Combatting “Wicked Problems” at Biosphere 2

Written by Youth Leadership Council member, Gloria Li.

“Wicked problem.” That’s what creative strategist John Kao called climate change in his guest lecture during the first full day of the One Young World Environment Summit. This three-day conference brought millennial leaders from, all over the world, to Arizona to tackle the wicked problem that is climate change— an issue with such a widespread, constantly shifting, and hugely complex nature that a solution seems nigh impossible to reach.

As I explored the modern marvel of Biosphere 2, attended sessions at the University of Arizona, and talked to other conference goers, I realized that we must not fall into the tempting trap of narrow-mindedness. In today’s world, binary thinking seems to be the norm; things are black and white, answers yes or no. But that type of thought does not accurately reflect the multifaceted world around us. Climate change may be one wicked problem, but we must fight it with a thousand wicked solutions.

So how are One Young World and EarthEcho International related? One Young World was a global conference founded by Kate Robertson and David Jones in 2009 to empower young leaders aged 18-30. EarthEcho is the environmental nonprofit founded by Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau, grandchildren of Jacques Cousteau. I attended the One Young World’s inaugural environment-focused Summit as a member of EarthEcho’s inaugural Youth Leadership Council. Clearly, both One Young World and EarthEcho focus on the world’s greatest shared asset: youth.

The importance of youth is not just the oft-repeated byproduct of a tired societal rhetoric. We are, quite literally, the future—so investing in us is investing in the future. Something I’ve noticed lately is that a lot of the problems associated with the environment (climate change, habitat degradation, pollution) result from the inability of governments, businesses, and policy-makers to invest in the future. We as individuals thrive on instantaneous gratification, and this applies to larger societal entities as well. Too often, a business will make a decision that generates short-term profit without properly treating the potential long-term ramifications to the world. A politician may make a decision to earn the short-term satisfaction of his or her constituents, because the long-term environmental consequences seem too distant to be considered.

We need these people in power to communicate more with young people, whose interests lie in the future; this is how I believe we can begin to shift the dialogue to one less bent on short-term rewards and more on long-term sustainability.  The One Young World Environment Summit was a fantastic first step. With upwards of forty guest speakers representing fields as diverse as banking, construction, medicine, and graphic design, and hundreds of engaged millennials, the forum was an intellectual powerhouse of idea-sharing and status-quo-smashing.

One of my favorite parts was learning about the growing trend of social businesses: non-loss, non-dividend companies that strive to be financially sustainable while simultaneously making a positive social impact. Sekou Andrews, a renowned spoken word poet who performed during the summit, urged us to change the narrative surrounding money. “This year,” he proclaimed, voice ringing, “It’s all about the money.” It is time to reconcile business with the environment, for us to abolish the barriers we have constructed so that progress is obstructed, it is time to admit that money is powerful and we ought to start working with it instead of against it. I also enjoyed hearing from Erin Schrode, a young woman who decided that not only was she tired of America’s corrupt political system, but she was going to run for Congress to try and reform it from within.

Here in America, our millennial generation gets a bad rap for low voter turnout and overall political apathy or cynicism. Apathy, in my opinion, is the young environmentalist movement’s most dangerous enemy. Our generation is the most powerful generation the world has ever seen. Huge amounts of data and information are easily accessible via the internet; social media provides a potential audience of millions. It is, now more than ever, our responsibility to be involved politically.

As Kate Robertson, one of the founders of the One Young World conference, said to us during the opening reception of the summit: “For those to whom much has been given, much is asked.”

So I know this is asking a lot, but I believe it is our duty as modern-day environmentalists to extend a hand to the businesses and politicians that we have, for so long, alienated. I believe that learning to establish a common ground in concern for the environment and natural resources is tantamount, and this act of compromise is always more a display of maturity than surrender. So let us hold businesses and politicians accountable when necessary, but let us also help them build the ethical backbone they will need to usher in a new age of sustainability. Then, we can truly begin asking the hard-hitting questions.  

How can we incentivize developing countries to make the quantum leap to renewable energy sources instead of playing catch up with the rest of the industrialized world after burning through all their fossil fuels? How can we create a more environmentally conscious voice in politics?

Yes, the questions are intimidating, but we are brave.

The answers will take time to find, but we are young.

Now, it is our turn to plant the seeds of the future we owe to the generations to come. To tend to this future and raise it in the fertile grounds of open-mindedness and innovation. And to realize that, though we may very well not be around to see the tree fully grown, we can still bask in the promise of its shade.