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1. A social network analysis of collaborative governance for the food-energy-water nexus in Phoenix, AZ, USA

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-021-00676-3  

   Jones, J. Leah; White, Dave D. (March 2021, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Despite the known benefits of integrated policy and planning, traditional governance decisions in the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus are often made without cross-sector collaboration, potentially leading to unintended consequences and decreased resource security. Applying collaborative governance approaches to the FEW nexus provides an opportunity to shift towards integrated policy of food, energy, and water governance; doing so first requires an understanding of the limitations of current governance structures and the opportunities for change. We conduct a social network analysis of stakeholders in Phoenix, AZ using secondary data sources to construct the social network of collaboration and to analyze the ability of the governance landscape to facilitate or hinder collaborative governance. The social network measures indicate potential challenges to collaborative governance of FEW nexus stakeholders, such as limited trust between actors. However, leveraging bridging actors provides opportunities to increase collaborative governance between sectors. This research is important for implementing collaborative FEW nexus governance in practice. 

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2. Stakeholder Workshops Informing System Modeling—Analyzing the Urban Food–Water–Energy Nexus in Amman, Jordan

   https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911984  

   Klauer, Bernd; Küblböck, Karin; Omann, Ines; Karutz, Raphael; Klassert, Christian; Zhu, Yuanzao; Zozmann, Heinrich; Smilovic, Mikhail; Talozi, Samer; Figueroa, Anjuli Jain; et al (October 2022, Sustainability)

   Large cities worldwide are increasingly suffering from a nexus of food, water, and energy supply challenges. This complex nexus can be analyzed with modern physico-economic system models. Only when practical knowledge from those affected, experts, and decision makers is incorporated alongside various other data sources, however, are the analyses suitable for policy advice. Here, we present a concept for “Sustainability Nexus Workshops” suitable for extracting and preparing relevant practical knowledge for nexus modeling and apply it to the case of Amman, Jordan. The experiences of the workshop participants show that, although water scarcity is the predominant resource problem in Jordan, there is a close connection between food, water, and energy as well as between resource supply and urbanization. To prevent the foreseeable significant degradation of water supply security, actions are needed across all nexus dimensions. The stakeholders demonstrate an awareness of this and suggest a variety of technical measures, policy solutions, and individual behavioral changes—often in combination. Improving the supply of food, water, and energy requires political and institutional reforms. In developing these, it must be borne in mind that the prevalent informal structures and illegal activities are both strategies for coping with nexus challenges and causes of them. 

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3. Heat and Mass Transfer in the Food, Energy, and Water Nexus—A Review

   https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4047089  

   Derby, Melanie M.; Adams, Allison N.; Chakraborty, Partha P.; Haque, Mohammad Rejaul; Huber, Ryan A.; Morrow, Jordan A.; Riley, Gennifer A.; Ross, Molly; Stallbaumer, Emily M.; Betz, Amy R.; et al (September 2020, Journal of Heat Transfer)

   Abstract Engineering innovations—including those in heat and mass transfer—are needed to provide food, water, and power to a growing population (i.e., projected to be 9.8 × 109 by 2050) with limited resources. The interweaving of these resources is embodied in the food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus. This review paper focuses on heat and mass transfer applications which involve at least two aspects of the FEW nexus. Energy and water topics include energy extraction of natural gas hydrates and shale gas; power production (e.g., nuclear and solar); power plant cooling (e.g., wet, dry, and hybrid cooling); water desalination and purification; and building energy/water use, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration technology. Subsequently, this review considers agricultural thermal fluids applications, such as the food and water nexus (e.g., evapotranspiration and evaporation) and the FEW nexus (e.g., greenhouses and food storage, including granaries and freezing/drying). As part of this review, over 100 review papers on thermal and fluid topics relevant to the FEW nexus were tabulated and over 350 research journal articles were discussed. Each section discusses previous research and highlights future opportunities regarding heat and mass transfer research. Several cross-cutting themes emerged from the literature and represent future directions for thermal fluids research: the need for fundamental, thermal fluids knowledge; scaling up from the laboratory to large-scale, integrated systems; increasing economic viability; and increasing efficiency when utilizing resources, especially using waste products. 

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4. Water insecurity in the Global North: A review of experiences in U.S. colonias communities along the Mexico border

   https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1595  

   Wutich, Amber; Jepson, Wendy; Velasco, Carmen; Roque, Anais; Gu, Zhining; Hanemann, Michael; Hossain, Mohammed Jobayer; Landes, Laura; Larson, Rhett; Li, Wen Wen; et al (April 2022, WIREs Water)

   Since the late 1970s, the term “colonias” (in English) has described low-income, peri-urban, and rural subdivisions north of the U.S.-Mexico border. These communities are in arid and semi-arid regions—now in a megadrought—and tend to have limited basic infrastructure, including community water service and sanitation. Recent scholarship has demonstrated how colonias residents experience unjust and inequitable dynamics that produce water insecurity in the Global North. In this review, we explain why U.S. colonias are an important example for theorizing water insecurity in the United States and beyond in the Global North. Tracing the history of water infrastructure development in U.S. colonias, we show how colonias are legally and socially defined by water insecurity. We draw on the published literature to discuss key factors that produce water insecurity in U.S. colonias: political exclusion, municipal underbounding, and failures in water quality monitoring. We show that water insecurity had led to negative outcomes—including poor water access, risks to physical health, and mental ill-health—in U.S. colonias. We present four possible approaches to improving water security in U.S. colonias: (1) soft paths & social infrastructure for water delivery, (2) decentralized water treatment approaches, such as point-of-use, point-of-entry, and fit-for-purpose systems; (3) informality, including infrastructural, economic, and socio-cultural innovations; and (4) political, policy, and law innovations and reforms. At the same time, we reflect seriously on how water security can be ethically achieved in partnership and aligning with the visions of U.S. colonias residents themselves. 

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5. A curricular model to train doctoral students in interdisciplinary research at the food-energy-water nexus

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1114529  

   Murray, Rianna Teresa; Marbach-Ad, Gili; McKee, Kelsey; Lansing, Stephanie; Winner, Megan Elizabeth; Sapkota, Amy Rebecca (September 2023, Frontiers in Education)

   Food, energy and water (FEW) systems are inextricably linked, and thus, solutions to FEW nexus challenges, including water and food insecurity, require an interconnected science and policy approach framed in systems thinking. To drive these solutions, we developed an interdisciplinary, experiential graduate education program focused on innovations at the FEW nexus. As part of our program, PhD students complete a two-course sequence: (1) an experiential introduction to innovations at the FEW nexus and (2) a data practicum. The two courses are linked through an interdisciplinary FEW systems research project that begins during the first course and is completed at the end of the second course. Project deliverables include research manuscripts, grant proposals, policy memos, and outreach materials. Topics addressed in these projects include building electrification to reduce reliance on fossil fuels for heating, agrivoltaic farming to combat FEW vulnerabilities in the southwestern United States, assessment of food choices to influence sustainable dining practices, and understanding the complexities of FEW nexus research and training at the university level. Evaluation data were generated from our first three student cohorts (n = 33 students) using a mixed method, multi-informant evaluation approach, including the administration of an adapted version of a validated pre-post-survey to collect baseline and end-of-semester data. The survey assessed student confidence in the following example areas: communication, collaboration, and interdisciplinary research skills. Overall, students reported confidence growth in utilizing interdisciplinary research methods (e.g., synthesize the approaches and tools from multiple disciplines to evaluate and address a research problem), collaborating with range of professionals and communicating their research results to diverse audience. The growth in confidence in the surveyed areas aligned with the learning objectives for the two-course sequence, and the interdisciplinary project experience was continually improved based on student feedback. This two-course sequence represents one successful approach for educators to rethink the traditional siloed approach of training doctoral students working at the FEW nexus. 

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