As the world faces ever more complex and challenging problems, our education system needs to become more practical and interdisciplinary in its approach. For example, consider a recent article about an additional battery that can be purchased for about $10,000 to convert a hybrid car to a plug-in hybrid. The article estimates that if gas costs $3 a gallon, Prius owners would break even in 15 years if they chose to purchase the battery.

First, we certainly want to know whether moving to a primarily electric car will have positive ecological outcomes, and whether this possibility is practical and affordable. But even so, numerous additional questions from multiple disciplinary perspectives should be asked. From a mathematical perspective, we should question the assumption of $3-a-gallon gas prices for 15 years. Do we really believe gas prices will remain constant over that period? Certainly this makes the 15-year break-even point an overestimate.

But suppose the break-even point is five years. What psychological barriers does society have to overcome to make this type of change? Or instead, suppose the purchase of such a battery will never recoup the initial investment, but only some of it. We should have a philosophical debate relating to ethics and responsibility of wealthier people in society reducing CO2 emissions, even if it costs them additional money in the long run, considering 17 million people in Bangladesh will need to be relocated away from the coast in the next 25 years largely due to CO2 emissions — ours, not theirs.

Those who study business and economics may tell us that having people purchase these types of technologies will help influence markets and make such technology more affordable. Unfortunately, some families that can afford these products don’t recognize themselves as wealthy and hence don’t make these purchases. Specifically, a household making more than $80,000 a year is in the top 20 percent of all American homes, and maybe sociology can help us understand why most of these people consider themselves middle class, but not wealthy.

So, a small statement in the news about a new technology leads to questions requiring knowledge from many disciplines, including business, ecology, economics, ethics, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, sociology and statistics. Problems such as peak oil (the point at which yearly oil supply reaches a maximum) and climate change are complex and interconnected, requiring a systems-thinking approach. Our use of oil as a primary energy source is affecting climate and nearing a point at which oil supply will peak and then decrease despite rising demand. Some are proposing a move toward ethanol. On the surface this seems like a good renewable source, yet already a small shift in corn supply toward fuel is raising tortilla prices in Mexico and exacerbating hunger among the poor.              

As we face these types of problems and the problems posed by proposed solutions, we need a well-educated society so that difficult decisions are met with thoughtful solutions. Only then may we live a sustainable lifestyle.

Tom Pfaff is an associate professor of
mathematics. E-mail him at tpfaff@ithaca.edu.