MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FO

MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED CONSIDER A SLICE OF PIZZA AT FIRST GLANCE, it seems pretty basic — dough, tomato sauce and cheese. But if you consider where they came from, those three ingredients have a rich story to tell. Think of the water and energy that go into these three everyday items. You need water to grow the wheat that’s milled into flour, you add water to the flour and yeast to make the dough, you need water to produce the gooey mozzarella and it takes water to grow the tomatoes that make up the sauce. You don’t see this “hidden water” in your slice of pizza, but it’s there. There’s the energy that goes directly into baking the pie, but there’s also the hidden energy that goes into farming the crops (think tractors, and fossil fuels required to produce fertilizers and pesticides), processing and distributing the ingredients, and even the energy that was required to manufacture the pizza oven. You may not have realized it, but even a simple slice of pizza involves a global distribution network, industrial agriculture, fossil fuels and a lot of water. That’s the food, water and energy nexus in a slice. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 2 Did you know that it takes 42 gallons of water to make one slice of pizza? Flour: 18 gallons Sauce: 2.5 gallons Cheese: 21 gallons 3 The food, water and energy nexus is simply where and how these three systems interconnect.  It takes water and energy — and lots of it — to produce the food you eat.  Energy is used to move water to your home and clean up the water you send down the drain.  Water is required to run power plants safely and to produce oil, gas and coal.  Some food crops are turned into fuel for vehicles. When these three systems come into conflict with each other there are consequences for public health, the economy and the natural world. Events like drought, oil spills and rising food prices all underscore their relationships. The more you dig into these interconnections the more of a riddle they seem, but don’t be overwhelmed. What we do every day affects the food, water and energy nexus, and the nexus, in turn, affects our everyday life. By thinking more broadly about these interconnections, we can build a more sustainable future. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 4 A FOOD SYSTEM includes the activities, resources and people involved in bringing food from the farm to the table. Crops, feedlots, trucks, fertilizers, markets and even our own kitchens are all part of the food system. NEXUS DEFINED: FOOD MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 5 A WATER SYSTEM supplies water for human use, whether for drinking, irrigation or industry, and treats wastewater to protect public and ecological health. Pipes, home faucets, water towers, treatment plants, watersheds and estuaries are key parts of the water system. NEXUS DEFINED: WATER MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 6 An ENERGY SYSTEM includes everything it takes to generate and distribute electricity, as well as the steps required to produce and distribute fuels. Power plants, rooftop solar panels, transmission lines, coal mines and oil refineries are all part of the energy system. NEXUS DEFINED: ENERGY MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 7 NEXUS THINKING: We need to better understand the connections between growing enough food, meeting rising energy needs and providing ample clean water for people around the world. However, this isn’t just the responsibility of industry, corporations and governments. We, as individuals, have an important role to play. Our everyday food, water and energy choices have a profound effect on each other and the environment. The more we take these connections into consideration — call it “nexus thinking” — the better our chances will be of achieving a sustainable future. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 8 FOOD ENERGY WATER MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 9 Let’s look at a few examples of how important it is to take the food, water and energy nexus into consideration, and how nexus thinking can help us make more sustainable choices. Water/Food: Irrigation About 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the US goes to agriculture to irrigate crops. More efficient methods like slow drip irrigation, which applies water directly to the base of plants rather than spraying it into the air over the crops, are a better choice. Water/Energy: Power Plant Water Use Conventional power plants withdraw a lot of water for cooling — in some cases over a billion gallons per day — but can shrink their water footprint today by recycling cooling water or using air to cool excess heat. NEXUS FACTS: MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 10 Food/Energy: Biofuels In recent years, 40 percent of US corn was converted into ethanol. Using corn to power our cars and trucks can strain our food supplies. In addition, the industrial production of corn has led to algae blooms in local water ways, harming aquatic life. Advanced biofuels like algae have potential to produce fuel without threatening food supplies and with less demand on water and energy. Food/Water/Energy: Food Waste Americans throw 40 percent of their food in the trash every year, costing the average family as much as $2,275 annually. About 25 percent of water consumed in the US each year goes toward food that never gets eaten. Meal planning is a great way to reduce food waste and to save water, energy and money. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 11 The water in that slice of pizza discussed earlier? It’s called “virtual water” and there’s a lot of it in the food we eat. You may not see it — or drink it, for that matter — but it makes up the majority of your water footprint — the amount of water you use throughout the day. Here’s a peek behind the virtual water curtain to see how much water is hidden in common items on grocery store shelves. VIRTUAL WATER AT THE STORE: MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 12 Note: These are estimates of each item’s “global water footprint values.” Each value is variable, based on where and how the items were produced. 1 lb Chicken: 468 gallons 1/2 lb Tomatoes: 12 gallons 1 lb Beef: 1,799 gallons 1 lb Lettuce: 30 gallons 1 lb Chocolate: 3,170 gallons 1 dozen Eggs: 636 gallons 1 lb Potatoes: 119 gallons 1 lb Rice: 449 gallons 1 gallon Milk: 880 gallons 1 loaf Bread: 288 gallons MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 13 NEXUS AT HOME: Solar panels don’t need water to generate electricity. 25 percent of freshwater consumed each year is lost to wasted food. The average US driver uses 27 gallons of water a day. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 14 10 percent of US energy use gets our food from farm to table. The typical US diet uses 1,444 gallons of water per day. 18 percent of home energy use goes towards water heating. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 15 GOVERNMENT GETTING IT RIGHT: Wastewater Reuse: The city of San Antonio, TX is a pioneer when it comes to reusing wastewater. Since the 1960s, the city’s wastewater treatment plant has provided water to the city’s energy utility. Today the San Antonio Water System provides up to 16 billion gallons per year for cooling at CPS Energy’s power plants, taking pressure off the region’s freshwater supplies. Water and Energy Efficiency: The town of Windsor, CA helps its residents save energy, water and money through its Efficiency PAYS program. Windsor’s creative financing program allows residents to invest in water- and energy-efficient fixtures, lighting, appliances and even landscaping without having to pay for it upfront. Instead, participants pay a surcharge on their water bill. Once the upgrades are paid for through the surcharge, all of the savings go to the homeowner or renter. Renewable Energy Park The town of Hempstead, NY built an unparalleled renewable energy park to meet electricity and a portion of heating and cooling needs, of a municipal building. The seaside energy park includes a 120-foot wind turbine, solar-powered buildings, a solar hot water system, a solar car port, a geothermal energy system, a hydrogen and compressed natural gas fueling station, and even a solar- and wind- powered shellfish nursery. MEET THE NEXUS: HOW FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY ARE CONNECTED 16 BUSINESSES GETTING IT RIGHT: Food Waste Disposal: You’ve probably heard of farm-to-table, but Wayne Koeckeritz discovered that there’s also value in table-to-farm. The South Carolina entrepreneur established Food Waste Disposal LLC to collect uploads/Industriel/ nexus-guide.pdf

Tags
Industrielwater energy food nexus: connected
Documents similaires
  • 22
  • 0
  • 0
Afficher les détails des licences
Licence et utilisation
Gratuit pour un usage personnel Attribution requise
Partager