The so-called renewable energy sources/resources differ considerably and in many aspects from non-renewable ones. In “susutain-earth.com” we examined one type of electricity generation TPP “Thermal Power Plants” through using fossil-fuel “coal”. The “life-cycle”, in this case the transformation of fossil energy to electricity, was given including the production of waste and pollution as unwanted bi-products with environmentally damaging effects. We demonstrated, also, the so-called WE-nexus, i.e. how the production of (energy) electricity is dependent on water. Here we illustrate the “life-cycle” for production of electricity from wind.

The construction, installation and operation of wind turbines are simple in relations to the more complicated “TPP units”. With appropriate storage solutions, i.e. to compensate for variable power production “weather conditions”, they provide cost-effective and environment friendly solutions, as is the case for solar planels, i.e. with “zero” pollution and no need for water in operation.

The accelerating consumption of WE-resources “Water and Energy Resources” in the MENA region has huge negative long-term and large-scale impacts on achieving sustainable socio-economic developments in the whole region. The same threats are emerging in the Nile Basin region. Effective large-scale and long-term solutions are urgently required for developing and implementing WE-saving technologies in all society sectors and on all levels.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130418161903

An important question for achieving sustainable socio-economic developments in any nation is: what is the limiting factor, is it water or energy? Currently, lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills children at a rate equivalent to jumbo jet crashing every four hours, this is equivalent to 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation and hygiene-related problems. Almost 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, mainly in the developing countries; the problem will still worsen as 70 percent of industrial waste is dumped untreated into waterways. The so-called emerging economies are, also, facing an accelerating threat from mismanagement of water resources that on the long run will be the most limiting factor for achieving sustainable socio-economic development.

China isn’t an exception, with its 22% of the world’s population, an access to only 5 percent of global water resources and an estimated 300 million people that lack access to safe drinking water. According to the Ministry of Water Resources in China, if China continues to consume and pollute at today’s rate, water demand will exceed supply in less than two decades. The past decades of rapid development, massive construction of infrastructure and huge industrial developments resulted in huge pollutant’s spill untreated into waterways. An estimated 50% of groundwater in cities, 77% of 26 key monitored lakes and reservoirs and 43% of 7 major river basins are considered unfit for human contact. Meanwhile, 19% of monitored rivers and basins, 35% of lakes are reservoirs are considered unfit even for agricultural or industrial use. These effects are related to China’s huge needs for energy and the associated “energy-water” nexus, e.g. 96% of China’s electric power requires water to generate, and 47% of electricity is consumed by water scarce provinces. Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of water at 62%, and the largest polluter, with pesticides and fertilizers responsible for about half the contamination of waterways. Soils are, also, facing great degradation, the average level of organic matter in soil is now 1-5% for northeastern China’s arable land, compared with 8-10% in the 1950s. A report published in 2007 by the World Bank and the Chinese government estimated the combined health and non-health cost of outdoor air and water pollution at approximately $100 billion a year, or about 5.8% of China’s GDP. Water pollution, meanwhile, worsens China’s severe water scarcity problems, with the overall cost of water shortages estimated at 1% of GDP.

Climate change has, also, negative effects in form of growing desertification and prolonged droughts in agricultural regions nationwide with impacts on drinking water and livestock as well as water levels in some of the countries major hydropower producing regions.

http://chinawaterrisk.org/resources/analysis-reviews/china-water-portrait-past-future/

The environmental importance is gaining greater and greater attention for policy makers around the world. Many countries are struggling to provide drinking water with good quality for their population. However, the quality of drinking water is very much related to the environmental conditions. The most important indicator for clean environment is availability of clean drinking water for everyone, this is also very much related to availability of clean natural waters and thereby clean environments.

Many countries in Europe can offer everyone the best drinking water quality in the world; in this context tap water in Europe can very well compete with the quality of bottled water.

http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/location/top-10-countries-with-the-best-tap-water/

Toxic compounds, hazardous chemicals and aggressive gases are not only produced in laboratories with restrict protection laws and well planned ventilation systems. They are, unfortunately, allowed to be produced and emitted as well as to keep circulating in our living environments and in the atmosphere around us. Though most of our concern is focused on “green-house” gases and the “green-house” effect, air pollution and air quality are among important environmental issues because of their severe impacts on health.

Many capital cities around the world suffer from “smog”. “Smog” has different origin and composition. Heavy industries using oil, metals and natural gas in their production can be potential sources for smog formation. Domestic fireplaces with coal and wood can contribute to major parts of the smog formation in some cities; this can be also the case with high volume of road traffic, rubbish incineration and dust from the surrounding deserts. In some mega cities the number of cars has increased to tens of millions in the last 30 years. However, fossil fuels, in particular coal, powered plants can still be major sources causing the biggest problem. Apart from man-made pollution, natural processes, e.g. sandstorms in hot arid and semi-arid regions/deserts can contribute to smog forming. In combination with intense ultra-violet rays industrial and automobile emissions can be transformed into, as transported as, ozone.

But, according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), the megacity doesn’t even rank among the top 10 cities for smog. Most of the worst afflicted are smaller cities across the developing world.

Poor air quality causes a number of illnesses for city residents, like chronic respiratory problems and lung cancer. According to a study by the Max-Planck Institute in Mainz, some 15,000 people die every year in Dhaka due to air pollution. Researchers found the world’s highest concentration of sulfur dioxide there. Smog can contain high levels of toxic chemicals, e.g. hydrocarbons, heavy metals, fine particulates, S-/N-/C- compounds, ozone, …. and other hazardous compounds.

The Chinese capital, Beijing, isn’t the only big city suffering from smog. From Asia to the Middle East to the Americas, here’s a look at the 10 worst cities for bad air. Beijing, China; Ahwaz, Iran; Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Lahore, Pakistan, New Delhi, India; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Cairo, Egypt; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Moscow, Russia; Mexico City, Mexico

http://www.dw.de/top-10-worst-cities-for-smog/g-17469135

Worldwide water governance has been challenged on several levels from local up to international though the existing forces are beyond human control, e.g. growing human population, increasing diversity in economic activities, enhanced competition on water resources, threats of climate disruption on water balance and availability. Sustainable management of natural resources is facing challenges in particular policy-making, the  implementation of laws, interpretation of international treaties and conventions. Examples are the trans-boundary water issues and disputes between upstream-downstream countries due to divergence in utilization of water resources for power generation, industry, agriculture and household uses. Water scarcity and security are typical issues in the MENA region and have caused disputes in the Nile Basin and Israel-Palestine area. This is, also, the case in other parts of the world, e.g. between India and Pakistan.

Other challenges are: affordable access to safe drinking water as a human right, e.g. sanitation and health issues in Sub-Saharan Africa; the needs for ways to measure access to improved water and unimproved water; the push to privatize water resources to drive efficiency and water trade; drought management and impacts of climate change. In global perspective water as a human right is not totally agreed upon, e.g. by the US and others international donors and what concerns affordability there are still more efforts to be done.

A panel discussion on contemporary challenges is given here on the sustainable use of the world’s freshwater resources, and the effectiveness of international law, e.g. international human right law, international environmental law and others, to meet existing challenges.

Among the most important indicators for life on earth are air and water qualities with poor qualities of air and water it becomes difficult, even impossible, to sustain life in any form. In some places in the world abuse of the natural resources, e.g. blind exploitation, production and use, have caused serious degradation and enormous damage, of natural environments. Exploitation, production and consumption are associated with environmental, ecological and human costs in form of “environmental, ecological and health degradation” and if such costs are not accounted for we will have negative sustainability balance. With gradual pile-up of such environmental, ecological and health debt, as is the case in the given examples, there would be no places on earth for suitable and sustainable life.          

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/the-15-most-toxic-places-to-live/earths-orbit

The following are currently considered to be the top five most sustainable cities in the world:  VANCOUVER, CANADA; SAN FRANCISCO, U.S.; OSLO, NORWAY; CURITIBA, BRAZIL; and COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.

When it comes to implementing sustainable initiatives these cities are leading the globe in how that achieved and/or can achieve sustainable cities through using renewable energy and by cutting back on emissions. Among common sustainability characteristics of these cities (http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/SustainableCities/Characteristics.html) are:

leadership in using and developing renewables; green transport and traffic with low emissions; strict and green buildings with improved energy efficiency and ongoing LEED-certified green building projects); high marks for air quality and clean environment; waste management with efficient and high recycling rates; reserve high percent of land to green spaces, ongoing projects for efficient electric car traffic (Vancouver and San Francisco); protected forest, parks waterways, and agriculture land (e.g. Oslo, Curitiba); intelligent lighting adjusting intensity depending on traffic conditions and weather (Oslo); bio-methane from waste to power mass transit and heating; projects for cutting carbon emissions by 50 percent in coming decades with goals to be the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025 (Copenhagen); heating system powered by high percent renewable energy, mainly from biomass from residual waste with plans to reach 100 percent renewable sources for heating in most the cold regions in the world (Oslo); innovative program that allows people to exchange trash for transit tokens or fresh produce (Curitiba); projects to get 50 percent of the population on two wheels by 2015 by closing down some major roads to cars and developing an additional 43 miles of bike lanes and requiring all new developments to incorporate some level of vegetation into building designs (Copenhagen).

http://www.ecomagination.com/top-five-most-sustainable-cities-in-the-world

Security and safety of citizens are essential features of safe societies and although it seems like the world is becoming more crueler with increasing instabilities, The Global Peace Index indicates here the 20 most peaceful countries in the world. The Global Peace Index issued by IEP (Institute for Economics and Peace) since 2007 gives data of nations’ and regions’ peacefulness as based on external and internal measures.

Among the essential features of the countries given here are that they prefer to focus on economic matters, building strong economies and creating a stable investment climate, trusted platforms for wealth management services and estate planning, instead of involving themselves in various armed conflicts. Many of these countries show great standards of living, have high levels of human development and place peace at the forefront of their priorities, e.g. they concentrate on being great neighbors, through establishing social, peaceful, economic, cordial political relations with other countries. Many of these countries work with the United Nations and its supporting agencies on a great variety of efforts, e.g. peacekeeping missions, and participate in various global, unilateral and multilateral organizations to promote international cooperation. They enjoy especially low rates of homicide, violent crime, criminality, organized internal conflicts, violent protests, internal and external wars fought, also, staying out of the main conflicts in the world. Sweden, for example, has a low level of robberies (only 9,000 a year) compared to the United States (about 350,000 a year)! Besides, Sweden has not been to war and has not participated in any combats for the whole 2 centuries. Many of these countries also enjoy political stabilities, neutrality in regional, international and global political issues while maintaining strong diplomatic relations with various countries around the world. Education in some of these countries is at the heart of literally everything, e,g. Finland’s education system is ranked fifth best in the world.

Many of these countries have unique culture diversity, fantastic travel destination, beautiful town halls, majestic castles, captivating and breathtaking natural beauty, alpine glaciers, golden plains and impressive mountains, spectacular coastline, sandy beaches and legendary hospitality, rugged landscape, wonderful fauna, awesome beaches and fantastic geothermal and volcanic activity. Many of them have vibrant, clean and safe cities with millennial heritage, spectacular scenery and friendly people.

http://travel.amerikanki.com/most-peaceful-countries-in-the-world/20/

Humans have always worried about weather not only on for days and short-terms but also distant future and over longer periods (climate) especially for food security, living and for creation of settlements.  Future Tellers, Horoscope or Science are different forms of predicting the unpredictable depending on cultural, social and economic conditions. For science “what you can’t measure doesn’t exist”, even though there are uncertainties in “weather/climate” sciences as such knowledge rely on models. First we develop models through existing knowledge, we keeting improving knwledge through research. Then in parallel models are developed, tested and improved untill they can reproduce the reality and if so the models become reliable and acceptable. What regards climate and weather we seek answers on when, where, how and to which extent the climate/weather would/can be, also assessing the expected disasters, damage, losses and costs. Such knowledge/data are helpful what regards management and actions.

The best journal in science “Nature, Climate Change” has published data from the most accurate model yet developed showing that annual floods in Europe will increase four fold and the associated annual costs will be 23.5 bn Euros by the middle of the century. About 2/3 of these changes are due to human development and not by climate change. It is clear now that instead of assessing individual flood risks, maximum water discharges over large numbers of river basins or parts of catchments can give much better predictions what regards large-scale and long-term predictions.

In production strategies, more energy means more work gets done, it can also mean more conservation in energy can generate more work. The difference between these strategies is not only saving energy to get the same amount of work but it is the enormous saving of assocaited waste and pollution which in turn means more quality life, water for healthy food and conservation of environment. This makes the essence of modern sustainability, three-fold saving “energy-water-food” with enormous feedback on health, life quality and biodiversity. In this context, a  strategic question in the use of energy for production and living is: how much is enough in energy use and consumption? Can we humans use and consume as much energy as we wish and what are the limits? Are there any roofs for our energy needs for consumption, in this case what are these roofs, how they can be defined, monitored and implemented?

Indeed, global water scarcity started to be more pronounced is not because water on our planet is becoming less but it is because our energy needs for consumption are becoming not only unrealistically high but they are currently unaffordable and even inaccessible for future generations.

Click to access Water-Energy-Nexus-FinalReport_5.pdf

Since late 1040’s, water resource management in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, the occupied Palestinian territories and Western Sahara “former Spanish Sahara”) faced several negative impacts as a result of asymmetric power relations, volatile political situations, political instabilities with periodic/continuous conflicts and wars. Under such conditions water policies were mainly focused on national short-term interests for securing supply and services with little, or even no, consideration to entire water cycle, e.g. the large-scale and long-term trans-boundary nature of the water resources in regions with shared rivers and/or shared groundwater resources. Furthermore, periodic conflicts and wars hindered developing appropriate economic-political instruments for efficient water-use and flexibility to manage long-term and large-scale supply and demand. Also, Integrated Water Resource Management “IWRM” for trans-boundary waters were lacking coherent policies of equitable and reasonable use, i.e. by being based on such factors as social and economic needs, size of population, access to other water sources, etc. The added-value to national and regional programs from several international donors involved in MENA water issues (the World Bank, UNDP and USAID) was therefore rather limited.

In addition to trans-boundary political conflicts, national governance is/was hampered by a lack of coherent laws, seemingly incompatible political interests, weak environmental legislation for over-exploitation of groundwater and over-consumption of water for irrigation with associated pollution and in-economic use of water. Pesticides, herbicides, industrial pollution, agricultural and household waste resulted in serious impacts on water quality, in addition to saline intrusion of the aquifers near the seas.  

Click to access Paper12_MENA_Water_Overview_2007.pdf

Water in the MENA region is integrated into the wider economic policies of the countries of the region and therefore water issues have to be addressed to multi-sectorial audience to bring about a broad reform within the current political and economic climate.  Indeed, MENA is using more water than it receives each year and most of the countries in the MENA region cannot meet current water demands. The situation is likely to be worse and per capita water will fall by half already before 2050, with serious impacts for the region’s already stressed aquifers and natural hydrological systems.

In coming decades, economies and population structures will force enhanced demands for water supply and irrigation, in addition to new needs to address industrial and urban pollution. Future management of water resources will be further complicated as the major part of the region’s water flows across international borders and climate change will introduce complex shifts in rainfall patterns. If the MENA region will not be able to meet these combined challenges the socio-economic consequences could be enormous, e.g. erratic drinking water services, more expensive desalination for cities and there would be needs for emergency supplies during droughts. Unreliable water resources, depletion of aquifers, service outages will cause stress on expensive infrastructure, depress farmers’ incomes, intensify local/regional conflicts with short- and long-term effects on economic growth and poverty, social tensions within and between communities, and increasing pressure on public budgets.

Post 1960s water policies of securing supply and services require switch toward better water management with consideration to entire water cycle and not the separate components, also use of economic instruments for water efficiency and flexibility to manage variations supply and demand. Changes in planning should include integrating water quality and quantity and consider the entire water system, promotion of demand management, tariff reform for water supply, strengthening of government agencies and stronger enforcement of environmental regulations. Also, shift from low-value uses to higher-value needs. Equal involvement of all stakeholders in water management policies including stakeholders outside irrigation, water resource management, and water supply and sanitation, e.g. within agriculture, trade, energy, real estate, land, finance, and social protection.

Reforms for sustainable socio-economic water management should involve: political and technical policies; effective interactions with non-water decision makers; accountability of government agencies and water service to the public as well as transparency for good and bad performance.

Click to access Water_Scarcity_Full.pdf

By 2030 South Africa will have 60 million people, i.e. more than double of today’s population, to feed. Today’s water and energy resources are already used up for living and providing food. The only solution is SUSTAINABLE planning and recognizing the way these three resources, i.e. food, energy and water, are INTER-CONNECTED.  We need sustainability as much as sustainability needs us.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MGNxRZD4Uxs