16
the wealthiest countries. Therefore, how development occurs in the more developed
nations is also essential. Development in those countries includes increasing sustainability, and increasing quality of life while decreasing the ecological footprint.
Thus, in this book, we present case studies from countries across the full range of
human development. We will explore this issue as it applies to cities in Chap. 18,
which includes case studies on Portland and Detroit (USA), Curitiba (Brazil), and
Tianjin (China).
1.3.2.2 Air Pollution
Human beings require a continuous supply of clean air to live, and so it is a critical
consumable. Significantly, energy production and energy consumption to process
and maintain food and water supplies, among other societal demands, may threaten
air quality. While specific infrastructure is required to limit air pollutants entering
the atmosphere, physical infrastructure that is protective of the environment and
public health may interact substantially with FEW systems. For example, field crop
production may release both dust and pesticides, and animal production may release
noxious chemicals and pathogens into the air. Water and wastewater treatment can
also emit noxious chemicals.
Rightly or wrongly, societal actions to ensure clean air have been secondary to
activities on food, energy, water, and other forms of economic development. Most
nations have achieved, or are reaching, significant levels of development while
enduring very unhealthy air quality, as discussed further in Chap. 18 on Cities at the
Nexus. While western countries began to address air issues in the 1950s, 1960s, and
1970s, China has only recently mobilized politically to start tackling air pollution,
and India continues to suffer from severe air quality degradation. Thus, air has been
a significantly lower policy priority compared to food, energy, and water.
1.3.2.3 Ecosystem Services
While humans need land (and importantly its soil and hydrological qualities, in the
context of its climate and biogeography), productive waters (oceans, and especially
estuaries because of their necessity for fisheries production), freshwater aquifers
and surface waters, and broader ecosystem services for the production of FEW
resources, ecosystem services are not consumable commodities in the same sense as
land and water.
They are, however, degradable, which can significantly impair their ability to
contribute to the production of FEW commodities. Recognizing degradation can
tempt one to consider land and ecosystem services as consumable. By definition,
ecosystem services can be restored, and land can be made available for productive
use, but perhaps not on the scale or timeframe or having the quality or quantity
needed to address societal demands and preserve socio-political-economic stability.
A core motivation for integrating the study of FEW systems is to ensure that all
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell
the wealthiest countries. Therefore, how development occurs in the more developed
nations is also essential. Development in those countries includes increasing sustainability, and increasing quality of life while decreasing the ecological footprint.
Thus, in this book, we present case studies from countries across the full range of
human development. We will explore this issue as it applies to cities in Chap. 18,
which includes case studies on Portland and Detroit (USA), Curitiba (Brazil), and
Tianjin (China).
1.3.2.2 Air Pollution
Human beings require a continuous supply of clean air to live, and so it is a critical
consumable. Significantly, energy production and energy consumption to process
and maintain food and water supplies, among other societal demands, may threaten
air quality. While specific infrastructure is required to limit air pollutants entering
the atmosphere, physical infrastructure that is protective of the environment and
public health may interact substantially with FEW systems. For example, field crop
production may release both dust and pesticides, and animal production may release
noxious chemicals and pathogens into the air. Water and wastewater treatment can
also emit noxious chemicals.
Rightly or wrongly, societal actions to ensure clean air have been secondary to
activities on food, energy, water, and other forms of economic development. Most
nations have achieved, or are reaching, significant levels of development while
enduring very unhealthy air quality, as discussed further in Chap. 18 on Cities at the
Nexus. While western countries began to address air issues in the 1950s, 1960s, and
1970s, China has only recently mobilized politically to start tackling air pollution,
and India continues to suffer from severe air quality degradation. Thus, air has been
a significantly lower policy priority compared to food, energy, and water.
1.3.2.3 Ecosystem Services
While humans need land (and importantly its soil and hydrological qualities, in the
context of its climate and biogeography), productive waters (oceans, and especially
estuaries because of their necessity for fisheries production), freshwater aquifers
and surface waters, and broader ecosystem services for the production of FEW
resources, ecosystem services are not consumable commodities in the same sense as
land and water.
They are, however, degradable, which can significantly impair their ability to
contribute to the production of FEW commodities. Recognizing degradation can
tempt one to consider land and ecosystem services as consumable. By definition,
ecosystem services can be restored, and land can be made available for productive
use, but perhaps not on the scale or timeframe or having the quality or quantity
needed to address societal demands and preserve socio-political-economic stability.
A core motivation for integrating the study of FEW systems is to ensure that all
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell