The Appropriation of Ecological Space

Hermele, Kenneth

doi:10.4324/9780203797686

Cited by 23 publications

(45 citation statements)

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“…It has been observed that the international trade of food commodities induces a virtual transfer of embodied land [Kitzes et al, 2009], water [Allan, 1998], carbon [Kastner et al, 2011], nitrogen [Galloway et al, 2007], and other land based resources [e.g., Hermele, 2014], while most of the environmental impacts of agricultural production remain in the producing countries [Meyfroidt et al, 2013]. Thus, trade is associated with the globalization of resources [e.g., Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2008] its impact on food security [Fader et al, 2013].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, the recent food crisis of 2007 was likely induced by droughts in Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, and an increase in global crop demand for agrofuels. The consequently escalating food prices caused riots and social unrest in some developing countries [Hermele, 2014]. To curb the food price increase, some governments banned exports, while trade-dependent countries started to panic [Maetz et al, 2011].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the demand for food is steadily increasing and is competing with the rapidly growing need for agricultural products by other sectors such as biofuel production [e.g., Godfray et al, 2010], the supply of food crops is reaching a plateau [Ray et al, 2012]. On the demand side, demographic growth and changes in diet are placing unprecedented pressure on the food production system [e.g., Tilman et al, 2011;Cassidy et al, 2013;Hermele, 2014]. The global population has increased by 1 billion every 12-14 years since the 1960s [U.N. Population Division, 2012] and has been paralleled by an increase in food availability resulting from the use of industrial fertilizers, irrigation technology, and new cultivars [Boserup, 1981;Erisman et al, 2008].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…policies have mandated the use of a prescribed fraction of energy from renewable sources [EISA, 2007;E.U., 2009]. The consequent escalating use of crops for biofuels has started to compete with food production [Hermele, 2014]. Further, the intensification of climate extremes is predicted to increase the variability and uncertainty of crop yields [IPCC, 2013], thereby contributing to food price volatility [FAO-OECD, 2011].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feeding humanity through global food trade

et al. 2014

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The recent intensification of international trade has led to a globalization of food commodities and to an increased disconnection between human populations and the land and water resources that support them through crop and livestock production. Several countries are not self-sufficient and depend on imports from other regions. Despite the recognized importance of the role of trade in global and regional food security, the societal reliance on domestic production and international trade remains poorly quantified. Here we investigate the global patterns of food trade and evaluate the dependency of food security on imports. We investigate the relationship existing between the trade of food calories and the virtual transfer of water used for their production. We show how the amount of food calories traded in the international market has more than doubled between 1986 and 2009, while the number of links in the trade network has increased by more than 50%. Likewise, global food production has increased by more than 50% in the same period, providing an amount of food that is overall sufficient to support the global population at a rate of 2700-3000 kcal per person per day. About 23% of the food produced for human consumption is traded internationally. The water use efficiency of food trade (i.e., food calories produced per unit volume of water used) has declined in the last few decades. The water use efficiency of food production overall increases with the countries' affluence; this trend is likely due to the use of more advanced technology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feeding humanity through global food trade

et al. 2014

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“…Previous studies have already stressed how the ecological footprint of fossil fuels is much smaller than that of other forms of energy (e.g., draft animal power) used before the industrial revolution [Hermele, 2014]. Thus, fossil fuels have provided access to unprecedented amounts of power and replaced a relatively sustainable reliance on present-time land and water with a "mineral" economy that uses resources from a geological past.…”

Section: 1002/2017ef000544mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient water supports today's energy needs

et al. 2017

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The water footprint for fossil fuels typically accounts for water utilized in mining and fuel processing, whereas the water footprint of biofuels assesses the agricultural water used by crops through their lifetime. Fossil fuels have an additional water footprint that is not easily accounted for: ancient water that was used by plants millions of years ago, before they were transformed into fossil fuel. How much water is mankind using from the past to sustain current energy needs? We evaluate the link between ancient water virtually embodied in fossil fuels to current global energy demands by determining the water demand required to replace fossil fuels with biomass produced with water from the present. Using equal energy units of wood, bioethanol, and biodiesel to replace coal, natural gas, and crude oil, respectively, the resulting water demand is 7.39 × 1013 m3 y−1, approximately the same as the total annual evaporation from all land masses and transpiration from all terrestrial vegetation. Thus, there are strong hydrologic constraints to a reliance on biofuel energy produced with water from the present because the conversion from fossil fuels to biofuels would have a disproportionate and unsustainable impact on the modern water. By using fossil fuels to meet today's energy needs, we are virtually using water from a geological past. The water cycle is insufficient to sustain the production of the fuel presently consumed by human societies. Thus, non‐fuel‐based renewable energy sources are needed to decrease mankind's reliance on fossil fuel energy without placing an overwhelming pressure on global freshwater resources.

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The water footprint of land grabbing

Rulli

D’Odorico

2013

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] The increasing global demand for food, fibers, and biofuels has made investments in agriculture a priority for some governments and corporations eager to expand their agricultural production while securing good profits. Here we calculate the water appropriation associated with land deals at different negotiation and implementation stages. Using estimates of actual and potential evapotranspiration for the crops planted in the acquired land, we calculate the green and blue water appropriated by land investors under a variety of irrigation scenarios. We also determine the grey water footprint as the amount of water required to dilute to allowable standards the pollution resulting from fertilizer applications. We found that about 380 × 10 9 m 3 yr À1 of rainwater is appropriated with the 43 million ha of reported contract area acquired by agri-investors (>240 × 10 9 m 3 yr À1 in the 29 million ha of foreign acquisitions only). This water would be sufficient to feed ≈ 300-390 million people. Citation: Rulli, M. C., and P. D'Odorico (2013), The water footprint of land grabbing, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40,[6130][6131][6132][6133][6134][6135]

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The Appropriation of Ecological Space

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Feeding humanity through global food trade

Feeding humanity through global food trade

Ancient water supports today's energy needs

The water footprint of land grabbing

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