Water, Energy, and the Future of Life: Understanding the Connection

It takes one half liter of water to charge an iPhone. With some 50 million iPhone users worldwide, one charge requires 25 million liters of water – roughly the same volume The Red Cross delivered to Haiti in the month following the 2010 earthquake. While the connection between water and energy is little understood today, it will become increasingly significant in the future as the global population soars, igniting greater energy demands and putting even more pressure on the Earth’s scarce water supply.

Three innovative minds from across the globe will shed light on the symbiotic relationship between water and energy, providing insight into how greater collaboration between industry, government, academia and the NGO community must lead to necessary changes as we consider how to maximize the supply of one, while minimizing the use of the other. David Rowan, editor for WIRED UK will moderate the conversation.

The Panel Participants

David Klanecky: David Klanecky is the global business director for Dow Energy Materials, a business he helped launch in 2010 that develops innovative materials for large-format batteries for electric vehicles and other energy storage devices. He has fostered collaborations around energy innovation with industry, academics, and government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Labs, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Klanecky previously served as director of global research and development (R&D) for Dow Water and Process Solutions, where he helped to develop a 10-year R&D strategy around breakthrough research and development in membranes and ion exchange resin technologies. Now based in the U.S., Klanecky spent several years leading Dow projects in Shanghai, China, Tarragona, Spain, and Horgen, Switzerland.

Janet Hering: Janet Hering is the director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag), professor of Environmental Biogeochemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich (ETHZ) and Professor of Environmental Chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). Previously she was a professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Her research interests include the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements in natural waters and water treatment technologies for the removal of inorganic contaminants from potable water.

Eric Rasmussen: Eric Rasmussen currently serves as Research Professor for Environmental Security and Global Medicine at San Diego State University, as an Affiliate Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, as Visiting Lecturer in Global Epidemiology at Stanford, and as Vice-President for Humanitarian Systems at AccessAgility, a Virginia company specializing in vulnerability reduction for systems and populations. Dr. Rasmussen retired in 2010 as President and Chief Executive Officer of InSTEDD, Larry Brilliant’s 2006 TED Prize that uses technology and education for humanitarian support. He also serves as Permanent Advisor to the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Water Disasters.

David Rowan (moderator): David Rowan is editor of the UK edition of WIRED magazine, which won 2009 Launch of the Year at the British Society of Magazine Editors Awards. He writes the monthly “Digital Life” column in GQ magazine, and the "Tech Traveller" column in Condé Nast Traveller. His recent speaking engagements have taken him to Amsterdam, Dubai, Geneva, Moscow and Shanghai, on topics ranging from the future of luxury brands to the new rules of business in a mobile-internet age. Recent media appearances include BBC Newsnight, BBC Breakfast News, Radio 4's Today Programme and Channel 4 News. He has edited The Guardian's websites, made TV films for Channel 4 News, and written long features for The Telegraph Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine and The Observer.

TED2011: Long Beach, CA

The Dow-hosted TED luncheon brought together a panel of visionaries who have been on the front lines of invention and innovation. Dave Parrillo, Global R&D Director of Dow Solar, joined former Microsoft CTO and founder of Intellectual Ventures, Nathan Myhrvold and Marissa Mayer of Google to discuss how innovation does –and doesn't – happen, including the necessity of failure as a prerequisite for success. The conversation was moderated by Thomas Goetz, Executive Editor of WIRED magazine.

Listen to the discussion