We need to start connecting the environmental dots. Let’s talk about a systems thinking approach.

We so often silo our environmental concerns, focusing in on one area (i.e. reducing plastic, traveling less, or eating plant-based) rather than taking a holistic view of our consumption. I am guilty of this. At times, I even excuse my environmentally irresponsible behavior (like air travel) due to my vegan diet and/or my avoidance of fast fashion. I am a believer that no one is perfect nor should they be and we should not shame one another in our attempts at being better stewards of this earth. However, we must start thinking at a systems level to fully grasp the impact of the climate crisis and start connecting the dots between all our consumptive habits. Consider the water-food-energy nexus, which is a reminder that the resources we use daily are equally dependent on each other. When one is depleted or degraded the ripple effect is severe. While researchers have begun to link and model this interrelationship, we simply do not know the complexities of it all. For example, agriculture is the largest consumer of the world’s freshwater resources and more than ¼ of the energy used globally is on food production and supply - while demand of all three will increase by over 50% by 2050.

I write this not to ignite fear or overwhelm but rather to get us thinking ‘big picture’. According to new research from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a systems thinking understanding positively impacts climate change beliefs and attitudes. Those who make these connections view climate change as a more serious threat and consider it a personally important issue. This research found that this relationship was more evident among Conservatives and Republicans, likely due to Democrats’ consensus on the issue. However, this highlights that ‘enhancing systems thinking in the general public may be one way to promote pro-environmental values and in turn, public understanding of climate change’ (Ballew et al., 2019). Clearly, we need to connect the dots of our consumption every day for ourselves and others. What if we labelled each product with the energy, water, etc… involved in production? Would that make us reconsider how we consumed? While implementing this is highly unlikely, we can independently examine such things with each purchase. Just a thought…

Ballew, M. T., Goldberg, M. H., Rosenthal, S. A., Gustafson, A., & Leiserowitz, A. (2019). Systems thinking as a pathway to global warming beliefs and attitudes through an ecological worldview. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1819310116