Tip of the Month: September 2007
From Mastery of Learning
Today’s problems are yesterday’s solutions.
We tend to only look at the problem in front of us and not further on down the road. Solving the problem in front of us often leads to bigger problems later on.
An example of this is the plastic bag. Originally it was the solution to saving the forests. Now the plastic bag, because it is not biodegradable, has created a larger problem. It is clogging our landfills and polluting our oceans.
We need to be more mindful in designing the solutions to our problems. Something that is a solution to a present problem may become a larger problem in the future.
One current example is the proposed border fence to keep illegal immigrants out of the US. It seems to solve a problem, but no one has researched the effect on the wildlife, or the social and economic networks that will be affected.
We are looking to ethanol as an alternative-energy fuel. Little research has been done into how this will affect food prices as well as the ecology. What is the cost of producing ethanol? What would its price be once its subsidies disappear? What would be the impact on the ecosystems when crops are changed? Is corn or sugar cane the best source? What would be the cost of transporting it, since we can’t do it in pipelines like oil? Those are just a few of the things to look at as—or before—we take the leap.
What things do we need to take into account as we design new systems and technologies to take us into the future? How can we be more mindful as we move ahead?
