588
We began this book by noting that FEW systems provide critical consumable commodities, require massive infrastructure, are currently footprint-heavy, must be
extremely accessible and affordable, and are the focus of extensive governance at all
levels of human society. Food, energy, and water security are critical to healthy, prosperous, and stable human societies. Recognition of this is reflected by the prominence
of food, energy, and water in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (Sect. 3.7) and
many of “grand challenges” in science and engineering (see Sect. 1.3.3). Achieving
FEW security requires the integrated management of FEW systems sustainably.
FEW systems are profoundly influenced by demographics and societal development, human behavior, economics and trade, air pollution, ecosystems, climate, and
climate change. One or more of these factors are major parts of and Nexus research
project and practice.
For all of these reasons, people are the center of all framings (macroscopes) of
the nexus, six of which were presented in Sect. 1.4. Thus, opportunities at the nexus
that change human behavior are as important as opportunities to improve science
and technology.
In Chap. 17, we explored the application of nexus science to real-world problems, or practice, as carried out by both scientists and non-scientists referred to as
practitioners. We noted the centrality of decision-making and how stakeholders can
come together as Communities of Practice to utilize science-based tools that
enhance their ability to make decisions by maximizing areas of agreement and minimizing areas of conflict. We explored a number of valuable tools that can be used to
make science useful to decision-making processes, including:
• Data integration
• Integrated assessment modeling
• Methods of visual analytics
• Online platforms
• Immersive decision environments
• Tools for addressing decision-making under uncertainty
• Tradeoff analysis
• Communities of practice
The many case studies throughout this book, and in particular Chaps. 18–20,
highlight the varied contexts where food, energy, and water systems interact and the
many opportunities to apply science to practice. The case studies in this book also
illustrate the changes to FEW systems which can be made. Many possible changes
considered as positive or progressive, emphasize sustainability. A positive change
P. Saundry (*)
Energy Policy and Climate, Advanced Academic Programs, Krieger School of Arts
and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA
e-mail: psaundr1@jhu.edu
L. Treemore-Spears
Health Urban Waters, College of Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
e-mail: treemorespears@wayne.edu
B. Kinne et al.
We began this book by noting that FEW systems provide critical consumable commodities, require massive infrastructure, are currently footprint-heavy, must be
extremely accessible and affordable, and are the focus of extensive governance at all
levels of human society. Food, energy, and water security are critical to healthy, prosperous, and stable human societies. Recognition of this is reflected by the prominence
of food, energy, and water in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (Sect. 3.7) and
many of “grand challenges” in science and engineering (see Sect. 1.3.3). Achieving
FEW security requires the integrated management of FEW systems sustainably.
FEW systems are profoundly influenced by demographics and societal development, human behavior, economics and trade, air pollution, ecosystems, climate, and
climate change. One or more of these factors are major parts of and Nexus research
project and practice.
For all of these reasons, people are the center of all framings (macroscopes) of
the nexus, six of which were presented in Sect. 1.4. Thus, opportunities at the nexus
that change human behavior are as important as opportunities to improve science
and technology.
In Chap. 17, we explored the application of nexus science to real-world problems, or practice, as carried out by both scientists and non-scientists referred to as
practitioners. We noted the centrality of decision-making and how stakeholders can
come together as Communities of Practice to utilize science-based tools that
enhance their ability to make decisions by maximizing areas of agreement and minimizing areas of conflict. We explored a number of valuable tools that can be used to
make science useful to decision-making processes, including:
• Data integration
• Integrated assessment modeling
• Methods of visual analytics
• Online platforms
• Immersive decision environments
• Tools for addressing decision-making under uncertainty
• Tradeoff analysis
• Communities of practice
The many case studies throughout this book, and in particular Chaps. 18–20,
highlight the varied contexts where food, energy, and water systems interact and the
many opportunities to apply science to practice. The case studies in this book also
illustrate the changes to FEW systems which can be made. Many possible changes
considered as positive or progressive, emphasize sustainability. A positive change
P. Saundry (*)
Energy Policy and Climate, Advanced Academic Programs, Krieger School of Arts
and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA
e-mail: psaundr1@jhu.edu
L. Treemore-Spears
Health Urban Waters, College of Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
e-mail: treemorespears@wayne.edu
B. Kinne et al.