What is a wicked problem?
As defined by Baliant (2011), a wicked problem combines scientific uncertainty, value uncertainty and conflict due to the number of stakeholders involved, biological complexity and no public consensus on the issue. All of these factors can be applied to the issue of heating New York City, a city of 9 million people who all require energy and heating for their homes. Until 2010, most of this energy came from burning No.6 oil, a thick tar-like substance with biophysical and social issues surrounding its use (Frost, 2015). In 2010, a report for the Environmental Disease Fund found that 14% of fine particle matter emissions came from heating fuel, which contributes more to air pollution than traffic and power plants, and that 1% of houses were contributing to 86% of soot (Mayors Office of Sustainability). I will explore what is making this issue so difficult to overcome for the local government, the environmental justice aspect and what alternatives could be used.
What makes this a wicked problem?
The solution to this issue seems straight forward – stop using ‘dirty’ No.6 oil to heat homes and switch to natural gas or No.2 oil. This approach was taken by the local government, as they set a deadline for the use of dirty oils to be prohibited after June 1st 2015. However, it is clear that there are many factors that come into play, making this issue a wicked problem. Firstly, I will consider the stake holders involved, including landlords, local government, tenants and environmentalists.
Landlords are key to the issue, as they are the ones who pay for the change of oil to cleaner methods. Although the government has set up incentives such as low cost loans or tax credits to help landlords make the switch (Gregory, 2014), Fricker (2006) notes that as one’s affluence increases, concern for their environmental impact decreases. This phenomenon comes in to play here, as the headquarters of luxury brand Coach continue to burn No.6 oil past the June 1st deadline (Frost, 2015). Although using cleaner heating methods would save money long-term, it is the financial burden of making the switch that deters landlords. Hiring engineers, obtaining permits and changing boilers comes to a total of $5,000-$17,000 (Gregory, 2014). There is a clear conflict of public opinion, where environmentalists, the government and tenants want No.6 oil to be prohibited, but landlords consider profit over the environment.
Tenants are important stakeholders in this issue, as they feel first-hand the effects of what energy is used to heat their homes. Many tenants don’t have access to gas mains, which reduces their ability to stop using No.6 oil (Gregory, 2014). Furthermore, long-term use of dirty oil has caused soot to accumulate on furniture, meaning windows remain closed and homes located closer to the ground (further away from the chimney) are considered safer.
Environmental ‘injustice’
Social issues and environmental justice come into play here. The Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA, 2012) outlines that no group of people should be disproportionately impacted by negative environmental consequences. The New York City Department of Health (2003) reports that a child living in low income areas on New York are over twice more likely to have asthma than children in higher income areas. Furthermore, black citizens are 1.5 times more likely to have asthma than white citizens.
For wicked problems, ‘solutions’ are more likely to be considered better or worse than right or wrong (Baliant, 2011). Although phasing out of No.6 oil has seen New York City experience its lowest levels of air pollution in 50 years (Gregory, 2014), as of 2013, 2,700 deaths could be linked to fine particle matter (Crean, 2014), showing that this problem has not been solved.
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Bibliography
Balint, P.J., Stewart, R.E., Desai, A. and Walters, C. 2011. Wicked Environmental Problems: Managing Uncertainty and Conflict. Washington: Island Press
Crean, S. 2014. While Improving, City’s Air Quality Crisis Quietly Persists. Gotham Gazzette. [Online] Available: <http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/5111-while-improving-quiet-crisis-air-quality-persists-new-york-city-asthma-air-pollution>
Fricker, A. 2006. “Section 3, Chapter 18: Measuring up to Sustainability”, in Nora Haenn & Richard Wilk (eds) Environment in Anthropology: A Reader in Ecology, Culture, and Sustainable Living (New York University Press), p 191 – 202.
Frost, E. 2015. MAP: Dozens of NYC Buildings Illegally Burning Dirty Oil Past Deadline. DNAInfo. [Online] Available: <https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150826/upper-west-side/map-dozens-of-nyc-buildings-illegally-burning-dirty-oil-past-deadline>
Garg R, Karpati A, Leighton J, Perrin M, Shah M. 2003. Asthma Facts, Second Edition. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Available <http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/asthma/facts.pdf>.
Gregory, K. 2014. Cost Among Hurdles Slowing New York City’s Plan to Phase Out Dirty Heating Oil. New York Times. [Online] Available: <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/nyregion/cost-among-hurdles-slowing-new-yorks-plan-to-phase-out-dirty-heating-oil.html?_r=0>
Karpen, D. 2011. Phasing Out No.6 Fuel Oil: A Case Study for Conversion. The Cooperator. [Online] Available: <http://cooperator.com/article/phasing-out-no-6-fuel-oil>
Mayors Office of Sustainability. Heating Oil Regulations. [Online] Available: <http://www.nyc.gov/html/gbee/html/codes/heating.shtml>
U.S Environmental Protection Agency, 2012. Environmental Justice – Basic Information. [Online] Available: <http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/basics/ejbackground.html>
