#whatif Archives • Suzanne Whitby

001: ASK / What I’ve learned about being a freelancer

The start of a new series on what I’ve learned in nearly 20 years of being self-employed. Today: It never hurts to ask.

What if we all took small but consistent action to tackle today’s sustainability challenges?

A short thought today about the power of doing something small and consistently versus the results of changing nothing at all. Apt in the context of climate change and how to tackle it.

What if we all took small but consistent action to tackle today’s sustainability challenges?

Thoughts & insights

The “protected status” of heritage buildings means that solar photovoltaic panels are seldom seen on roofs, but does this make sense in our changing world?

What if public transportation was free & effective?

Sustainability, Thinking

Michelle Wu, Boston’s new mayor, and her focus on free public transportation prompt some “what if” and “why not” thinking.

What if?

Thinking

I am privileged to be able to spend my days working with scientists who want to learn how to turn their academic findings into information that the “general public” can understand and hopefully act upon. Many of the people I coach and train are natural scientists who have an up-close-and-personal view of human-caused climate change and global heating. Not only are they witness to what is happening now, but thanks to modelling, they have insights into what is likely to happen in the future. And frankly, for many of them, the future is at best worrying and at worst terrifying. They are continually perplexed at the disinterest in the problems they are uncovering by politicians, policy makers, the media, and us, the “general public*”.

I mention this because when I watched “Don’t look up” last night, I was overjoyed that someone in Hollywood had finally created a film that captured what scientists tell me that they experience. Sure, it’s a satire, but the basic storyline is one that I’ve heard time and again in my workshops and talks.