14
flows of water across international boundaries are a particular source of potential
conflict and motivation for cooperation. Domestic policies that minimize dependence on foreign supplies are also standard; take, for instance, the USA’s emphasis on energy self-sufficiency following the oil shocks of the 1970s, or the
emphasis of Israel, Iran, or, until recently, China on FEW self-sufficiency despite
strained local natural resources.
• Distribution of food, energy, and water via hard (physical) and soft (organizational) infrastructure (see Chap. 10) and in a manner that balances the essential
need of consumers with the needs and rights of producers and intermediaries.
• Quality control for healthy consumption leads to policies regarding contaminants, nutrition, and health impacts related to food production and preparation,
energy use, and water supply systems, as well as the disposal of residues and
waste.
• Externalities must be regulated to avoid adverse impacts on human health and
natural ecosystems. While FEW systems have historically been considered topics of local or regional policy, they are now a source of tension between local,
regional, national, and international policies. Chapters 5 (Economics), 6, 8
(International and US Governance), 9 (Ecosystems), 11 (Climate Change), and
20 (Human Conflicts) will all explore this tension in greater depth.
• Failure to provide access to minimum supplies of food, energy, and water can
lead to the breakdown of civil order. Therefore, public policies exist everywhere
to ensure sufficient volumes of supply, and address issues of cost and services to
poor and vulnerable communities are critical; issues related to food, energy, and
water security are developed in Sect. 3.2.
• Programs supporting research, development, education, and outreach aim to
empower participants in different parts of FEW systems to achieve societal goals
ranging from production to healthy consumption.
Separate or conflicting policies for food, energy, and water frequently lead to
conflicts between communities with a primary interest in one of the food, energy, or
water components. For example, in the USA currently, there are conflicts between
farmers whose fields generate contaminated runoff to streams versus downstream
communities who bear the negative impacts of the contaminated water. While international policies usually involve diplomacy and trade arrangements, nations can and
have resorted to a military conflict to address food, energy, and water crises.
Shortages in food, energy, or water can also lead to innovative ways of managing
these shortages (see Chap. 20).
Each of these five criteria motivates the integrated study of food, energy, and
water systems. Each criterion must be addressed by societies for each critical
consumable in a manner that does have significant adverse effects on the other
two. Thus, the many conflicts and trade-offs between food, energy, and water
systems that meet the demands of people motivate the integration of study, governance, and actions.
While the five criteria define the motivations for integrated FEW studies, these
systems operate in the context of important processes that are fundamental to their
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell
flows of water across international boundaries are a particular source of potential
conflict and motivation for cooperation. Domestic policies that minimize dependence on foreign supplies are also standard; take, for instance, the USA’s emphasis on energy self-sufficiency following the oil shocks of the 1970s, or the
emphasis of Israel, Iran, or, until recently, China on FEW self-sufficiency despite
strained local natural resources.
• Distribution of food, energy, and water via hard (physical) and soft (organizational) infrastructure (see Chap. 10) and in a manner that balances the essential
need of consumers with the needs and rights of producers and intermediaries.
• Quality control for healthy consumption leads to policies regarding contaminants, nutrition, and health impacts related to food production and preparation,
energy use, and water supply systems, as well as the disposal of residues and
waste.
• Externalities must be regulated to avoid adverse impacts on human health and
natural ecosystems. While FEW systems have historically been considered topics of local or regional policy, they are now a source of tension between local,
regional, national, and international policies. Chapters 5 (Economics), 6, 8
(International and US Governance), 9 (Ecosystems), 11 (Climate Change), and
20 (Human Conflicts) will all explore this tension in greater depth.
• Failure to provide access to minimum supplies of food, energy, and water can
lead to the breakdown of civil order. Therefore, public policies exist everywhere
to ensure sufficient volumes of supply, and address issues of cost and services to
poor and vulnerable communities are critical; issues related to food, energy, and
water security are developed in Sect. 3.2.
• Programs supporting research, development, education, and outreach aim to
empower participants in different parts of FEW systems to achieve societal goals
ranging from production to healthy consumption.
Separate or conflicting policies for food, energy, and water frequently lead to
conflicts between communities with a primary interest in one of the food, energy, or
water components. For example, in the USA currently, there are conflicts between
farmers whose fields generate contaminated runoff to streams versus downstream
communities who bear the negative impacts of the contaminated water. While international policies usually involve diplomacy and trade arrangements, nations can and
have resorted to a military conflict to address food, energy, and water crises.
Shortages in food, energy, or water can also lead to innovative ways of managing
these shortages (see Chap. 20).
Each of these five criteria motivates the integrated study of food, energy, and
water systems. Each criterion must be addressed by societies for each critical
consumable in a manner that does have significant adverse effects on the other
two. Thus, the many conflicts and trade-offs between food, energy, and water
systems that meet the demands of people motivate the integration of study, governance, and actions.
While the five criteria define the motivations for integrated FEW studies, these
systems operate in the context of important processes that are fundamental to their
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell