Today’s voices are loud and sometimes unyielding. They are entrenched in their position. We find our neighbors, friends, and family ready to go to the mat over politics, the environment, diversity, and other topics of passion. People are dividing themselves into categories, drawing lines in the sand, making it increasingly challenging to collaborate for mutually beneficial outcomes.
Navigating conversations that involve differences in race, socioeconomic status, gender, political affiliation, views on climate and any other topic of identity gracefully and constructively is difficult without adequate tools. While it’s not easy in an increasingly polarized world, we can find common ground in difficult conversations and build trust to create better policies on energy, equity, and the other systemic issues facing our world.
Many of the world’s most significant issues today are still far from being solved. There are still 750 million illiterate adults in the world. Over 250 million children don’t go to school, and roughly 10% of the global population lives in extreme poverty. Among the strategies in addressing these issues, energy is a key player in bridging these gaps from alleviating poverty through education to fighting climate change.
By Suzanne Ogle, President & CEO of SGA
