In today's world, thinking small is thinking big. We hear the words nanotechnology and microchips tossed around every day. iPods are getting smaller and smaller, computers now fit in people's pockets, and millions of files can be stored on a drive the size of a thumb. Even in science, things keep getting smaller and smaller. Medical studies occur almost entirely under a microscope, the entire field of physics operates at the atomic level, and the future of materials production is in the hands of nanotechnology. However, this all makes me wonder...how much smaller can we go? Physics tells us that the smallest we can go is unstable subatomic particles. I, for one, can tell you that if those iPods get any smaller, my eyes will not be able to watch movies on those tiny screens. I always knew that people say "thinking big" for a reason. We need to divert away from minifying our world and focus on thinking about how things interact on a global scale.
Now, you may be thinking, how does this relate at all to climate change? People today are trying to solve all the different aspects of climate change on a small scale. "Use biofuels in America, where corn production is so prominent!" yell the desperate car manufacturers, looking to salvage a dying industry by appealing to the "green" consumer. Biofuels! That's the solution! We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Not for long though, because then the economists arrive. "Biofuel production is detrimental to the food industry because of the massive supply of ethanol required to produce these biofuels," they say. Now what? Time to start innovating. We need people to connect all aspects of climate change, both ecological and economic, and develop feasible solutions that account for all of these aspects. For example, someone may suggest the use of biodegradable pens (Random, but bare with me). However, these cost much more to produce. In addition, production of these pens produces a significantly larger carbon footprint. So, in the end, you are not only paying more for these pens, but the whole point of making eco-friendly pens is lost as well. It should be understandable what the problem is now. But who can solve this? It starts with unison between engineers, policy makers, innovators, and consumers. A collaboration between specialized thinkers. An in-depth study of how global environments interact and impact each other, and how this factors into the global economy. But one person can't understand this alone. We need people who understand how industry impacts the environment. We need people who understand how environments impact each other. We also need people who understand how the environment impacts the economy. It's all about making connections. Thinking big.
HAVE you done something GREEN today? Start now.
