Systems Thinking: We are a Part of the Problem

When pondering climate change as an environmentalist it is so simple to remove oneself from the problem and point fingers. The lists of common culprits all seem to include the huge oil companies, giant corporations who seemingly have no regard for the way products are being sourced and produced, and a pool of politicians who claim that business as usual is an acceptable scenario. What is maybe not included as often in the list is the small grocery store down the street down the street from your house, the bank that your family has been loyal members to for multiple lifetimes, and the transportation necessary to get us to some of our favorite adventure spots. Systems thinking urges us to utilize the perspective that we cannot completely remove ourselves from a problem, and cannot also see a problem only for its present face value. In order to contribute to meaningful change we must see ourselves as part of a larger system that is creating the problems that we perceive around us.

This weekend I will be attending the Global Energy Forum in Beaver Creek Colorado with a number of other students from the MENV cohort. This conference is an event which pulls together industry and political leaders to formulate innovative ideas and action steps on many environmental issues, namely energy ones. While this event will most certainly work towards solving environmental issues, it will also inevitably contribute to the problems that it will work to solve. For example, the food we will be served has been shipped hundreds of miles (organic, vegan, gluten-free, does not matter) considering that Avon, Colorado is not well-known for producing food products. Most everyone attending the conference will have traveled to the location using planes, cars, or trains. Additionally many brochures will be printed as well as business cards, presentation posters, and agendas. Lastly, the production of all of these things take massive amounts of energy.

As the reading suggested, these systems are incredibly complex. No one person can understand the energy, food, and consumer world, much less the comprehensive cultural and social factors that drive them. In order to work towards understanding even some small part of a system required to drive change we must first reflect on our involvement in perpetuating that system. Only then can we truly begin to work towards solutions that not only align with social norms and values, but actually have the potential to work as well.

Weekly Question: Identify the one action you do that benefits the environment the most, and then identify the one action you do that harms the environment the most. Is the good you are creating equal to or greater than the bad? (using systems thinking: what is the flow of these two actions?)

Comments

[Harsha Maragh]

Your post resonated with me and I have a similar outlook on how systems thinking can be applied to the environmental field. It is important for us to realize that we are a part of the problem, instead of isolating ourselves from it. Sometimes I think that environmentalists put themselves above the problem (because they are working towards fixing it), however we need to realize that we all contribute to it in some way or another. It can be hard to admit that, but I think in order for us to create a functional system we need to acknowledge both our successes and pitfalls.

Those are interesting points that you raised about the conference. I think that a lot of times, we tend to get discouraged because no matter what we do, we are still creating a carbon footprint. Hopefully we can come to a point in the (near) future where our actions create a carbon sink instead.
The conference sounds very interesting and I am looking forward to hearing about your experience when you get back!

[Mallika]

Your post raises some great points about recognizing ourselves as elements within a system. I think this recognition can help identify societal forces that have led to the dominance of large corporations. This perspective also raises interesting questions about leverage points when trying to change the function or purpose of these systems. Do we try to change one powerful actor through regulatory measures, or do we mobilize thousands or millions of individuals to make lifestyle changes? I can see both angles. For example, the current commercial success of rooftop solar seems to depend heavily on removal of upfront cost barriers (e.g. through a leasing or financing arrangement) and favorable net metering policies, which is primarily controlled by public utilities commissions. At the same time, grassroots action was (at least temporarily) successful in halting DAPL pipeline construction and many cities are attempting to become leaders in renewable energy installation.