18
Changes in climate patterns significantly impact the supplies of food, energy, and
water on which societies depend, and, to a lesser degree, the demand for these consumables. Climate shapes what types of crops can be grown and where, and what
kinds of seafood can be harvested and where. Changing growing seasons and
regions suitable for specific food crops is a significant concern. Climate defines
how much water is available and where. Climate impacts many kinds of energy
production, such as hydropower, wind, and solar. Climate also influences the
demand for water and energy, as when more water is needed to grow food in a desert, like California, or less energy is needed for shelter in a mild climate like
San Diego.
The impacts of climate change are seen as a threat multiplier: floods, droughts,
extreme heat, and other climate-related issues can multiply underlying threats and
increase tensions. For example, the Syrian Civil War is traced in part back to a
7-year drought that caused massive crop failure and exacerbated civil unrest from
Syrians lacking sufficient food, energy, and water. However, as explored in Chap.
20, the sheer necessity of a critical resource like water can bring people together to
address these tensions.
Because fossil fuels and agricultural changes in land use are drivers of climate
change, it is appropriate to think of climate as mediating modifications between
food, energy, and water systems. Climate as a medium for nexus interactions is
explored in Chap. 11 and case studies throughout this book.
1.3.2.5 Sociopolitical Economics
Sociopolitical economics is one of the fields that study how societies choose to
allocate scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. Food, energy, and water
are, for practical purposes, physically limited resources for which human societies
have unlimited wants (especially for energy). Sociopolitical economics at the nexus
is not just about quantifying the value of the three consumable commodities and in
their many forms along with inputs and outputs, but, critically, about quantifying
the value of impacts related to FEW systems and their interactions. However, sociopolitical economics struggles in practice with commodities and markets that are
heavily regulated and subsidized, subject to intangible valuation, or laden with
externalities. The integration of FEW systems is impossible to do without the application of economics and political science and sociology and anthropology. Thus, in
Chap. 5, we will explore many aspects of sociopolitical economics at the nexus and
apply social and political and cultural and economic considerations throughout our
study of the nexus. Chapter 18 discusses the dynamics of sociopolitical economics
relating to cities.
Now that it is clear why food, energy, and water are the three prioritized components of nexus studies, it should also be clear that population and development; air,
land, soils, water, and ecosystem services; climate and climate change; and economics are core contextual components of nexus studies. These additional topics do
not bound the scope of essential elements of nexus studies. Other critical issues like
biodiversity are also crucial in specific nexus contexts.
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell
Changes in climate patterns significantly impact the supplies of food, energy, and
water on which societies depend, and, to a lesser degree, the demand for these consumables. Climate shapes what types of crops can be grown and where, and what
kinds of seafood can be harvested and where. Changing growing seasons and
regions suitable for specific food crops is a significant concern. Climate defines
how much water is available and where. Climate impacts many kinds of energy
production, such as hydropower, wind, and solar. Climate also influences the
demand for water and energy, as when more water is needed to grow food in a desert, like California, or less energy is needed for shelter in a mild climate like
San Diego.
The impacts of climate change are seen as a threat multiplier: floods, droughts,
extreme heat, and other climate-related issues can multiply underlying threats and
increase tensions. For example, the Syrian Civil War is traced in part back to a
7-year drought that caused massive crop failure and exacerbated civil unrest from
Syrians lacking sufficient food, energy, and water. However, as explored in Chap.
20, the sheer necessity of a critical resource like water can bring people together to
address these tensions.
Because fossil fuels and agricultural changes in land use are drivers of climate
change, it is appropriate to think of climate as mediating modifications between
food, energy, and water systems. Climate as a medium for nexus interactions is
explored in Chap. 11 and case studies throughout this book.
1.3.2.5 Sociopolitical Economics
Sociopolitical economics is one of the fields that study how societies choose to
allocate scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. Food, energy, and water
are, for practical purposes, physically limited resources for which human societies
have unlimited wants (especially for energy). Sociopolitical economics at the nexus
is not just about quantifying the value of the three consumable commodities and in
their many forms along with inputs and outputs, but, critically, about quantifying
the value of impacts related to FEW systems and their interactions. However, sociopolitical economics struggles in practice with commodities and markets that are
heavily regulated and subsidized, subject to intangible valuation, or laden with
externalities. The integration of FEW systems is impossible to do without the application of economics and political science and sociology and anthropology. Thus, in
Chap. 5, we will explore many aspects of sociopolitical economics at the nexus and
apply social and political and cultural and economic considerations throughout our
study of the nexus. Chapter 18 discusses the dynamics of sociopolitical economics
relating to cities.
Now that it is clear why food, energy, and water are the three prioritized components of nexus studies, it should also be clear that population and development; air,
land, soils, water, and ecosystem services; climate and climate change; and economics are core contextual components of nexus studies. These additional topics do
not bound the scope of essential elements of nexus studies. Other critical issues like
biodiversity are also crucial in specific nexus contexts.
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell