31 Aug
Saving Water by Conserving Energy
Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, which supplies 90% of Las Vegas’s water and millions of other residents, shown at about half capacity in 2007. Ken Dewey photo. Click on image to enlarge.Last week we examined the amount of energy it takes to transport and treat water–and how we can conserve energy by using less water. This week, we’ll look at the inverse of that: how much water it takes to produce energy and how our energy conservation efforts reduce water use.
The water intensity of energy
Whenever water shortages loom anywhere, we hear about how much “embodied water” there is in various products. According to the Water Footprint Network, producing a slice of bread requires 11 gallons of water and producing a pound of beef takes 1,800 gallons. The same sort of analysis can be done with our energy sources. As with foods, different types of energy have different water intensities.
Electricity:
[More]










