The links below provide an outline of the material for this lesson. Be sure to carefully read through the entire lesson before returning to Canvas to submit your assignments.
William Easterling, NSF assistant director for Geosciences and Professor of Geography at Penn State has commented: "Food, energy and water have long been studied independently or in pairs, but not all three at once... Now, novel ways of examining all three together are yielding important new knowledge that will help us achieve food, water and energy security even with further population growth."
This week, we will read about the FEW Nexus and the Environmental Impacts of Agriculture.
As you go through the material for this week, consider the following:
To Read | Read the Week 6 course content. |
Use the links below to continue moving through the lesson material. |
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To Read | Leck, H., Conway, D., Bradshaw, M., & Rees, J. (2015). Tracing the water–energy–food nexus: description, theory and practice. Geography Compass, 9(8), 445-460. | A link to the reading is located in the Week 6 module in Canvas. |
To Read | Stein, C., & Jaspersen, L. J. (2018). A relational framework for investigating nexus governance. The Geographical Journal (online first). | A link to the reading is located in the Week 6 module in Canvas. |
To Read | Campbell, B. M., Beare, D. J., Bennett, E. M., Hall-Spencer, J. M., Ingram, J. S. I., Jaramillo, F., . . . Shindell, D. (2017). Agriculture production as a major driver of the Earth system exceeding planetary boundaries. Ecology and Society, 22(4) | A link to the reading is located in the Week 6 module in Canvas. |
To Submit | See Canvas, course announcements. |
Note: Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific time frames and due dates.
Humanity depends upon the Earth's resources to provide key resources needed for human well-being and economic growth: food, energy, and water (FEW). In the face of growing pressure on our planet (see Lesson 1 - Planetary Boundaries), decisions about where and how to produce each of these must be considered carefully. There are clear trade-offs between the three, and multiple interdependences. In the face of these challenges, it is essential that we learn to think about the production of these resources in an integrated way. Geography has long excelled at thinking about such complex issues, as you have learned over the past weeks. We must find ways to best integrate social, ecological, physical and built environments to provide all three of these resources in a sustainable and just manner. The Food-Energy-Water Nexus is a new way of looking at things, and now supported by funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Research publications proposing, testing and using FEW frameworks are only recently starting to emerge.
The NSF notes "Known stressors in FEW systems include governance challenges, population growth and migration, land use change, climate variability, and uneven resource distribution. The interconnections and interdependencies associated with the FEW Nexus pose research grand challenges. To meet these grand challenges, there is a critical need for research that enables new means of adapting societal use of FEW systems." (Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) [1])
We have known of the potential risks of pesticides used in agriculture since the publication of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring. In her book, Carson details the extensive harm the pesticide DDT poses to humans and non-humans alike; after DDT has been sprayed, it persists in the environment, circulating through soil, water, bodies, and food. Carson’s work challenged industry and government groups for promoting DDT spraying programs despite mounting evidence of its deleterious effects. Her analysis, expanded on by many scholars in the 50 years since the publication of Silent Spring, draws strong connections between environmental harms and political and economic policies, programs, and institutional structure. Many consider Carson’s book to be a major turning point in environmental politics in the United States, laying the ground work for the environmental movement in the United States and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Should you choose to read this excerpt, pay attention to her description of daily interactions with chemicals and her analysis of government and industry actions as her insights relate back to what we covered for Environmental Justice in Lesson 4.
Optional Reading: Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. [2]
Since the publication of Rachel Carson's book, the use of pesticides in developed countries has become much more highly regulated (check the WHO map, and think about if the regulations are equally cautious in developing countries?). While few of us today are careless when applying pesticides to our lawns (if we do at all), and many of you may have never even heard of moth prevention treatments (used by your grandma to keep moths from eating holes in woolen clothing and blankets), there are new and evolving risks that we are exposed to. For example, many carpets are sprayed with fire retardants that are now emerging as a potential health risk. And the chemical used to make your stylish new jacket waterproof are being questioned and linked to health risks.
Below are links to two sources which highlight the dangers associated with agricultural pesticide use. The first link is to an article by The Guardian which provides a synopsis of the UN Human Rights Council report condemning major manufacturing corporations for distributing misleading information on pesticides use. Then the second link from the World Health Organization's page on Agri-chemicals provides a map showing the number of chemical poisoning in each country around the world. When exploring these pages, consider where your own food comes from and how your own consumptive patterns might be implicated in these exposures.
Optional Readings:
UN experts denounce 'myth' pesticides are necessary to feed the world - The Guardian [3]
Leck, H., Conway, D., Bradshaw, M., & Rees, J. (2015). Tracing the water–energy–food nexus: description, theory and practice. Geography Compass, 9(8), 445-460.
Leck et al. 2015: The authors examine reasons for the increase in research focused around the nexus of water, energy, and food (WEF). In so doing, they investigate why it would be difficult to achieve the type of disciplinary boundary that is typically promoted in scholastic research and consider how to initiate many of the present theories and practices that have yet to be applied in the real world. Leck et al. (2015) indicate that there are although the nexus approach has been around prior to this increase, it has been challenging to encompass the interdependent WEF relationships and thus limiting its execution and progress at all scales of implementation. The future of nexus approaches to address global environmental change is promising should the movement be able to overcome previous hurdles. As advancements in technology to learn more of the linkages of WEF at varied scales as well as promoting collaboration between state and non-state entities continues, these hurdles will become more manageable.
"Identifying winners and losers in WEF nexus decision-making and giving explicit attention to justice and equity concerns are central for nexus agendas to be socially progressive (Dupar and Oates 2012; Stringer et al. 2014)."
"As Allouche et al. (2014: 23) explain, ‘food, water and energy have never been conceptually separated in the way that experts have sought to understand them. Indeed, it may be that the WEF nexus is the (re)discovery by experts working in silos of what practicing farmers and fishers already knew’."
"...scalar considerations are central to the nexus because water, energy or food interventions are not necessarily suitable or effective at all scales."
Stein, C., & Jaspersen, L. J. (2018). A relational framework for investigating nexus governance. The Geographical Journal (online first).
This paper provides a case study of what the study of the Food-Energy-Water Nexus looks like in real life: here in the upper Blue Nile watershed in Ethiopia. The paper tries to move from the abstract idea of the nexus to examine the collaboration and cross-sector coordination needed to achieve integrated management of Food, Energy, and Water production. As you read this paper, try to link back to your reading on governance in past weeks; what similarities and differences do you note?
Campbell, B. M., Beare, D. J., Bennett, E. M., Hall-Spencer, J. M., Ingram, J. S. I., Jaramillo, F., . . . Shindell, D. (2017). Agriculture production as a major driver of the Earth system exceeding planetary boundaries. Ecology and Society, 22(4).
Campbell et al. 2017: The authors listed are prominent environmental activists and faculty members and leaders of university programs from around the world. Through their collective knowledge, they identify nine major boundaries to maintain a stable Earth system. The authors have calculated how much of the change in each of the planetary boundaries (which you read about in past weeks) is associated with agriculture. For each, they have calculated what % of the anthropogenic activity contributing to each boundary is due to agriculture. The results may surprise you! The article also identifies current agriculture practices and production are the leading causes of many overstepped and/or increasingly hazardous boundaries of our planet. Possible ideas are posed for how to lessen the negative impacts on these planetary boundaries with more sustainable forms of agriculture.
NOTE: Links to the readings are located in the Week 6 module in Canvas.
This week, we have learned about the Food-Energy-Water Nexus and the Environmental Impacts of Agriculture.
You have reached the end of Week 6! Double-check the Week 6 Checklist list on the Week 6 Overview page [5] to make sure you have completed all of the tasks listed there before you begin Week 7.
Please check the calendar in Canvas for specific due dates.
Links
[1] https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18545/nsf18545.htm
[2] http://womin.org.za/images/the-alternatives/ecosocialism/R%20Carson%20-%20Silent%20Spring%20-%20Pesticides.pdf
[3] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/07/un-experts-denounce-myth-pesticides-are-necessary-to-feed-the-world
[4] https://www.who.int/tools/compendium-on-health-and-environment/chemicals
[5] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog430/node/813