A recent article on Grist on "subtraction" - getting rid of elements instead of adding new ones. That led me to thinking about the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) and how that applies to the environment.
When students are asked what is the best method to solve the solid waste problem, the answer is almost always: Recycling. Using the KISS principle; however, Source Reduction is the best answer. If you do not produce the waste, you don't need to manage it (by recycling or any other method). There are also problems with recycling that students (and much of the general public) do not understand. First is they think that making a small object (such as a decoration) is what recycling is all about. But objects make made like this are eventually thrown out (if used at all). Secondly, people are still under the illusion that all plastics can be recycled. Not only wrong, but those non-recyclable plastics include many commonly used (such as plastic straws).
Another area for KISS is in pollution control. One thing that I have been interested in for the last forty years as an engineer is "front-of-the pipe solutions to pollution control. Traditional approach is end-of-the-pipe, meaning air pollution control devices and wastewater treatment. It is still the primarily taught method and is often used by companies as an excuse.
Returning to the subtraction method, a good example is removing roads, etc. Consider flooding for example. Rather than adding expensive pumps and other equipment, removing pavements would allow water to soak into the soil, thereby reducing runoff and the resulting flooding. And its much cheaper.
Probably the most important KISS principle in today's consumeristic society is simply buying less. If people do not buy it, then there is nothing to throw away. Of course, this means a shift away from consumerism. This may not be easy, since many large corporations use it to make large profits and then greenwash the public (hello, Apple!)
To the question, how do we solve global warming?, the most common answers are "reforestation" and "planting trees". While this is a good idea, only planting trees is not enough to remove all global emissions. Since burning of fossil fuels is the cause of most of global warming, the simplest thing to do is stop burning fossil fuels. Pure and simple!
An extension of this (and a solution to traffic congestion) is to simply remove cars (especially gasoline-driven cars) from the road. This is a solution I have been promoting for over twenty-five years (since my days doing impact assessments on transportation). The COVID-19 situation has shown how this can work.
A lot of discussion has been on biodiversity lately. The best way of saving biodiversity is also the simplest - the setup, maintenance, and preservation of bioreserves.
There are some words of warning, however. First, not all things can best be done by simple solutions. One good example of this is food; simply growing of more food does not solve the food shortage problem. Other examples of this are education and water quantity.
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