GC046-03
Evolutions in Food, Energy, and Water Sytems at the Intersection of Sustainability and Trade
Wednesday, 9 December 2020: 10:38
Virtual
Jeffrey M Bielicki1, Elena Irwin2, Bhavik Bakshi3, Yongyang Cai4, Mary Doidge5, Douglas Jackson-Smith6, Jay Martin7, Alan Randall4, Ian Sheldon4 and Robyn S Wilson8, (1)Ohio State University, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, Columbus, OH, United States, (2)Ohio State University, Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Columbus, OH, United States, (3)Ohio State University, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Columbus, OH, United States, (4)Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Columbus, OH, United States, (5)McGill University, Natural Resource Sciences, Montreal, Canada, (6)Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Columbus, United States, (7)The Ohio State University, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Columbus, OH, United States, (8)Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Columbus, OH, United States
Abstract:
Over the past decade or so, there has been a substantial increase in the interest in the intersections and interactions food, energy, and water (FEW) systems. These efforts have produced various efforts that yield insight into how these systems function individually and collectively. But recent trajectories of international disengagement have retreated from the global interconnectedness that has enabled the relatively free flow of goods and services. These trajectories have a number of drivers, including concerns about the erosion of manufacturing jobs, increased income equality, and worsening environmental conditions abroad, as well as increasing nationalism, protectionist trade policy, and the COVID-19 global pandemic. Among other consequences, such ‘deglobalization’ is likely to continue even though it stresses existing supply chains and changes the locations and scales of activities that comprise food, energy, and water (FEW) systems. The concomitant changes in where and how items are produced and consumed can thus affect the character and locations of the FEW systems and their relationships with the environmental sustainability that underpins economies.
This presentation will highlight our work on deglobalization stressors and consequences for FEW systems in the Great Lakes (GL) region of the United States. The U.S. GL region contains 21% of the world’s freshwater resources and considerable agricultural activity in the Eastern Corn Belt, as well substantial fossil fuel production, growing wind energy technology deployment, and water quality issues--including harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie due to nutrient runoff. In the context of varying levels of environmental sustainability and openness to international engagement, our integrated assessment work involves models and scenarios that are informed by iterative stakeholder engagement, spatially explicit modeling of watersheds and land-use changes, farmer surveys, and various sustainability assessments.
