Discussion Questions

Use the questions below to structure a discussion on the promise and peril of resource management. We offer some suggested sources to complement your consideration of these important issues.

1) How are the strategic resources of food, water and energy interrelated? How will improved living standards increase demand for these resources? How can countries develop sustainable strategies for ensuring the availability of these resources for human health and economic growth?

2) Despite skyrocketing demand for energy, a transition from hydrocarbons to alternative sources of energy on a large scale is not expected to occur in the short term. Why? What actions could be taken to speed this transition? What is the long-term cost of a gradual versus a rapid move to alternatives?

3) How does poor governance in donor and recipient countries hinder the dissemination of water purification and sanitation technologies to communities in need around the globe? What steps can be taken to work around existing obstacles posed by weak governing institutions?

Bibliographic Materials from CSIS

The CSIS Global Water Futures Project zooms in on the strategic resource management question of water with its Global Water Futures Project.

Frank Verrastro directs the Energy Program at CSIS where he, Bob Ebel, and other CSIS scholars examine issues that include nuclear energy, Caspian energy, oil market studies and strategic issues of energy. Recent publications include A Road Map for a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Economy .

Dr. Anthony Cordesman, CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, conducts a number of research endeavors on Middle East energy and security and in areas pertinent to global energy policy and security.  

Visit the Global Strategy Institute's Video Interview Library for interviews with Frank Verrastro, Director of the CSIS Energy & National Security Program, and Jerry Delli Priscoli, Senior Advisor at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Web Resources

Food

Authoritative global sources include the United Nations World Food Program and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Water

The World Water Council’s mission is to promote awareness and build political commitment on critical water issues at all levels.

The FAO Water Development and Management Unit provides information, policy advice, and technical assistance to countries and international initiatives on issues of water, agriculture, food production, and security.

Energy

The International Energy Agency’s annual publication (most recent iteration: World Energy Outlook 2008) provides a global energy survey that includes detailed long-term projections of energy demand, energy supply, and CO2 emissions.

The United States Department of Energy offers a range of resources on energy, efficiency, environmental degradation, pricing trends, and new technology.  

Further Reading

Food

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2006, FAO, UN, 2006, http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0750e/a0750e00.htm.

Todd Benson, Nicholas Minot, John Pender, Miguel Robles and Joachim von Braun, Global Food Crises : Monitoring and Assessing Impact to Inform Policy Responses (Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2008).

Water

The 2nd UN World Water Development Report: Water, A Shared Responsibility (Paris and New York: UNESCO and Berghahn Books, 2006), http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr2/table_contents.shtml.

Peter H. Gleick, The World’s Water 2006-2007: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources (Washington: Island Press, 2006).

Energy

Vaclav Smil, Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005).

Peter Tertzakian, A Thousand Barrels a Second: The Coming Oil Break Point and the Challenges Facing an Energy Dependent World (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007).