Earth Institute News Archive
posted 04/07/04
Energy, Water, and New York Economic Growth
April 20 workshop to identify planning
and research agenda
Energy and water are inextricably linked, and economic growth of the region depends on both. Cooling water for thermo-electric power plants now accounts nationally for 38% of all water withdrawals in the U.S. Yet historically, energy and water issues have been planned for separately. The Earth Institute at Columbia, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) are holding a New York Regional Energy-Water Workshop on April 20, 2004 at Columbia University’s Alfred Lerner Hall to discuss issues related to these two critical resources.
What: New York Regional
Energy-Water Workshop
When: April 20, 2004
Where: Satow Room, Alfred
Lerner Hall (Broadway at 115th Street), Columbia University
In New York, energy-water issues range from the immediate concerns of electric system reliability, to environmental impacts of electric generation and petroleum refineries and terminals, to the possible long-term effects of global warming on water availability and salt-water incursions into wetlands and aquifers. The goal for this New York workshop is to examine the most pressing regional energy and water issues in New York, and identify how stakeholder planning and research and development can be directed so that future New Yorkers will continue to have access to plentiful, clean, and safe water and energy.
Similar workshops have been held in Albuquerque, NM and Pittsburgh, PA, as part of the Energy-Water Nexus Initiative established by the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories with participation by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The series of workshops intends to address the energy security challenge of providing both abundant clean fresh water and adequate energy growth to sustain U.S. economic health and security.
The keynote speaker will be the Honorable Mr. Chris Ward, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Also speaking will be Dr. William Horak, Chair of the Energy Science and Technology Department at BNL and Dr. Robert Goldstein, Senior Technical Leader for Water and Ecosystems at EPRI. Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, head of the Climate Impacts Group at the Earth Institute, will host the workshop, and with other faculty from Columbia University and researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory will moderate at breakout sessions.
To obtain additional information or register for this workshop, please visit the workshop website at http://www.bnl.gov/nyre/. For information on Brookhaven National Laboratory, please see www.bnl.gov. For information on the Earth Institute at Columbia University please see www.earth.columbia.edu. For information on the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) please see www.epri.com.
The Earth Institute at Columbia University is among the world’s leading academic centers for the integrated study of Earth, its environment, and society. The Earth Institute builds upon excellence in the core disciplines—earth sciences, biological sciences, engineering sciences, social sciences and health sciences—and stresses cross-disciplinary approaches to complex problems. Through its research, training and global partnerships, it mobilizes science and technology to advance sustainable development, while placing special emphasis on the needs of the world’s poor.