Stakeholder Perspectives on Sustainability in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Interest in the various dimensions of environmental, economic, and social sustainability for food, energy, and water (FEW) systems, independently and collectively (i. e., the FEW nexus), has spawned an increasing amount of literature that seeks to understand the various linkages within the FEW nexus and provide guidance to inform decision-making to enhance sustainability. While the use of science and data can generate important and relevant information, it is not clear how important they are relative to relevant policy and the integration of policy within and across the individual FEW domains. In this work, we assessed perspectives on various considerations that pertain to sustainability in the FEW nexus. To do so, we identified numerous stakeholder groups who have interests throughout the FEW nexus, and conducted a survey of a subset of these groups. Although the responses differed across the stakeholder groups that we surveyed, the consistent result was that stakeholders generally understand that FEW systems are physically connected at high levels, and that policy is less integrated than desired. When forced to choose between priorities for science and data or for integrated policy to enhance sustainability, respondents from Academia and Extension preferred more science and data, whereas respondents who are, or more frequently interact with, practitioners and policy-makers preferred integrated policy. Overall, with other results and findings that are relevant for advancing sustainability and improving communication the FEW nexus, we conclude that the importance of science, data, and integrated policy depends on the context in which the stakeholders operate in the FEW domain

Physicochemical factors impacting CO2 sequestration in depleted shale formations: The case of the Utica shale

AbstractFractured shale formations could serve as an attractive target formation for geologic carbon sequestration once they have been depleted of hydrocarbons. The low intrinsic permeability of the shale matrix could reduce the CO2 leakage potential, the kerogen in the shale would provide a matrix within which the CO2 can be permanently sorbed, and the infrastructure in place at gas production sites could all be leveraged to minimize costs. Here, a modeling framework previously developed by the authors to estimate the sequestration capacity of shale formations is extended to better capture the physicochemical realities associated with injecting CO2 into fractured shale formations. The model uses CH4 production data to fit key parameters about the formation and applies those to a unipore diffusion model to characterize the controlling gas transport processes. A number of parameters, including the gas diffusion coefficient, the ratio of adsorbed gas to free phase gas, water saturation and gas adsorption isotherms are considered and their effect on modeling estimates is explored. The model is found to be most sensitive to the ratio of adsorbed gas to the total gas which includes both adsorbed and free phase gas. The equilibrium adsorption parameters of CH4 and CO2 also have significant influence largely because published estimates for these parameters vary considerably. The effect of pore collapse following production was explored in terms of its effect on characteristic diffusion length. The results indicate that increasing this characteristics length by an order of five would triple the time it takes to complete the injection of CO2 into the formation. Similarly, an increase in water content in the formation or in the ratio of free CH4 to sorbed CH4 would decrease the sequestration potential of the formation. Based on this improved constitutive understanding of the modeling inputs and the estimates, the CO2 sequestration capacity of the Utica Shale was calculated and the results were compared with those from Marcellus Shale. The differences could be understood in terms of the distinct petrophysical properties of those two shale formations. This analysis provides recommendations about experimental directions that could be very useful for improving the accuracy of sequestration capacity models

An attainable global vision for conservation and human well-being

A hopeful vision of the future is a world in which both people and nature thrive, but there is little evidence to support the feasibility of such a vision. We used a global, spatially explicit, systems modeling approach to explore the possibility of meeting the demands of increased populations and economic growth in 2050 while simultaneously advancing multiple conservation goals. Our results demonstrate that if, instead of “business as usual” practices, the world changes how and where food and energy are produced, this could help to meet projected increases in food (54%) and energy (56%) demand while achieving habitat protection (>50% of natural habitat remains unconverted in most biomes globally; 17% area of each ecoregion protected in each country), reducing atmospheric greenhouse-gas emissions consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement (≤1.6°C warming by 2100), ending overfishing, and reducing water stress and particulate air pollution. Achieving this hopeful vision for people and nature is attainable with existing technology and consumption patterns. However, success will require major shifts in production methods and an ability to overcome substantial economic, social, and political challenges

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

Emerging Themes and Future Directions of Multi-Sector Nexus Research and Implementation

Water, energy, and food are all essential components of human societies. Collectively, their respective resource systems are interconnected in what is called the “nexus”. There is growing consensus that a holistic understanding of the interdependencies and trade-offs between these sectors and other related systems is critical to solving many of the global challenges they present. While nexus research has grown exponentially since 2011, there is no unified, overarching approach, and the implementation of concepts remains hampered by the lack of clear case studies. Here, we present the results of a collaborative thought exercise involving 75 scientists and summarize them into 10 key recommendations covering: the most critical nexus issues of today, emerging themes, and where future efforts should be directed. We conclude that a nexus community of practice to promote open communication among researchers, to maintain and share standardized datasets, and to develop applied case studies will facilitate transparent comparisons of models and encourage the adoption of nexus approaches in practice

WHO global research priorities for antimicrobial resistance in human health

The WHO research agenda for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health has identified 40 research priorities to be addressed by the year 2030. These priorities focus on bacterial and fungal pathogens of crucial importance in addressing AMR, including drug-resistant pathogens causing tuberculosis. These research priorities encompass the entire people-centred journey, covering prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of antimicrobial-resistant infections, in addition to addressing the overarching knowledge gaps in AMR epidemiology, burden and drivers, policies and regulations, and awareness and education. The research priorities were identified through a multistage process, starting with a comprehensive scoping review of knowledge gaps, with expert inputs gathered through a survey and open call. The priority setting involved a rigorous modified Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative approach, ensuring global representation and applicability of the findings. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to encourage research and investment in the generation of evidence to better understand AMR dynamics and facilitate policy translation for reducing the burden and consequences of AMR

A potential for climate benign direct air CO2 capture with CO2-driven geothermal utilization and storage (DACCUS)

To reduce the overaccumulation of carbon dioxide (CO _2 ) in the atmosphere, direct air CO _2 capture (DACC) technologies must (a) satisfy the process requirements for heat and electricity with energy that has few if any CO _2 emissions, and (b) physically isolate the CO _2 from the atmosphere after its extraction from the air. To isolate the CO _2 from the atmosphere at meaningful scale, the CO _2 will likely need to be geologically stored in deep saline aquifers. Here we propose to leverage geologic CO _2 storage (GCS) in sedimentary basin geothermal resources to produce geothermal heat and electricity for the process energy requirements of solid sorbent DACC. This sedimentary basin CO _2 -driven geothermal utilization (SB-CO _2 DGU, also known as CO _2 Plume Geothermal) circulates some of the emplaced CO _2 to extract geothermal heat in a closed loop between the subsurface reservoir and surface geothermal facility. The proposed integration of DACC and CO _2 -driven geothermal Utilization and Storage (DACCUS) adds CO _2 from the air to this closed loop system that produces renewable energy for use in the DACC process. The strategy first primes the GCS reservoir with CO _2 from large point sources, and then integrates CO _2 from DACC facility to form the DACCUS system. We focus on the process integration of DACCUS and present a case study of its potential deployment and scaling in the Gulf Coast of the United States. We combine data from prior analyses for a novel investigation of two DACCUS configurations: (1) a DACCUS heat system uses the geothermal heat to regenerate the solid sorbent in the DACC process, and (2) a DACCUS heat and power system uses the electricity generated from the produced geothermal heat for the DACC process. In general, deeper CO _2 storage reservoirs (>3.5 km) with higher geothermal temperature gradients (>35 °C km ^−1 ), may provide sufficient production wellhead temperatures (>100 °C), and satisfy the electric load in 93% of the combinations of reservoir characteristics we examined

A scalable infrastructure model for carbon capture and storage: SimCCS

In the carbon capture and storage (CCS) process, CO2 sources and geologic reservoirs may be widely spatially dispersed and need to be connected through a dedicated CO2 pipeline network. We introduce a scalable infrastructure model for CCS (simCCS) that generates a fully integrated, cost-minimizing CCS system. SimCCS determines where and how much CO2 to capture and store, and where to build and connect pipelines of different sizes, in order to minimize the combined annualized costs of sequestering a given amount of CO2. SimCCS is able to aggregate CO2 flows between sources and reservoirs into trunk pipelines that take advantage of economies of scale. Pipeline construction costs take into account factors including topography and social impacts. SimCCS can be used to calculate the scale of CCS deployment (local, regional, national). SimCCS' deployment of a realistic, capacitated pipeline network is a major advancement for planning CCS infrastructure. We demonstrate simCCS using a set of 37 CO2 sources and 14 reservoirs for California. The results highlight the importance of systematic planning for CCS infrastructure by examining the sensitivity of CCS infrastructure, as optimized by simCCS, to varying CO2 targets. We finish by identifying critical future research areas for CCS infrastructure.Carbon capture and storage Optimization Pipeline network