We are now in the beginning of a full on warming world. Our chance to prevent this is over. Now we are left with mitigating the damage. One of the casualties of our overconsumption and lack of forsight is water. We have alternatives to fossil fuel water guzzling, climate changing, energy sources, but we have chosen not to use them. We have no alternative to water. Before we go down a road that has no good end, we need to perform a reality check on the future of energy generation. One of the questions NOT asked in this article is "why are utilities not required to look forward in their EIS's at water supply vs requirements" in a future where across the board studies say we are moving into drought conditions in many places where , traditionally, drought has not been a major issue.

NYTimes l MICHAEL E. WEBBER  23 July, 2012

WE’RE now in the midst of the nation’s most widespread drought in 60 years, stretching across 29 states and threatening farmers, their crops and livestock. But there is another risk as water becomes more scarce. Power plants may be forced to shut down, and oil and gas production may be threatened.

Our energy system depends on water. About half of the nation’s water withdrawals every day are just for cooling power plants. In addition, the oil and gas industries use tens of millions of gallons a day, injecting water into aging oil fields to improve production, and to free natural gas in shale formations through hydraulic fracturing. Those numbers are not large from a national perspective, but they can be significant locally.

All told, we withdraw more water for the energy sector than for agriculture. Unfortunately, this relationship means that water problems become energy problems that are serious enough to warrant high-level attention.

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