Water efficiency is key to saving energy, expert says.

• Author: Block, Ben
• Position: EYE ON EARTH - Brief article

In regions where distributing water requires significant electricity use, policies that help save water could address climate change more efficiently than requiring consumers 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.

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