The Republic of Korea is the only country classified with severe water stress among the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries. Additionally, the self-sufficiency rate of grain in Korea is 27%, which is 1/3 the average of OECD member countries. Because food cannot be produced without water, demand-driven water management of agricultural and livestock products applying water footprints is needed for food security. For this, this study estimates the water footprints of 42 agricultural products and three livestock products. Based on the results, the water footprint of the vegetables grown in facility such as a greenhouse is 7.9 times larger per ton than the footprint of the vegetables cultivated in the open field. Furthermore, the water footprint per ton of beef is about 4.2 times the average water footprint per ton of vegetables grown in facility. Based on the water footprint data of 45 agricultural and livestock products, the footprint of total agricultural and livestock products in 2014 is approximately 27.9% of the total domestic water resources consumed in Korea.

This study was designed to analyze the feasibility of economic aspects assuming that the policy of diaper recycling is necessary. With respect to economic feasibility, the collection and transportation of the diaper waste, which accounts for much of the cost, need to be optimized. Starting with the results of a collection trial in Scotland (2012), the method used in a collection trial in Korea (2014) was analyzed to identify problems incurring additional costs. This paper targeted daycare centers in Nowon-Gu, Seoul—because of the quantity of waste diapers they produce and the efficiency of collection—to identify the problems and to predict the cost of collection. This study evaluated multiple scenarios in light of their collection costs, discovering factors that could improve the system and reduce the cost and created the most economically feasible and optimized collection model. This paper will serve as empirical evidence proving the economics of diaper collection when the regulation is revised or amended in the future.

This study examined how the perceptions of the risks from nuclear power have changed as the government policy has changed from nuclear-friendly to nuclear phase-out. In 2009, the concern about climate change was growing, and the government’s new policy of “low carbon green growth” received wide public support (KNEA, 2014). In 2018, however, the present government is promoting a nuclear phase-out policy. Specifically, this study surveyed Seoul National University students in 2009 and 2018 in order to find similarities and differences in their perceptions of nuclear power risks and to suggest policy implications. The results of 2018 show that the perceptions of nuclear power risks increased, while that of the benefits decreased from 2009 under the opposing government policy. Specifically, the survey examined how the public support for nuclear power changed under the potential for climate-change and energy security in both 2009 and 2018. The negative perceptions of nuclear power were dramatically increased in 2018, however, and the preference for nuclear power was related more to energy security than climate change. The policy to expand or reduce nuclear power and renewable energy by imposing a new condition can be implemented only when the public acceptance of those energy sources has improved. Therefore, the government needs to define the objective reality of the risks and benefits that derive from each energy source, instead of managing the public acceptance by imposing a new condition. Also, the government needs to enhance the publicity about the public’s acceptance of technology developments and government policy through consensus building with the related stakeholders.