way to measure the volume of water consumed, evaporated and polluted in the process of making a product or service, such as a food item or electricity. Individuals, companies, municipalities and nations can measure their water footprints, which are broken down into three components: green, blue and grey. The definitions of […]
Snowpack that collects on mountains is vital to the water resources of the United States, but also to the waterways and water supplies around the world. As mountain snowpack melts, it slowly releases water into streams, rivers and lakes. Although snowmelt supplies up to 50 percent of the world’s freshwater and around 75 percent of […]
Water usage in the United States is multi-faceted and the country is fortunate to have ample water resources compared to many other countries around the world. Water protection and conservation are still important though, because water is limited and no place is immune from drought. Water usage in the United States has dropped significantly over […]
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a multistep extraction process in which fossil fuel-bearing rock formations are drilled and fractured using huge amounts of water. Oil and gas reserves that were at one time considered inaccessible are now available to be exploited. While the fracking process has expanded oil and gas development, it has also expanded […]
Climate scientists have been saying all along that one of the primary effects of climate change is the disruption of the water cycle. Since so much of everyday life and planning is determined by hydrological systems, it is important to understand the impact that climate change is having (and will have) on drinking water supplies, […]
Water is deeply intertwined with electricity production. In the past, researchers have estimated the large volumes of cooling water used by different kinds of power plants, but those estimates don’t usually take into account the many other thirsty steps required to generate electricity, from extracting fuels, to manufacturing all the parts of a power plant. Estimating […]
Food, water and energy systems are intimately connected with each other and water is a crucial component to making food and energy systems work. It takes water to grow crops and produce energy and it takes a lot of energy to treat and move water. Food and energy are equally dependent upon each other. The […]
