With Prof. Robert Abrams, I’ve published a new article that focuses on the challenges for water management as climate change affects water resources and climate change mitigation policy affects water allocation decisions. The article, “Framing Water Policy in a Carbon Affected and Carbon Constrained Environment”, was published in a special Fiftieth Anniversary edition of the Natural Resources Journal (citation - 50 Natural Resources Journal 3 (2010)). Here’s the abstract, and the full article is available online:
Climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions is substantially altering water availability while increasing water demand. Shifts in domestic energy policy and production, while needed to confront the challenge of climate change, may further stress the nation’s water resources. These changes and new demands will be most severe in regions that are already experiencing water stresses and conflicts. This article examines the extent of the changes in water supply and demand by assessing how water conflicts will be addressed in the four overarching water use categories: water for population security, water for ecological security, water for energy security, and water for food security. The analysis suggests that water governance institutions and policies need to be retooled to better accommodate the necessary reallocation of water that will serve the nation’s water security needs.
