The paper presented by the Carrillo and Frei, talks about the decrease of water and energy, as the world population and demand starts to increase. Within Carrillo and Frei’s research they stress issues about the rare amount of useable freshwater and the large amounts of energy it takes to produce and distribute the water and how the need of water must to be taken into consideration when researching future alternative energy sources. Their paper gives insight to a major world issue about the depletion of water and how it affects every life form on this planet. This leads one to conclude that this is becoming a important problem in the 21st Century because without the presence of water any kind of life can not be sustained.
As population growth continues to increase on this planet the amount of usable fresh water is decreasing. This is because the main use of water is to generate power that leads to our fresh water being contaminated and becoming non renewable. This happens when “water is used at various stages of the power generation cycle, including fuel extraction (mining and refining, oil, gas, uranium, and coal processing, coal and gas liquefaction and gasification, carbon sequestration)” (Carrillo, Frei, 2009). When these productions happen the water is taken out of its natural water cycle and made into a contaminated substance which is often toxic to living organisms. Therefore the amount of usable fresh water will become very sparse in the near future.
Carrillo and Frei also talk about the large amount of water which is needed in the production of energy, they also talk about how the energy is then needed to clean and filter the water so we can use it in our everyday lives. Meaning the energy and water are interconnected and dependent on each other. Since they’re interconnected and the “water resources are declining, the promotion of a diverse supply of reliable, affordable and sustainable energy is also at stake.”(Carrillo, Frei, 2009) Carrillo and Frei and trying to make the point that if we ruin one of natural resources (such as water), it will affect other major aspects of life such as the economy, the environment and our well being.
Within this research study it is predicted that “in the future there will be a greater demand for water and energy”. Carrillo and Frei want to educate the energy producers of the future to consider the consumption of water when producing energy. In their research they create a model which “estimates the total water needs associated with energy production in different sector for different purposes.” (Carrillo, Frei, 2009) This model was conducted for the country of Spain, from there model they realized “energy resources is projected to be more than 25% more water consumptive in 2030 than the 2005.” (Carrillo, Frei, 2009) However just in the “transportation sector, if biofuels increased from 1% to 25% of the fuels used for transportation, they would consume almost 6 times the total water consumed by the electricity sector.” (Carrillo, Frei, 2009). Also through there research they determined if Spain were to base “37% wind power, water withdrawal would be reduced by almost 8% compared to the 2030” (Carrillo, Frei, 2009). Therefore they have proven that in the future if we produce our energy from renewable sources that didn't depend on water, that countries water consumption could decrease.
The research of Carrillo and Frei concluded that water and energy are interdependent on each other, if one becomes affected the other will eventually become affected. When water is used to make energy it can often become contaminated and nonrenewable for example when used in a such process like producing oil. Also Carrillo and Frei research concluded through their model that if we start producing our energy in a way that is cautious with our water, we can restore our water tables slowly. This could be done by a mix of different energies “ based on wind and solar energy which is less water intensive than any other scenario” (Carrillo, Frei, 2009). In their research they have identify a on going problem about energy production and its dependence on water. With a research model that presents a way which will help with water and energy conservation in the future.
Resources
Carrillo, Anna Merce` Rio, and Christoph Frei. "Water: A key resource in energy production." Energy Policy (2009): 1-10. Print.
Kendra Bester
Kendra,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job of balancing the thoroughness with which you described the journal article with the simplicity of concepts and ideas needed to make your newspaper article accessible and readible to the average member of the public. The only part I stumbled on a bit were the long quotations form the articles about changes in water withdrawal (in the 4th paragraph). Paraphrasing and explaining some of those statistics might have made them easier to understand.
While I agree with Olivia that some quotations pulled from the original article are quite lengthily and a bit hard to take in, they do provide further understanding of the particular issue at hand. Water is an extremely valuable resource and is depleting at an alarming rate, and it is a scary thought that this resource can be simply ruined when in the conquest of a non-renewable energy, such as oil, as you mentioned. I believe you did a very good job of summarizing the important sections from the original in order for the reader to understand the objective of the study. Good work!
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