Water efficiency key to saving energy, expert says

clipped from www.environmental-expert.com In regions where pumping and distributing water requires significant electricity use, policies that lead to reduced water consumption could address climate change more efficiently than requiring businesses and households to use less energy, according to water expert Peter Gleick. 'Some of the cheapest greenhouse gas emission reductions available seem to be not energy-efficiency programs, but water-efficiency programs,' said Gleick, president of the California-based Pacific Institute, a global water research center. Gleick notes, for example, that it may be cheaper for consumers to reduce the overall hot water usage in their homes than to replace their incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient alternatives. The virtues of water efficiency can be found in California and China - regions where water shortages have become emergencies and droughts may worsen with climate change.