19
1.3.3 Grand Challenges
The relevance of the five criteria described in Sect. 1.3.1 is reflected in several initiatives to articulate the “grand challenges” facing humanity in different areas.
In Chap. 3, we will explore the challenges of people everywhere to having affordable access to their basic food, energy, and water needs to live healthy and productive lives. This issue of food, energy, and water security is a significant part of
sustainable development. Food and water were explicit parts of the United Nations
(UN—see Sect. 6.2.2) Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 (see Sect.
3.5). The 2012 UN Sustainable Energy for All program brought energy security to
the fore (see Sect. 3.6). The 15-year UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in
2015 includes specific goals on food, energy, and water. Such high-level needs have
also been compiled by others.
In 2018, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering identified 14 grand challenges for engineering in the twenty-first-century, emphasizing technical solutions
needed to address the national economy and general welfare. Several of these grand
challenges directly implicate FEW:
• Make solar energy economical
• Restore and improve urban infrastructure
• Provide access to clean water
• Provide energy from fusion
• Manage the nitrogen cycle
• Develop carbon sequestration methods
The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Advisory Committee published a 2014 report on global opportunities for research
in FEW, emphasizing basic science and applied science opportunities. Six foundational knowledge areas were identified as opportunities, with an emphasis on the
need for transformative and non-incremental solutions:
• Ensuring a sustainable water supply for agriculture
• Closing the loop for nutrient life cycles
• Crop protection
• Innovations to prevent waste of food and energy
• Sensors for food security and safety
• Maximizing biomass conversion to fuels, chemicals, food, and materials
Many other high-level planning efforts are currently underway. Additionally,
several prior efforts have addressed related topics, most notably the “energy–water
nexus” reports from the first decade of the millennium. The U.S. Department of
Energy released in 2014 a water-energy nexus report identifying the following
issues and priorities in the USA:
• Interdependency of energy and water at regional scales
• Use of energy for water production and vice versa
• Impact of drought on thermoelectric power plant cooling
1 Introduction
1.3.3 Grand Challenges
The relevance of the five criteria described in Sect. 1.3.1 is reflected in several initiatives to articulate the “grand challenges” facing humanity in different areas.
In Chap. 3, we will explore the challenges of people everywhere to having affordable access to their basic food, energy, and water needs to live healthy and productive lives. This issue of food, energy, and water security is a significant part of
sustainable development. Food and water were explicit parts of the United Nations
(UN—see Sect. 6.2.2) Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 (see Sect.
3.5). The 2012 UN Sustainable Energy for All program brought energy security to
the fore (see Sect. 3.6). The 15-year UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in
2015 includes specific goals on food, energy, and water. Such high-level needs have
also been compiled by others.
In 2018, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering identified 14 grand challenges for engineering in the twenty-first-century, emphasizing technical solutions
needed to address the national economy and general welfare. Several of these grand
challenges directly implicate FEW:
• Make solar energy economical
• Restore and improve urban infrastructure
• Provide access to clean water
• Provide energy from fusion
• Manage the nitrogen cycle
• Develop carbon sequestration methods
The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Advisory Committee published a 2014 report on global opportunities for research
in FEW, emphasizing basic science and applied science opportunities. Six foundational knowledge areas were identified as opportunities, with an emphasis on the
need for transformative and non-incremental solutions:
• Ensuring a sustainable water supply for agriculture
• Closing the loop for nutrient life cycles
• Crop protection
• Innovations to prevent waste of food and energy
• Sensors for food security and safety
• Maximizing biomass conversion to fuels, chemicals, food, and materials
Many other high-level planning efforts are currently underway. Additionally,
several prior efforts have addressed related topics, most notably the “energy–water
nexus” reports from the first decade of the millennium. The U.S. Department of
Energy released in 2014 a water-energy nexus report identifying the following
issues and priorities in the USA:
• Interdependency of energy and water at regional scales
• Use of energy for water production and vice versa
• Impact of drought on thermoelectric power plant cooling
1 Introduction