protecting profits in a water scarce world

Thera N. Kalmijn and R. Paul Herman have come up with the 10 R’s of Water Management and shared their plan with everyone in two parts (part 1 and part 2). You might think this is just overreacting by a couple of treehuggers, but you’d be wrong. They remind us that in 2001, hydroelectric power shortages forced the shutdown of aluminum plant smelters in the Pacific Northwest, resulting in the loss of 8,000 jobs. So, developing and executing on a water management strategy is just plan ole’ fashioned good business.

companies vague on water-scarcity risk, investors say

We know that water management is critical to avoid production interruption. So investors are keen to know the water-related risks faced by specific companies, but that doesn’t mean the information is readily available. A recent report by CERES shows that this information is often “boilerplate and vague.” A Business Week article goes into detail about the report including some of the companies CERES found to be most transparent with their water-risks.

water at the core of climate change

Alister Doyle, an environmental correspondent with Reuters, puts it quite plainly: “The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies.” Unlike many articles we read, Doyle suggests that conflict and disease can be avoided if we just learn from past successful examples of cooperation. Water shortages on the Indus River resulted in cooperation between India and Pakistan and Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia’s set up the Mekong River Commission. With up to 250 million people facing water shortages, it’s good to know that conflict is not guaranteed.

australia’s “top end” too dry to become food bowl

Imagine a place that gets billions of gallons of rain each year, but still can’t sustain agriculture. That place is northern Australia. According to Reuters, farmers and politicians had planned on converting this area into a “food bowl for the world.” However, topography, weather, and climate change mean that much of the water is for not. You see, the rain comes during a few months and the rest of the year is completely dry. During those wet months, most of the water runs quickly out to sea or evaporates quickly when the rain stops. Looks like the Aussies will have to find another way to make the most of this region.

TEDsters answer the question…

The folks with PUR are hanging out with all the big thinkers this week at TED and asking, “If water could talk, what would it say?” And to answer the question, you’ll have to check out PUR’s photo gallery. The extra cool part is you can “like” the album or Tweet it and PUR will donate 10 liters to those in need. Come on, click the link and make clean water happen for someone who would otherwise be without.

From around the world and around the web, here are this week’s water stories that caught our eye. If we missed one you thought others should know about, please tell us about it in the comments.

water is too cheap

In Davos last week police used water cannons to disperse a small crowd of protesters. That’s one use for water, we suppose. But more on topic at the high-profile meeting, was water conservation and real pricing of this commodity. In this week’s Wall Street Journal review how population growth and climate change mean that smart market-based solutions and a new regulatory system are needed to ensure stability and access.

rising water costs

A perfect example of how water is under priced is India. According to DNA India, water is heavily subsidized – by as much as 60 percent for middle-class neighborhoods. Residents of Mumbai are facing possible rate hikes for their water. The rate increase is designed to bring the costs closer to reality and discourage waste. But can you imagine what that would do to your household budget?

a dry town, and we’re not just talking liquor

News about Yemen is on the rise, and given the many challenges for the impoverished country, we’re likely to hear a lot more about it. We already know there are growing concerns about militants and Al-Qaeda support. What you may not be aware of is the fact that the country is running out of both water and oil. Some experts the capital, Sanaa, could be bone dry in ten years. Talk about a source of instability!

growing concerns about energy and climate change

Above we can see how on a local level climate change and energy resources could turn into security nightmare, and that fact is not lost on the U.S. military. This week the Pentagon released its Quadrennial Defense Review. We’ll cut to the chase for you, the study concludes:

Assessments conducted by the intelligence community indicate that climate change could have significant geopolitical impacts around the world, contributing to poverty, environmental degradation, and the further weakening of fragile governments. Climate change will contribute to food and water scarcity, will increase the spread of disease and may spur or exacerbate mass migration.

Now, if it’s so clear that this is likely to be a problem, we wonder when climate change will register with the American people.

water scarcity gets its own conference

Later this month, some of the nation’s biggest companies, and many smaller ones too, will gather in San Francisco to discuss water scarcity risks and water footprints in the supply chain. Some of the speakers include representatives from Procter & Gamble, Nike, Intel, and many others. You know we’ll be watching what happens; think they’ll have a Twitter hashtag?

water conservation pays big

Dow Chemical’s production site in Freeport, Texas has a new feature: 80 water cooling towers made by Nalco Company. The new system is saving over 1 billion gallons of water and $4 million per year. We’re still information on how much the system cost, but something tells us that it’s a pretty good ROI.

A few water-related news articles from around the world we thought you’d like to see.

treating wastewater is bad for the environment

Yes, you read that correctly. The engineers at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago wanted to know what their carbon footprint was and to figure out how to reduce it. One of their conclusions: disinfecting wastewater increases greenhouse gas emissions.

step away from the rain barrel

If you live in Utah and capture the rainwater that falls on your property, you’re breaking the law. State Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, wants to change that. He’s introduced a bill to allow people to store up to 2,500 gallons for use on their property. This isn’t the first time this issue has debated. Last year it didn’t pass. But a new provision requiring people to register as a rain-gatherer (our term, not theirs) may help this bill become law.

4 billion gallons contaminated daily

Each day the natural gas industry pollutes 4 billion gallons of water a day just during the drilling process. The Environmental Leader reports that an innovative company has devised “water reclamation process that uses osmosis technology to recycle wastewater in the oil and gas industry.” We’re pleased to see, and not at all surprised, that the company has also found that it’s not only saving water, but energy and transportation costs too.

sun-powered desalination plants

One might not expect to hear that of all the countries in the world, Saudi Arabia is trying to wean itself off of oil. At least, that’s the plan when it comes to providing clean water for its people. The Kingdom gets 50 to 70 percent of its drinking water from desalination plants. And to convert all that salt water to fresh, they use 1.5 million barrels of oil each and every day. The new solar-powered desalination facilities should reduce water and energy costs by 40 percent.

our most important resource

Earlier this month Grist interviewed author Stephen Solomon to talk about how water will once again be the planet’s most important natural resource. Solomon just published a new book Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization (adding to our reading list now). The interview covers how water scarcity and climate change are inextricably linked. Even if you don’t plan on reading the book, read the interview, you’ll have a better understanding the problem and opportunities.

can australia teach us how to deal with drought?

In the opinion pages of the Sidney Morning Herald earlier this week, they suggest that the Yanks can learn from Australia’s years of drought. You may not know, but the Colorado River is drying up. They’ve already been though that when the Murray Darling ran dry. While the piece has a number of good points, what we thought was interesting were the comments. Some folks don’t think there are any worthy lessons from Down Under, while others seem to think we just can’t learn. What do you think?

Seems like each week there are more and more stories in the media discussing water scarcity and water quality. With so many floating around, we’ll choose a few each Friday that we think everyone should know about. So, here is the first batch of water-related stories from around the world:

crisis in haiti

Of course, we’ve all been glued to the T.V. and computer monitors following  developments in Haiti. We know that even before the 7.0 earthquake, the island nation’s infrastructure was less than ideal. And since 10 days ago, there simply isn’t any infrastructure at all. Water, food, and shelter are continuing to flow in from around the world. According to Yobie Benjamin’s article yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle’s online edition, water tanks are being installed around the city and hundreds of thousands of liters of water have been distributed, but it’s just not enough, nor is it sustainable. Benjamin is looking for the public to help pressure the U.S. government to get a large-scale solar powered water filtration system delivered. If you’ve got connections, the author asks you to reach out to Bobbie Dunphy or tweet him at @yobie.

hazards of growth

Water quality problems are not new for China. This week J. Carl Ganter published a well-documented piece in Circle of Blue called Tracing Kunming, China’s Freshwater Hazards. Ganter examines one of China’s newest projects, the Kunming International Airport. The airport is supposed to be a model for green development. Unfortunately, the construction is wreaking havoc with the local freshwater supply, which is already stressed. Even if you don’t have time to read the entire article, you have to take a look at the photos.

making money from water scarcity

Over at Seeking Alpha, an online community and resource for investors, David Rupprecht wrote an article Electricity and Water: Scarcity Will Drive Prices Upwards. He lays out a suggestion that with both energy and water supplies dwindling, there’s an opportunity to make money by investing in utilities. Do you agree?

water shortages leave crops and patience short

This week Pakistan is reporting that drought and water diversion by India will cause a 40 percent decline in this year’s wheat crop. According to a treaty between the two countries, India is supposed to release 16,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Chenab River. Instead, they have only been releasing less than one-third of that amount which has resulted in the closing of a number of canals and exacerbated the drought. One farmer told The Nation that he thinks future wars will be fought over water.

water-wise baseball

The Minnesota Twins new 40,000-seat Target Field will truly be the greenest ballpark in the country. The new facility has a number of eco-friendly design elements; most important to us is what they are doing about water conservation. The park has an integrated rainwater-recycling system that will collect, filter and disinfect up to 2 million gallons of water each year. You can read more about the Twin’s new home at Treehugger.

Know of another water story we should have posted? Share your link in the comments.