Mr. BOB SIVINSKI (Program Director, New Mexico Forest Legacy Program): This ranch also has some deep canyons where there's perennial live water, which is really important in this part of New Mexico because this is a very dry area.

NPR: Saving Ranchland from Suburban Sprawl

But a perennial challenge has been in getting the water clean enough that it can be reused in the next frack job or simply discharged down a river or stream.

FORBES: Shale Gas Frackers Get Excited About ... A New Sponge?

Farmers plant a warm-season perennial grass and fallow the field for two years, improving soil quality and water-holding capacity.

FORBES: New Technology Reduces Agricultural Water Consumption

Executives have been pressing officials in China to include GE's advanced boiling-water reactors in their next five-year economic plan (China uses the pressurized reactors championed by perennial GE rival Westinghouse, now part of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.).

FORBES: GE Turns Green