The Waterly
"The Waterly" is a weekly all-things-water newsletter we share with our community covering the latest innovations and investment deal flow in the water sector and recent news on climate change and water-related crises.
This week we see why locating data centers underwater is their future location. The green search engine Ecosia is launching a new €350M climate tech VC fund. Why this year's UN COP26 climate summit is such a big deal. Erin Brockovich shows us the 4 spookiest parts of your home. Meet our WELL Advisor Veda Austin, our favorite New Zealand water researcher, author, and artist. We have a treat for you this week at the end of the Waterly. Hint: it's music!
This week's water fact:
90% of natural disasters are water-related, affecting 2.3B people and causing $275B in annual damage
Tech & Innovation
The Many Intricacies of Microsoft's Underwater Data Centers
The firm is submerging its data centers to keep them cool.
Climate tech start-ups have raised a record $32 billion globally so far in 2021
The amount of venture capital money flowing into climate tech this year has already exceeded the whole of 2020 for global climate tech investment, the report said. It has more than quadrupled since 2016 when investors backed start-ups in the sector with just $6.6 billion.
Corporate & Deals
New budget deal marks the biggest climate investment in U.S. history
The White House’s Build Back Better plan unveiled Thursday represents the biggest clean-energy investment in U.S. history, with a $555 billion package of tax credits, grants and other policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling climate change.
World Fund is a new €350M climate VC fund incubated by green search engine Ecosia
So today, World Fund, a new climate tech VC, is launching with a €350 million fund targeting startups building technology that can help decarbonize the planet. World Fund claims it’s Europe’s largest dedicated climate tech VC.
Stantec expands in water via $500m Cardno deal
Stantec is poised to bolster its water and environmental services footprint in Australia and the US after agreeing to acquire the North American and Asia Pacific interests of ASX-listed engineering firm Cardno for US$500 million.
Taqa makes first overseas water investment
In partnership with Japanese trading company Marubeni, Taqa will take a 60% stake in a special purpose vehicle that will build, own and operate the utility infrastructure at Tanajib, generating 940MW of power, 1,084 tonnes/hr of steam, and 24,000m3/d of desalinated seawater.
Water & the Environment
California still deep in drought despite atmospheric river
The atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific, capped a series of back-to-back storm systems that abruptly switched the state’s immediate emergency concerns from wildfires to flooding.
Chicago is at risk as climate change causes wild swings in Lake Michigan water levels
Heavier rainfall and more frequent droughts are now causing extreme swings in the water levels of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, wreaking havoc on the city and prompting urgent action to find a fix.
What you need to know about the U.N. COP26 climate summit — and why it matters
‘We must get serious. And we must act fast,’ U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said recently, noting that the world is ‘seemingly light-years away’ from meeting its climate goals
Is Hurricane Season Still Going? You Bet.
There hasn’t been a named storm in the Atlantic Ocean since early October, but about a month remains in the hurricane season. “Don’t raid your hurricane supplies yet,” said one meteorologist.
2021 Election Preview: New York Considers Right to Clean Water
New Yorkers have a chance to enshrine environmental protections in their state constitution, potentially reviving a legal movement that flourished in the United States a half-century ago.
PFAS and Chemicals
Lethal ‘forever chemicals’ taint our food, water and even blood. The EPA is stalling
There is no longer any population or place on earth untouched by PFAS contamination. We are living through a toxic experiment with no control group.
What Are The 4 Spookiest Parts of Your Home? - The Brockovich Report
Erin Brockovich: "#1: Water. Duh. We talk about this one all the time. Are you scared of your tap water? Does it smell bad, have a strange color, or taste funky? Have toxins been detected?"
Veda Austin is a New Zealand water researcher, author, and artist. For nearly a decade she has been photographing water in a ‘state of creation’, the state between liquid and ice that is responsive to our thoughts and consciousness. Inspired by the genius of Viktor Schauberger, Marcel Vogel, Theodor Schwenk, and Rudolf Steiner, Veda embraces a Goethean approach to the images and messages of water, weaving science with phenomena based experiential learning
Veda believes that an emotional connection can be formed with water, and that this is key to creating change in the way we treat our natural world. She says, "If we think water can feel, we will care for it. If we think it is intelligent, we will learn from it."
Veda's passion for water extends into primary schools where she donates time teaching water science to bright and curious young minds. She loves to connect children to the living water systems inside and outside of their bodies, believing that 'tamariki' (children) are the water bearers of our future.
You can travel back to the future and listen to Veda's exceptional talk on The Secret Intelligence of Water. Thank you Veda for your water expanding work and timeless water wisdom.
Music & the Environment
The greatest songs about the climate crisis – ranked!
As Cop26 opens in Glasgow, we provide the soundtrack, ranging from Gojira’s metal fury to gorgeous environmental paeans by Childish Gambino, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
