Alexander Stobbe Complex Problems Blog

In my personal opinion, one of the greatest contributors to global warming is Deforestation. As if the tree and natural ecosystems haven't already provided so much benefit to society, the destruction of them usually leads to far more negative effects on the world. Most of the deforestation that goes on today is the product of creating more grazing space for cattle in the meat industry. As a result, the pollution the cows generate is far worse because of it. We are destroying wild ecosystems and inhibiting the natural process for CO2 removal. One way I would tackle the problem of deforestation is by investing in synthetic meat production. Studies have come out showing that within the next decade synthetic meat production will be a viable option. In turn, you're eliminating the main reason for deforestation by creating meat in the lab. Most of the deforestation happens in third world countries and therefore the laws against it are weak and or corrupt officials accept...

During this activity I was assigned the role of the "Kilo Watts" and my job was to acquire land to build a power plant for Selltech Power Corporation. The goal was to purchase land in accordance with the residents of Town X. The obstacles I overcame in order to acquire land was to appease to "Forres Green" environmentalist and her requirements which was easy, I could promise investment to her and policies set in place to avoid environmental waste. The greatest challenge was to overcome the stubbornness of the landowner. Due to the fact, his land had sentimental value to him, it was harder to appeal with logic during negotiations. Ultimately I offered a generous sum of money as it was still far more favorable than going to the county over and building there. The greatest takeaway from this exercise is that negotiating policies with various groups of people proved to be far more challenging due to the fact everybody has their own agenda and different values that are i...