Easy solutions are not the answer

People have a natural tendency to look for quick and easy solutions to problems. However, easy solutions often create further problems down the track.
This prompted the famous CBS journalist, Eric Sevareid, to say that “the chief cause of problems is solutions.” Sevareid was widely respected by many in America with his two-minute segments on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Some called him "The Grey Eminence."

There are many examples of what Sevareid was talking about. For example, all around the world water shortages have prompted the construction of bigger dams. Only decades later do the problems emerge – downstream impacts on river systems, soil fertility and fisheries – problems that are very difficult to fix. The proposed Traveston Dam is an example of an apparently obvious solution to one problem (water shortages) that is going to just create a whole lot more problems later on.

That’s not to say that all solutions create greater problems than those they were meant to solve. But it reminds us to think about the long term consequences of solutions and to choose ones that are less likely to create problems later on.
Across the globe and in Australia we’re grappling with the problem of energy supply and reducing greenhouse gas emissions so as to attempt to avoid catastrophic climate change. Here we should think about Sevareid’s words again. We should choose solutions that are less likely to cause problems in the future.

One proposed solution is to capture the carbon dioxide from coal fired power stations and to pump it underground. No-one knows what kind of problems this might cause in the future so we should be careful that this solution doesn’t cause more problems.
Nuclear energy is on the government’s agenda but we all know that it produces dangerous waste that will be radioactive for tens of thousands of years. Sounds like a solution that will create much bigger problems in the future.

We must apply the same analysis to renewable energies such as solar and wind but these appear to not have the same risks of creating big problems in the future.
One solution that definitely seems to create no significant future problems is greater energy efficiency – better designed houses, appliances and so forth. Sadly, Australia lags behind much of the world in energy efficiency except for our plan to phase out incandescent light bulbs, which is to be applauded.

This was originally published in the Fraser Coast Chronicle on 9 October 2007.