209
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. Saundry, B. L. Ruddell (eds.), The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, AESS
Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Sciences Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29914-9_8
Chapter 8
US Governance
Beth Kinne and Darrin Magee
8.1 Introduction
In Chap. 1, we noted that high-level decision-making and policy in many countries
tend to treat food, energy, and water (the “three great consumables”) as strategically
important separately, but not in an integrated fashion. Failure to address the critical
interlinkages between food, energy, and water systems leads to conflicts among
users and producers whose primary interests lie in one of the “Three Great
Consumables.”
Creating legal, social and economic structures to promote responsible stewardship
of the Three Great Consumables at all geographic scales—from the individual and
community to the nation and the entire globe—is challenging. Chapter 3 explored
how international law grapples with nexus challenges. Policies at different levels of
government need to address specific nexus problems and relationships that arise with
particular geographic configurations. Chapter 12 provides definitions of three particular scales of interest to nexus analyses and policies: micro-, meso-, and macro-.
Chapter 1 frames the nexus issue and explicitly identifies policy as one of the
critical criteria for improving the way we manage nexus resources. This chapter
examines US law and policy at the FEW nexus. Most laws regulating nexus
resources are primarily directed at protecting or promoting the development of one
resource sector, including the related human health and safety impacts. Nevertheless,
B. Kinne
Environmental Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA
e-mail: kinne@hws.edu
D. Magee (*)
Environmental Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA
Asian Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA
e-mail: magee@hws.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. Saundry, B. L. Ruddell (eds.), The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, AESS
Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Sciences Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29914-9_8
Chapter 8
US Governance
Beth Kinne and Darrin Magee
8.1 Introduction
In Chap. 1, we noted that high-level decision-making and policy in many countries
tend to treat food, energy, and water (the “three great consumables”) as strategically
important separately, but not in an integrated fashion. Failure to address the critical
interlinkages between food, energy, and water systems leads to conflicts among
users and producers whose primary interests lie in one of the “Three Great
Consumables.”
Creating legal, social and economic structures to promote responsible stewardship
of the Three Great Consumables at all geographic scales—from the individual and
community to the nation and the entire globe—is challenging. Chapter 3 explored
how international law grapples with nexus challenges. Policies at different levels of
government need to address specific nexus problems and relationships that arise with
particular geographic configurations. Chapter 12 provides definitions of three particular scales of interest to nexus analyses and policies: micro-, meso-, and macro-.
Chapter 1 frames the nexus issue and explicitly identifies policy as one of the
critical criteria for improving the way we manage nexus resources. This chapter
examines US law and policy at the FEW nexus. Most laws regulating nexus
resources are primarily directed at protecting or promoting the development of one
resource sector, including the related human health and safety impacts. Nevertheless,
B. Kinne
Environmental Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA
e-mail: kinne@hws.edu
D. Magee (*)
Environmental Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA
Asian Studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, USA
e-mail: magee@hws.edu