Cognitive Awareness of the Water-energy-food Nexus in the Untied States: Public Attitudes among the American People

• In Event: 331 - Section on Environment and Technology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 06. Environmental Attitudes and Concern (Group B)

Abstract

The majority of research into the connections between water and energy, water and food, and food and energy has been scientific and technical, with little research examining the publics’ understandings of these connections. This paper delves into these understandings using a 2015 national public opinion survey on the water-energy-food nexus. This survey asked a representative national sample of adults an array of questions to ascertain levels of awareness of nexus issues among the general public. Responses to these questions are used to create a “cognitive awareness index” for each node of the nexus – water and energy, water and food, and energy and food, with an eye toward making inferences about relative levels of understanding of the connections. These indexes are then used as independent variables to investigate the extent to which high levels of awareness seem to be associated with willingness to support public policies designed to intervene in the nexus. The results suggest that levels of awareness vary considerably across individuals and across the nexus nodes. All three indexes are highly related to a number of policy options for mitigating problems or strengthening synergies associated with the connections. Implications of these findings for public policies are discussed, with recommendations for improved awareness and policy interventions. The results strongly suggest that awareness of the water-energy-food nexus may well represent conditions necessary for supporting policy responses and that building awareness of nexus issues could represent an important pathway for increasing support for policy interventions.

Authors

• Kent Portney, Texas A&M University

• Bryce Hannibal, Texas A&M Univeristy

• Carol Goldsmith, Texas A&M University

• Peyton McGee, Texas A&M University

• Xinsheng Liu, Texas A&M University

• Arnold Vedlitz, Texas A&M University