20
• Cascading failures where a power system failure causes a water system failure
• Changing climate drives changing water demand and availability
• Massive population growth in water-stress regions like the Southwestern USA
• Interactions of water and energy efficiency via life cycles and footprints
• Water rights and water requirements for energy production including hydraulic
fracturing
• Tribal water rights and energy production
• Water demands by irrigated agriculture
These examples illustrate that food, energy, and water challenges have been recognized from many perspectives and further demonstrate the importance of integrating them.
1.4 FEW System Framings in the Literature
1.4.1 The Macroscope
In studying the nexus of FEW systems, we are integrating three systems into one
more extensive system. While traditional studies of FEW systems have similarities,
they also have some significant differences. These differences must be carefully
understood when attempting to treat the three components in a consistent and balanced manner to undertake an integrated study. Therefore, before we take the step
of integrating the three systems, we will consider some aspects of individual food,
energy, and water systems.
Complex systems are named this way by scientists because they are too complex for a human being to perceive, understand, or reduce in their entirety. As a
result, we need to use “lenses,” “slices,” or other thinking tools to get inside these
systems’ structure and function and to grab hold of some key aspect of the system—only one part of the system, but a useful and accurate perception of that part.
Joel de Rosnay in 1979 described the strategy that we use to perceive and sense
complex systems as “The Macroscope.” A macroscope is a tool that lets people see
complexity in perspective, and is an analogy to the much older concepts of microscopes and telescopes. The FEW nexus concept generally, and its many specific
conceptualizations and implementations, is viewed through the lens of a macroscope (Fig. 1.1).
The literature since 2014 has exploded with ideas and concepts for the framing of
FEW systems. A handful of these systems concepts are summarized below. These
experts have attempted to build macroscopes for the complex FEW system. There are
counterarguments that this effort to build a FEW macroscope has not been successful
to date. However, given the criticality of the FEW problem space, this is a good reason to think deeply and continue searching for frameworks that will allow us to
accurately sense the context of this complexity and act.
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell
• Cascading failures where a power system failure causes a water system failure
• Changing climate drives changing water demand and availability
• Massive population growth in water-stress regions like the Southwestern USA
• Interactions of water and energy efficiency via life cycles and footprints
• Water rights and water requirements for energy production including hydraulic
fracturing
• Tribal water rights and energy production
• Water demands by irrigated agriculture
These examples illustrate that food, energy, and water challenges have been recognized from many perspectives and further demonstrate the importance of integrating them.
1.4 FEW System Framings in the Literature
1.4.1 The Macroscope
In studying the nexus of FEW systems, we are integrating three systems into one
more extensive system. While traditional studies of FEW systems have similarities,
they also have some significant differences. These differences must be carefully
understood when attempting to treat the three components in a consistent and balanced manner to undertake an integrated study. Therefore, before we take the step
of integrating the three systems, we will consider some aspects of individual food,
energy, and water systems.
Complex systems are named this way by scientists because they are too complex for a human being to perceive, understand, or reduce in their entirety. As a
result, we need to use “lenses,” “slices,” or other thinking tools to get inside these
systems’ structure and function and to grab hold of some key aspect of the system—only one part of the system, but a useful and accurate perception of that part.
Joel de Rosnay in 1979 described the strategy that we use to perceive and sense
complex systems as “The Macroscope.” A macroscope is a tool that lets people see
complexity in perspective, and is an analogy to the much older concepts of microscopes and telescopes. The FEW nexus concept generally, and its many specific
conceptualizations and implementations, is viewed through the lens of a macroscope (Fig. 1.1).
The literature since 2014 has exploded with ideas and concepts for the framing of
FEW systems. A handful of these systems concepts are summarized below. These
experts have attempted to build macroscopes for the complex FEW system. There are
counterarguments that this effort to build a FEW macroscope has not been successful
to date. However, given the criticality of the FEW problem space, this is a good reason to think deeply and continue searching for frameworks that will allow us to
accurately sense the context of this complexity and act.
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell