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Commentary
Nature 452, 285-286 (20 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/452285a; Published online 19 March 2008
nature jobs
Associate Professor / Professor in Human Nutrition
- Qatar University
- Doha, Qatar
Molecular Biologist, PostDoc-Position (f/m)
- Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
The energy challenge
Mike Hightower1 & Suzanne A. Pierce1
- Mike Hightower is in the Energy Systems Analysis Department and Suzanne A. Pierce is in the Geohydrology Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Abstract
Global energy consumption is expected to grow by 50% by 2030, squeezing already scarce water resources. Mike Hightower and Suzanne A. Pierce recommend ways to integrate water and energy planning.
In January 2008 at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged business and political leaders that the looming crisis over water shortages should be at the top of the global agenda in an effort to prevent conflicts over the growing scarcity of freshwater supplies. By 2025, more than half the nations in the world will face freshwater stress or shortages, and by 2050, as much as 75% of the world's population could face freshwater scarcity1.
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