A Sustainable Rural Food–Energy–Water Nexus Framework for the Northern Great Plains

Abstract

Core Ideas Rural food–energy–water nexus sustainability is a wicked problem with no easy solution. Rural areas are net exporters of products. Sustainability must begin at the source of the supply chain—the farm, ranch, mine, or well. Rural areas have strengths, critical vulnerabilities, opportunities, and threats. Regional threshold indicators can be used to prevent tipping points and avoid system collapse. The expected worldwide demand for agriculture, energy, and manufactured products will result in a supply chain that is increasingly dependent on exported rural products (e.g., livestock, cereal grains, fossil fuel, and biofuel). Rural areas such as the northern Great Plains are net exporters of food and energy, essentially “mining” valuable water and nutrient resources to do so. Rural areas are the foundation of supply chains; thus, to achieve sustainability, one must begin focusing at the source of the supply chain– with the farm, ranch, mine, or well. There are many knowledge gaps within the food–energy–water nexus in rural areas that shroud regional sustainability thresholds. Research and legislation are needed to address these critical issues.

Promoting Rural Electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa: Least-Cost Modelling of Decentralized Energy-Water-Food Systems: Case Study of St. Rupert Mayer, Zimbabwe

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Mechanisms of Cold Region Hydrologic Change to Recent Wetting in a Northern Glaciated Landscape

“…The Northern Great Plains (NGP) is an important agricultural region producing high yields of corn, wheat, and barley (e.g., Sieverding et al, 2016). Since the economy of the region is dominated by agriculture, climatic variability is of particular scientific and socioeconomic interest.…”