Convenience

role overload
Occurs when
expectations for the
role exceed the
individual’s
capabilities to
perform
Chapter 13:
Managing Work Groups and Teams
4 0 3
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SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS
Measuring Carbon Footprints
If you’re one of the world’s 700 million richest peo-
ple, you’re probably a “high emitter” living a “carbon-
intensive” lifestyle (at least statistically speaking). In
plain
English,
because
your
lifestyle
probably
includes air travel, the use of a car, and a house to
heat and cool, you’re probably responsible for releas-
ing more than your share of carbon dioxide CO
2
into the Earth’s atmosphere. “We estimate that …
half the world’s emissions come from just 700 mil-
lion people,” explains Shoibal Chakravarty, lead
author of a recent study conducted by researchers
at Princeton University. “It’s mischievous,” admits
coauthor Robert Socolow, “but it’s meant to be a
logjam-breaking concept,” and the proposals for cut-
ting CO
2
emissions offered by the Princeton team
have been widely praised for the fairness that they
inject into a debate that’s been stalemated for nearly
20 years.
The research team’s report lists six coauthors.
Shoibal Chakravarty, a physicist specializing in CO
2
emissions, is a research associate at the Princeton
Environmental Institute (PEI), an interdisciplinary
center for environmental research and education.
Also associated with PEI is Massimo Tavoni, an
economist who studies international policies on cli-
mate change. Stephen Pacala, who’s the director of
PEI, is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biol-
ogy who focuses on the interactions of climate and
the global biosphere. Robert Socolow, a professor of
mechanical and aerospace engineering, studies
global carbon management. Ananth Chikkatur, of
Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International
Affairs, is a physicist who specializes in energy policy
and technology innovation. Heleen de Coninck, a
chemist, works on international climate policy and
technology at the Energy Research Centre of the
Netherlands.
Needless to say, the carbon footprint team was a
diverse group in terms of academic discipline (not to
mention nationality). Its innovative approach to the
problem of CO
2
emissions—one which shows that
it’s possible to cut emissions and reduce poverty at
the same time—resulted from an approach to high-
level scientific problem solving that’s typically called
Thom
as
Tolstrup/Iconica/Getty
Im
ages
The carbon footprint team is a diverse group of scientists working together to learn more
about sustainability. More and more often, important scientific discoveries are being made
by teams rather than by individuals working alone.
(
continued
)