Exploring citizens' support for policy tools at the food, energy, water nexus

Abstract

The food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus is attracting the attention of scholars throughout the fields of engineering, biological sciences, and public policy, among others. However, one important piece missing from the research is an understanding of the types of FEW-related policies citizens support and the factors that drive public support for those policies. As reported in this article, data from a nationally representative survey of the adult U.S. population show that the public's support for different policy tools varies. To understand more about the public's preferences, we use a series of analytic techniques including factor analysis and factor score regressions to test possible explanations for these preferences. We find that citizens' knowledge about FEW nexus issues increases their support of policies for managing food, energy, water resources; broad concern for the environment also increases support. The public's preferences are also influenced by political ideology, political party identification, and education. These results contribute to an understanding of the public's potential willingness to embrace the role government can play in addressing FEW nexus issues.

The Impact of Efficacy, Values, and Knowledge on Public Preferences Concerning Food–Water–Energy Policy Tradeoffs

“…Knowledge about resource tradeoffs, and specifically the food–water–energy nexus, has been linked to greater policy support for equitable and efficient management of these resources [ 11 , 12 , 69 ]. The most common measures used in the environmental literature are perceived (i.e., subjective) and assessed knowledge.…”

“…A number of studies have linked knowledge about policy-specific facts to public preferences [ 12 , 67 , 72 ]. In a study of Las Vegas residents, Salvaggio et al [ 67 ] found that factual knowledge about drought is significantly associated with water conservation measures.…”

“…Ecosystem degradation can undermine the availability of water and threaten human health while also impacting energy access and food production. However, despite an increasing body of scientific and technical work that documents the interdependencies in the use of nexus resources, there has been scant academic attention to the public receptiveness of policies that entail cross-sectoral tradeoffs [ 11 , 12 ].…”

“…The relationships between food, water, and energy using a public opinion survey have previously been discussed by Portney et al [ 11 ], who examined the public awareness of the linkages across nexus elements. Using the same data, Bullock and Bowman [ 12 ] examined the drivers of policy support for managing food, water, and energy resources. However, citizen support has not previously been examined within a framework wherein individual policy options are considered in reference to specific tradeoffs.…”

Towards a Psychology of the Food‐Energy‐Water Nexus: Costs and Opportunities

“…Some research focuses on psychological predictors of policy support. Bullock and Bowman () found that knowledge about nexus issues as well as broad concern for the environment was positively associated with citizens’ support for policy tools aimed at managing food, energy, and water resources. Similarly, Portney et al.…”