water scarcity Articles
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Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue Water Footprints versus Blue Water Availability
Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by ...
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Hot Topic: Water Scarcity in Scotland
Although Scotland is famous for its relatively rainy weather, with the western Highlands on of the wettest places in the whole of the UK, in fact, it seems that the country is still likely to be affected by the climate crisis, with water stress and scarcity a very real issue facing many regions even now. It’s expected that the changing climate will bring with it greater levels of ...
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Study on the water footprint and external water dependency of Beijing
Beijing has experienced rapid economic development and population growth during recent decades, aggravating water scarcity. In order to investigate the water consumption of Beijing, this paper quantitatively evaluates the water footprint (WF), the intensity of the water footprint (Iwf) and the external water dependency (WD) based on the top-down and bottom-up methods. We obtain the following ...
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Water Scarcity & the Whisky Industry
Water resources underpin every aspect of modern society and without them everything would eventually grind to a halt… including whisky distilling! In fact, the industry is very water intensive, with water one of the three essentials necessary to facilitate the process, alongside malted barley and yeast. The word ‘whisky’ actually comes from the Gaelic uisge beatha, which means ...
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Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment as approaches to assess potential impacts of products on water consumption. Key learning points from pilot studies on tea and margarine
Water accounting and environmental impact assessment across the product’s life cycle is gaining prominence. This paper presents two case studies of applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Water Footprint (WF) approaches to tea and margarine. The WF, excluding grey water, of a carton of 50 g tea is 294 L green water and 10 L blue water, and that of a 500 g tub of margarine is 553 L ...
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Water Scarcity In Europe: A Growing Concern
It’s relatively easy to fall into the trap of thinking that drought and water stress and scarcity are issues that happen in far flung places of the world, taking places thousands of miles away in only the most arid corners of the globe. However, this is one pitfall that would perhaps be best avoided, since water stress and scarcity is, indeed, a global issue and something that will affect ...
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Tackling the Challenges Created by Water-Energy Nexus
The energy industry is under tremendous pressure to minimize its carbon and water footprint. Tremendous amounts of water are required for the production of both oil and gas as well as power generation. In addition to the water consumed, there are also significant amounts of wastewater generated by these industries. This makes the energy industry the biggest consumer of water as well as its most ...
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How Can Technology Help Address Water Scarcity?
November last year saw the COP27 climate change conference take place in Egypt, with the water crisis taking centre stage on the official agenda of the event for the first time ever… and not without excellent reason. Some 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to freshwater resources during at least one month per year right now, according to official UN figures… which also show ...
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Looking for efficiency through integrated water management between agriculture and urban uses
Many urban water systems must cope with water scarcity and climate change and additionally they must be able to fulfil the objectives of environmental protection, efficiency and sustainability. At the end they must provide the expected level of service now and in the future horizons. Some new comprehensive approaches are assessing the total water footprint in a territory using the concept of ...
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A preliminary water footprint assessment of copper production in China
Scarcer water resources, stricter water regulations, decline in ore grade and increasing controversy on water use between local communities and mining operators have raised awareness of good water stewardship as being vital to running commercially viable mining operations. Water footprint assessment (WFA) is a holistic methodological framework that allows detailed quantification of direct and ...
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Where Tomorrow Gets its Water
Embracing, not avoiding, the challenges of the environment, MECO engineers the world’s most innovative, sustainable and trusted water purification solutions. The world depends on people who depend on MECO. Our customers are shaping the future, and they require a sure source of pure water, in biotech labs and high output drug manufacturing facilities, in offshore oil exploration and ...
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What Is Virtual Water?
Even goods that contain no actual water can carry a great deal of virtual water “Virtual water” is a concept in use since the 1990s that assumes all of the water required to produce a good remains embedded within the good as it moves along the value chain. With the concept of virtual water, we can say a bowl of completely dry cereal contains all the water that was needed to grow and ...
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An essential resource: water management, conservation, and preservation
Sustainable water resource management is the next major global target that will lead corporations, governments, and others to develop system-wide solutions for water, public health, carbon, and energy use. A standardized and certifiable water footprint methodology is necessary to measure, assess, and reduce water usage impacts on humans and the environment. This discussion addresses the issues, ...
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Unlocking the power of water: Seven interventions to transform food systems
On World Food Day, a look at the role of water for more resilient and sustainable food systems. Water is essential for all life on earth and is central to the healthy functioning and sustainability of the Earth’s ecosystems. But what about the profound impact of water on our food systems? The Food and Agriculture Organization highlights that 3.2 billion people already live in regions ...
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Water Positive Companies: Pioneers in Water Security
As we face escalating water scarcity, the concept of ‘Water Positive Companies’ is gaining significant traction. These forward-thinking businesses are not only addressing their own water footprint but also contributing positively to the water balance in their operating regions. This article will go into detail to discuss how tech giants and other major companies are leading the ...
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Why companies are increasingly adopting water reuse practices
As water supplies around the world become more strained, companies are turning their attention to water recovery as an integral part of their processes. When companies choose to take control of their resources through sustainable reuse practices, they gain several advantages. SECURE FUTURE WATER SUPPLY In the U.S., the water stress ratio – a measure of the total freshwater withdrawals to ...
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Reducing industrial water footprint lightens energy footprint, too
The close connection between the water footprint of an industrial facility, which describes its overall consumption and efficiency of its water use, and its carbon footprint – much of which reflects the energy used to move, heat, cool or treat water – has never been more apparent. And as clean freshwater becomes increasingly scarce and energy becomes more expensive, reducing the water footprint ...
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GAEA - Case Study
Project Results and Impacts: First oil production company to measure its product’s water footprint Supporting company brand image and reputation Increased awareness of water issues for different stakeholders CSE Solution "Water Footprint" The Water Footprint of a product is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured over the full supply chain. The objective is ...
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How sustainable water purification solutions power the energy sector
As temperatures and populations increase in tandem, water scarcity poses a threat to U.S. power stations still relying on local resources for electricity generation. Adopting sustainable water solutions is a critical step towards hardening the nation’s power against the challenges posed by strained water supplies. Energy sector stakeholders who invest in these solutions can expect the ...
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Water Withdrawal, Water Use, and Water Consumption
Paying attention to the differences can help us as we work toward water sustainability As we look forward to a future with ever-scarcer fresh water, we’re paying more attention to our water footprints. Water sustainability requires keeping track of just how much water is being used, which can present some challenges, including with terminology. For example, water withdrawal, water use, ...
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