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The Science of Climate Change

Climate change is no longer a distant threat or just a possibility, it is now a reality for all of us. In this pathway, Kevin Trenberth, a renowned climatologist, delves into the science behind climate change. He first introduces the climate system, its main components and forces.

Tackling the Plastic Crisis

Plastic pollution is by far the biggest threat to our oceans and this remains an incredibly tough problem to solve. Plastic credits could potentially serve as one of the much needed solutions for this crisis.

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The Scale of the Net Zero Challenge

The price of meeting net zero is estimated to be between $100-150 trillion over the next 30 years. Regardless of this cost, we need to reach net zero before climate change does irreversible damage to the environment and the economy.

ESG, Sustainability and Impact Jargon Buster

ESG, sustainability, impact… they all just mean green, right? Not quite. Despite being used often interchangeably, there are distinct differences between these terms.

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The Science of Climate Change

Climate change is no longer a distant threat or just a possibility, it is now a reality for all of us. In this pathway, Kevin Trenberth, a renowned climatologist, delves into the science behind climate change. He first introduces the climate system, its main components and forces.

Tackling the Plastic Crisis

Plastic pollution is by far the biggest threat to our oceans and this remains an incredibly tough problem to solve. Plastic credits could potentially serve as one of the much needed solutions for this crisis.

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+1,000 expert presented, on-demand video modules

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The Scale of the Net Zero Challenge

The price of meeting net zero is estimated to be between $100-150 trillion over the next 30 years. Regardless of this cost, we need to reach net zero before climate change does irreversible damage to the environment and the economy.

ESG, Sustainability and Impact Jargon Buster

ESG, sustainability, impact… they all just mean green, right? Not quite. Despite being used often interchangeably, there are distinct differences between these terms.

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Good Intentions and Bad Outcomes

Good Intentions and Bad Outcomes

Paul Orlando

25 years: Systems specialist

Trying to make improvements isn’t as easy. In fact, fixing a problem can occasionally make things worse. But why? The root of the failure is often in missing how parts of a system are connected. In this video, Paul covers how impacts can vary, depending on the size of the system and why some projects made their problems worse - not better.

Trying to make improvements isn’t as easy. In fact, fixing a problem can occasionally make things worse. But why? The root of the failure is often in missing how parts of a system are connected. In this video, Paul covers how impacts can vary, depending on the size of the system and why some projects made their problems worse - not better.

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Good Intentions and Bad Outcomes

6 mins 45 secs

Overview

Trying to make improvements isn’t as easy. In fact, fixing a problem can occasionally make things worse. But why? The root of the failure is often in missing how parts of a system are connected. In this video, Paul covers how impacts can vary, depending on the size of the system and why some projects made their problems worse - not better.

Key learning objectives:

  • Explore how impacts can vary and why larger systems have more opportunities for system surprises

  • Learn about examples of systems that failed despite the best intentions

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Summary

What is an example of good intentions that resulted in terrible outcomes?

1. US Forest Service

Managing forest fires has been a priority of the US Forest Service. This historically has meant working to put out forest fires when they start. Over the decades, large numbers of firefighters, equipment, and fire suppression technology has been thrown at this problem. And yet, there have been worsening forest fires. 

They wanted to eliminate forest fires and so became better at extinguishing them. But then the structure of the forests started to change. Tree density in many American forests is much higher than it was historically, in some cases 20 times higher. Their success in putting out fires has left them with denser forests that are more likely to lead to massive fires when they do start. 

Before, forest fires were the norm in many unmanaged forests. Those fires tend to be smaller and part of the natural cycle of clearing out undergrowth. When those smaller fires burn, they help prevent larger fires from being possible. Active fire suppression over decades changed that earlier stable system.

2. Opioid epidemic

A few decades ago, pain started to be considered as the fifth vital sign, after body temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration. When doctors examined patients, they asked about pain, became more open to offering pain management solutions, and were also evaluated by patient satisfaction in managing pain. 

This was an opportunity for painkillers to increase in prevalence. Purdue Pharma and McKinsey Consulting worked to expand the sales of the opioid OxyContin. This has led to terrible outcomes - including growth in the number of opioid addicts, overdoses, and deaths. 

How can impacts vary? 

When the world was smaller and less interconnected, a mistake would often be limited to your immediate surroundings. As systems have become more globalised, small changes have had a ripple effect and created system surprises further along the line. Changes can propagate around the world and quickly.

 

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Paul Orlando

Paul Orlando

Paul's writing on "unintended consequences" comes from his work delving into the systems that he works to impact. He is the founder of Startups Unplugged, a consulting firm devoted to helping large organizations execute with the speed of startups. To do this, Paul often builds startup accelerators and incubators, helping organizations generate more revenue and enabling communities to attract new businesses. He is adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, running the institution's Incubator and in the past built other innovation programmes globally including AcceleratorHK in Hong Kong and the Laudato Si startup incubator in Rome. Paul graduated from Cornell University and Columbia Business School.

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