Proper Coupling

Coupling is the physical connective mechanism that causes the behavior of one system to affect another. Proper coupling occurs when the behavior of one system affects the behavior of other systems properly, using the appropriate feedback loops, so the systems work together in harmony in accordance with design objectives.

When applied to the environmental sustainability problem, proper coupling means the human system is properly coupled to the greater system it lives within, the biosphere. This subject is taken up at length in the paper on The Proper Coupling Package.

Couplings can have priorities. The human system may be seen as two main systems: economic and social. The proper coupling of the economic system to the environment is the first priority, because the economic system causes over 90% of the environmental sustainability problem. After this first priority is achieved, we can then move on to the second priority. This is solving the so called social problems of society (such as poverty, gross disparity of wealth, and large-scale conflict) by the proper coupling of the economic system to the social system. Problem solvers should avoid the temptation to try to solve aspects of the social problem first, because that reduces the energy available to solve the environmental sustainability problem. If that is not solved, then nothing else matters, because Homo sapiens has lost the only ecological niche it has.

The 2006 Prius hybrid synergy drive system. This proper coupling mechanism connects two systems: the fossil fuel powered engine and the wheels. The design goal was to maximize fuel consumption efficiency. The coupling mechanism is shown in the low speed mode, when drivetrain power is usually supplied only by the battery. The arrows show how the battery runs the electric motor, which turns the power split device, which turns the transmission, which turns the wheels. Hybrid cars are themselves a small part of the overall proper coupling that is needed to solve the sustainability problem. The image is from here. Click on Low Speeds.

The sustainability problem may be seen as three successive subproblems, all of which must be solved to solve the complete problem. These are:

1. Change resistance

2. Proper coupling

3. Model drift

The System Improvement Process is designed to to solve all of these subproblems, starting with the first, which is the crux of the problem.

Due to the use of Classic Activism, most sustainability problem solvers are unaware of the three subproblems. Instead, they see only the proper coupling problem. This causes them to completely miss the presence and true nature of the change resistance problem, which prevents them from solving it. As a result, that is where the human system is today—stuck in the change resistance stage of the sustainability problem. Until this stage is solved, we will never get to the proper coupling stage.