David Lawrence recently served Shell Upstream Americas in Houston as executive vice president of exploration and commercial and head of Global Exploration for Royal Dutch Shell. Now, he is the chairman of Lawrence Energy Group, LLC. And Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Yale Climate and Energy Institute. Over the course of his career, David Lawrence has become highly knowledgeable about climate change, energy and energy conservation through experience in research, oil and gas development, wind energy, coal, uranium and LNG.

1. By David Lawrence, Shell

2.  David Lawrence recently served Shell Upstream
Americas in Houston as executive vice president
of exploration and commercial and head of
Global Exploration for Royal Dutch Shell. Now, he
is the chairman of Lawrence Energy Group, LLC.
And Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Yale
Climate and Energy Institute. Over the course of
his career, David Lawrence has become highly
knowledgeable about climate change, energy and
energy conservation through experience in
research, oil and gas development, wind energy,
coal, uranium and LNG.

3.  The impact of global climate change can be felt
in virtually all aspects of life and business,
ranging from agriculture to energy conservation.
The availability of drinkable water resources
represents one of the more pressing issues the
world may be faced with should climate change
continue unabated. As temperatures rise, a
region’s rate of evaporation increases. As the
local atmosphere becomes more absorbent, an
area may experience unnatural periods of
dryness while nearby areas suffer from excess
rainfall.

4.  Changes in the water cycle can affect virtually all
areas of life on earth, particularly in regard to
specific ecosystems. If the main source of water
evaporates in one region, the animals and plants
in that area will either perish or be forced to
relocate, placing additional strain on other
habitats and creating heightened competition for
available water. As temperatures continue to rise,
humans and animals require more water to stay
hydrated and resources will be further depleted.
A diminished water resource can even affect the
production of raw energy at a power plant.