The High Tech World of Water

So, today is Blog Action Day and this year’s topic is water.  My first thought was, how can water possibly be related to global technology policies.  Luckily, everything seems to be connected with everything else in some way and I found some great information on how water directly effects global technology policies.  This brainstorm was sparked by reading an IEEE Spectrum article titled, “The Coming Clash Between Water and Energy“. It seems obvious after reading the article, but I bet you don’t know what the connection is between global technology policy and water.

If you were thinking of liquid cooling systems in computers, you were very close.  The connection is simply the fact that water is the primary coolant for power plants around the world, not to mention a very key ingredient in hydroelectric power stations as well as wave and tidal power generators.  Water is so crucial to these systems that it is often taken for granted and this is at least part of the problem.  According to this article, simple tasks such as charging your phone can require as much as a half liter of water and the US will cool its power plants using an average of 500 billion liters of water every day.  As the world continues to grow in population and economies develop further we will need to find ways to conserve water and share this limited resource.  The alternative is spelled out in another article, here, which describes water as potentially one of the main causes of the genocide in Darfur.  Additionally, there is a wealth of research and concern over future water wars as the world’s population continues to grow and fresh water resources are used up.

Check here for more facts about the world’s water needs.