FEW-ViewTM

Terms in FEW-View (TM)

Term Definition
Boundary Type of selected region: can be state or county
Data Layer Type of flow relative to the selected region: can be inflow (in which case selected region will be a Destination) or outflow (in which case selected region will be an Origin)
Destination The geographic location where a commodity flow terminates.
Origin The geographic location where a commodity flow originates.
Virtual Water Volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured at the place where the product was actually produced (production-site definition). It refers to the sum of the water used in the various steps of the production chain.
Commodity An economic good or material, bought and sold freely as an article of commerce. In this tool all commodities fall into one of the three categories: food, energy and water.
Unit Measurement type for commodity flow: Weight in kilotons, Value in millions of dollars, Millions of cubic meters.
Resilience Measure of the susceptibility to disruption within a supply as ranked from 0 to 1, with 1 being a resilient supply chain that relies on a diverse number of suppliers.
Water Stress Vulnerability Index Measures the potential for exposure to drought in a supply chain as ranked from 0 to 1, with 1 being a vulnerable supply chain reliant on suppliers with stressed water supplies.
Water Stress Vulnerability Contribution Measures the potential for exposure to drought in a supply chain as ranked from 0 to 1, with 1 being a vulnerable supply chain reliant on suppliers with stressed water supplies.
Dependence A relative measure of the level of reliance a supply chain has on a specific supplier (ex.: Source A), communicated as a percentage from 0% - 100%, with 100% meaning the entire supply comes from Source A and 50% meaning Source A provides half of the supply.
Leverage A relative measure of how prevalent a specific supplier (ex.: Source B) is in a supply chain, from 0% to 100%, with 100% meaning Source B is the only supplier and has full leverage over the supply.
Circularity Measures % of commodity used in the area in which it is produced, from 0-100%, with 100% meaning all of the produced good is consumed locally and 0% meaning all of the produced good is exported and not used by local consumers
Blue Water Footprint Measures the total freshwater consumption within a county or state in addition to the area’s virtual water balance, which is defined as the total amount of water used throughout the lifecycle of a product from production to consumption.
Total Outflows The total amount of a specific commodity flowing out of a geographic area (county, state, metropolitan area) for a specific unit.
Total Inflows The total amount of a specific commodity flowing into a geographic area (county, state, metropolitan area) for a specific unit.
Metric Tonne (t) A metric for the mass of an object equivalent to one metric tonne (t), or 2,205 lbs, typically displayed in units of thousand metric tonnes (kt)
Barrel Measures the volume of production and consumption for liquid fuels - one (1) barrel of liquid fuel is approximately 42 gallons.
Dollar A unit of currency equivalent to the monetary value of the United States Dollar in 2012, displayed in millions of dollars ($MM).
Gigawatt Hours (GWh) A unit of measurement used for assessing energy production and consumption over time, typically used for large energy generators such as power plants.
Million cubic feet (Mcf) A metric used to measure the volume of natural gas production and consumption. One (1) Mcf is equivalent to the volume of 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas.
Megawatts (MW) A metric used to measure power production and consumption in large energy generators such as power plants. As with Gigawatt Hours (GWh), Megawatts can also be represented as energy output over time (MWh).
Virtual Water (VW) Consumption (Mm³) The amount of water used to produce a good throughout the lifecycle of the product, sometimes referred to as the 'hidden' water usage in a system. Measured in Million Cubic Meters per Year (Mm³ per year).
Virtual Water (VW) Withdrawals (Mm³) The amount of water withdrawn from a source that is used in the production of a good. Measured in Million Cubic Meters per Year (Mm³ per year).
Indirect Water Stress Index (IWSI) An index for measuring scarcity in a state or county's supply chain, on a scale of 0 to 1. A score of 1 indicates that the amount of water consumed in the supply chain of a good is equal to the water available to the supply chain of the good.
Indirect Water Stress Index (IWSI) Contribution Focuses on individual counties to measure their contribution to water scarcity within the supply chain of a state or county.
Million Cubic Meters (Mm³) A metric used when measuring large volumes of water, equivalent to approximately 264 million gallons
Direct Water Stress Index (WSI) A scarcity index used to compare water consumed as a proportion of water available, on a scale of 0 to 1. A WSI of 1 indicates that roughly all of the available water is being used, as consumption is approximately the same as availability.
BWF - Withdrawals (Mm³) A measure of the volume of water withdrawn and fully consumed (in Mm³) equal to the state or county's water use + its virtual water balance (virtual water inflows - virtual water outflows).
BWF - Consumption (Mm³) A measure of the volume of water consumed where a fraction of the water withdrawn is returned to the environment (Mm³), equal to a state or county's water use + its virtual water balance (virtual water inflows - virtual water outflows).