Page - XII - in Water, Energy, and Environment - A Primer

Thisbookalsospringsfrommyobservationthatwhiletherearemany existingbooksofamore-or-lesstechnicalnatureonthethreeelementsof this nexus, abookaddressing eachof themand their interdependencies in a college-level primer for a broad global and multidisciplinary audience would be valuable. Consideration of these and related issues, and options for addressing them,will be priorities for all levels of government. They will also be priorities for many levels of the private sector in the decades ahead, both in developing and developed nations. A handbook-style primer that provides an easily read and informative introduction to, and overview of, these issues will contribute broadly to public education. It will assist governments and firms in carrying out their responsibilities to provide needed services and goods in a sustainable manner, and help to encourage young people to enter these fields. It will serve as an excellent mechanism for exposure of experts in other fields to the issues associatedwith the water-energy-environment nexus. Further, in addition to the audiences mentioned above, target audiences include economists and others in the finance communities who will analyze and provide the needed investment funds, and those in the development community responsible for planning and delivering services to underserved populations. The book is organized as follows: the first chapter will be devoted to the concept of nexus and how the three elements, water, energy, and environment, are inextricably linked. This recognition leads to the conclusion that if society is to optimize their contributions to human and planetary welfare they must be addressed jointly. No longermust policy for eachof these elements be considered in its own silo. Chapters 2 and 3will be devoted to spelling out global contexts for water and energy issues, respectively. Chapter 4, on related environmental issues, will address the issues of water contamination, oil spills, fracking, radioactive waste storage, and global warming/ climate change. Chapter 5will be a discussion of energy efficiency – i.e., the wise use of energy – and its role in limiting energy demand and its associated benefits. Chapter 6will focus on the basics of fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas –which today dominate global energy demand. Chapter 7 will discuss nuclear-fission-powered electricity production,which today accounts for 10%of global electricity. It will also discuss the prospects for controlled nuclear fusion.Chapter 8will Water,Energy,andEnvironment–APrimerxii