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Towards a Psychology of the Food‐Energy‐Water Nexus: Costs and Opportunities
Author(s) -
Dreyer Stacia J.,
Kurz Tim,
Prosser Annayah M.B.,
Abrash Walton Abigail,
Dennings Kelley,
McNeill Ilona,
Saber Deborah A.,
Swim Janet K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/josi.12361
Subject(s) - nexus (standard) , framing (construction) , government (linguistics) , perspective (graphical) , sociology , engineering ethics , social science , engineering , computer science , philosophy , linguistics , structural engineering , artificial intelligence , embedded system
Scholars, government scientific research institutions, and public policy‐making entities are increasingly focusing on environmental issues from a food‐energy‐water (FEW) nexus perspective. This nexus represents the interconnection of these three systems, which are essential to human life. The FEW nexus is inherently and inescapably interdisciplinary. However, to date, there have been relatively few academic contributions to understanding the nexus from the social sciences, particularly from psychology. In this article, we suggest an extended framing of the nexus (food‐energy‐water x human) to explicitly recognize how human actions in the form of both consumption practices and population size and distribution impact the FEW nexus. We outline important contributions that psychology researchers could make in FEW nexus focused research teams. In doing so, we acknowledge difficulties and potential risks for psychology researchers engaging in FEW nexus based research, but suggest that, while such difficulties can create barriers, they can also present opportunities for psychologists.