Abstract

This talk will focus on the nexus of water, energy, and food and opportunities to address the global climate crisis through enhanced carbon mitigation and climate adaptation. Nexus thinking emerged in the 1980s, and today influences scholarly work, resource management, and infrastructure investments in the U.S. and globally. Critical reflection on the nexus has emerged: what are the ecological implications of resource development? How does social justice influence nexus thinking? What tools are useful in applying this framework, particularly to address the carbon imperative? The talk builds on a recent publication by Dr. Scott, his students and others that received the 2018 Water International best paper award from the International Water Resources Association that also named Dr. Scott a Fellow in 2019.

Biography

Christopher Scott is an interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersection of water security, the water-energy-food nexus (WEF nexus), and climate resilience. His applied research emphasizes the importance of science-policy dialogues focusing ecosystem services and transboundary adaptive management. He is the Maurice K. Goddard Chair of Forestry and Environmental Resource Conservation in the Penn State Dept. of Ecosystem Science and Management, where he is collaboratively developing a WEF nexus initiative for the Americas to address carbon mitigation and the Sustainable Development Goals. He holds a Fulbright Scholar fellowship for Argentina and Mountain Chair designation of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal. He was previously at the University of Arizona (2006-21), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2005), and International Water Management Institute in India and Mexico (1998-2005). Media coverage of his work has appeared on BBC, CNN, and New York Times. He speaks Spanish and Hindi, and conversational Portuguese and Nepali.

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Seminar sponsored by the Environmental Change Initiative.