Donella (Dana) Meadows was a systems thinker and an eternal optimist. While a professor at Dartmouth from 1972 until her death in 2001, she wrote about a multitude of environmental problems, and sought to foster engaged citizens to solve them. She first wrote about the twelve “Leverage Points” in 1999, wherein she presented twelve ways to intervene in a system. In other words, what are some potential small changes we can make when thinking about a particular social problem that could have a significant impact?

These twelve points are, as follows (reprinted from the Donella Meadows Institute):

PLACES TO INTERVENE IN A SYSTEM

(in increasing order of effectiveness)

12. Constants, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards).
11. The sizes of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows.
10. The structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport networks, population age structures).
9. The lengths of delays, relative to the rate of system change.
8. The strength of negative feedback loops, relative to the impacts they are trying to correct against.
7. The gain around driving positive feedback loops.
6. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to information).
5. The rules of the system (such as incentives, punishments, constraints).
4. The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure.
3. The goals of the system.
2. The mindset or paradigm out of which the system — its goals, structure, rules, delays, parameters — arises.
1. The power to transcend paradigms.

I highly encourage you to read the article in its entirety, available here.

When I first encountered this article, I was struck by how these leverage points could be applied to social problems. I began to explore Dana’s work, and discovered that the Rauner Rare Books Library at Dartmouth had dozens of boxes of Dana’s journals, microfiches, and class notes. Poring over her handwritten journals, I came to see Dana’s theories come to life. One of my favourite entries was while she was waiting for a delayed flight in Atlanta. In it, she examines all the structural elements that contributed to the delays: miscommunication between the Delta check-in counter and the attendants at the gate, miscommunication between the airport shuttle and the hotel they had been booked for the overnight delay, and so on.

For this reason, I decided to look at climate change solutions from a “leverage points” lens for my Senior Fellowship. When thinking about this system – defined as world society interacting with the climate – what are some potential openings where a small change could make a big difference in the transition toward renewable energy?

I don’t know what information I might find, but I’m hoping that my year of dedicated research on this topic will help me uncover some potential solutions, however small. I’m excited to continue exploring as a student of systems thinking!