ENGINEERS' ROLE IN SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Engineers must lead this new industrial revolution. There is some excellent leadership by professional organizations such as the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to make sustainable development a high priority in engineering and business -- both in practice and in the education of future engineers. They are promoting codes of practice, education, mentoring programs and policy changes that will encourage the engineering profession to lead this revolution.
There is a great reliance on technology to solve environmental problems around the world today, because of an almost universal reluctance by governments and those who advise them to make the social and political changes that would be necessary to reduce growth in production and consumption. Yet the sorts of technological changes that would be necessary to keep up with and counteract the growing environmental damage caused by increases in production and consumption would have to be fairly dramatic. The technological fixes of the past will not do. And the question remains, can such a dramatic and radical redesign of our technological systems occur without causing major social changes and will it occur without a rethinking of political priorities? Technology is not independent of society either in its shaping or its effects.
Engineering have played a critical role in increasing the health, technology and quality of life in the last 50 years, From developing new equipments and goods, power systems, weapons, new materials, vehicles which will transport people and goods on ground, water and air, better water supplies, design of buildings to protect us from natural hazards and provide health care, improved agriculture, transportation systems, basic infrastructure on which modern society depends, power plants which give electrical power to do daily work and run industry. Engineers work has helped to comfort and do daily routines easier, reduced the death rate dramatically which is one of the principal reasons that population has been able to grow so dramatically in the last 150 years (And also kill thousands of people during war and terrorism). It has pointed out, the improvements in transportation alone have enabled rapid migration of large numbers of people all over the world and increased the volume of raw materials and finished products in international trade 800 times in the last century. Economic output has increased over 20 times, fossil fuel 30 times and industrial production 100 times in the last century. Along with this growth has come some undesirable environmental, health and social impacts, particularly in the last half century.
What is economic development?
Economics can be defined in many ways; following are some of the definitions.
Economics is the human science which studies the relationship between scarce resources and the various uses which complete for these resources.
Economics is the study of how people choose to allocate limited resources to satisfy their unlimited wants.
Economics is the study of how society decide what to produce, how to produce and whom to produce.
”Purpose of studying economics by engineers to learn how not to be deceived by economists. “
Economic development is the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants.
The economic development process supposes that legal and institutional adjustments are made to give incentives for innovation and for investments so as to develop an efficient production and distribution system for goods and service. Economic development is a sustainable increase in living standards that implies increased per capita income, better education and health as well as environmental protection.
Development is economics on a social level that has evolved into a professional industry of highly specialized practitioners normally working in public-private partnerships that are sanctioned and many times at least partially funded by local, regional and state/provincial tax dollars. These economic development corporations function as individual entities and in some cases as departments of local governments. Their role is to seek out new economic opportunities and retain their existing business wealth. There is intense competition between communities, states and nations for new economic projects. The creation and retention struggle is further intensified by the use of many variations of economic incentives to the potential business. These incentives vary greatly and can be highly controversial. The measurement of success within this industry is normally job creation, economic growth and increased or retained tax base.
Sustainable Economic Development
Sustainable development can only occur as the result of the creation of a worldwide caring community. A community of people who are working together for common ends and to meet the basic needs of all our people.
The concept of sustainable economic development is central to the achievement of these key goals. It can be thought of in terms of policies and programmes designed to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The achievement of sustainable economic development requires a new and different approach to policy making and its implementation. The Government is looking for greater integration and co-ordination of policy making and its implementation across the public sector, and across social, economic and environmental policy portfolios. It is also looking for an approach characterized by greater partnership between central government, local government, Maori economic entities, private industry and other community groups.
The Role of Engineers
Engineers must lead this new industrial revolution. There is some excellent leadership by professional organizations such as the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to make sustainable development a high priority in engineering and business -- both in practice and in the education of future engineers. They are promoting codes of practice, education, mentoring programs and policy changes that will encourage the engineering profession to lead this revolution. A current fundamental problem is the underlying assumption (by many) that environmental protection should be left to environmental professionals such as environmental engineers. But environmental specialists alone will not help us move toward a sustainable path. All humans consume resources, occupy ecosystems and produce waste. We need all professionals to carry out their lives and activities in a manner that is environmentally sound and sustainable. In addition, the current education and training of most environmental professionals who are and will be employed by government, industry, academia and environmental organizations is narrowly focused and incomplete. Most of these professionals are trained in dealing with a subset of environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, or hazardous waste, but are not trained to deal with environmental issues in an integrated and comprehensive fashion. The focus of training is on controlling pollution and waste once created and in remediating environmental damage, rather than reducing or eliminating pollution and waste generation at the source. Designing a sustainable future requires a paradigm shift toward a systemic perspective which encompasses the complex interdependence of individual, social, cultural, economic and political activities and the biosphere. The engineers of the future must be much more interdisciplinary -- the lines between the traditional engineering disciplines must be much more fluid or removed completely. Engineers will have to join forces with biologists, chemists, meteorologists, economists, planners, political scientists, ethicists and community leaders in unprecedented ways to lead society on a sustainable path. Since it is likely that we will double the amount of housing and building construction in the twenty-first century (and buildings utilize a tremendous amount of materials and energy) it is imperative that civil engineers team up with architects, planners and other engineers to revolutionize construction. I believe that there is a special role for civil/environmental engineers in the future. Rather than being the engineers that primarily design technologies to control or remediate pollution, I believe the environmental engineers will be the interdisciplinary, systems specialists who will bring together, coordinate and manage all the specialists to solve complex environmental problems and promote sustainable development. Moreover, all engineers must play a much stronger role in the public policy process to provide the right incentives for industry and others to move on a sustainable path so that engineers can be encouraged and supported to design sustainable technology. As Don Roberts advocates, we must become better informed of the interdependence of environmental, economic, health and social issues, inform others and become leaders. Otherwise the agenda will be set by others who neither know the benefits nor the limits of technology in a sustainable modern society.
Educating Engineers for Sustainable Development
Such a shift in the thinking, values, and actions of all individuals and institutions worldwide calls for a long term societal effort to make environmental and sustainability concerns a central theme in all education, particularly for engineers, economists and business people. If we are to achieve a sustainable future, institutions of higher education must provide the awareness, knowledge, skills, and values that equip individuals to pursue life goals in a manner that sustains human and non-human well-being. This is critical since higher education prepares most of the professionals who develop, manage, teach in and influence society's institutions. Several prominent engineering schools are making important strides such as Georgia Tech making sustainable technology a core mission and MIT with its Program in Environmental Education and Research (PEER). Despite these efforts and those of a number of colleges and universities which have active environmental studies programs and train graduate professionals, education and research about the interdependence of and a sustainable relationship between humans and the rest of the environment is not a priority in higher education. As David Orr has said, "The crisis of humanity and the biosphere is a crisis of mind, perception and heart. It is not a problem in education it is a problem of education." To date, no engineering school in the US (or, to my knowledge, internationally) has made design for the environment, industrial ecology, pollution prevention or the relationship of technological development to sustainability the cornerstone of engineering education.
Conclusions
Sustainable development relies on technological change to achieve its aims but will governments take the tough steps that are required to force radical technological innovation rather than the technological fixes that have been evident to date? Such measures would require a long-term view and a preparedness to bear short-term economic costs while industry readjusts.
It would appear that so long as sustainable development is restricted to minimal low-cost adjustments that do not require value changes, institutional changes or any sort of radical cultural adjustment, the environment will continue to be degraded. Unless substantial change occurs, the present generation may not be able to pass on an equivalent stock of environmental goods to the next generation. "Firstly, the rates of loss of animal and plant species, arable land, water quality, tropical forests and cultural heritage are especially serious. Secondly, and perhaps more widely recognized, is the fact that we will not pass on to future generations the ozone layer or global climate system that the current generation inherited. A third factor that contributes overwhelmingly to the anxieties about the first two is the prospective impact of continuing population growth and the environmental consequences if rising standards of material income around the world produce the same sorts of consumption patterns that are characteristic of the currently industrialized countries."
Even if people put their faith in the ability of human ingenuity in the form of technology to be able to preserve their lifestyles and ensure an ever increasing level of consumption for everyone, they cannot ignore the necessity to redesign our technological systems rather than continue to apply technological fixes that are seldom satisfactory in the long term. Technological optimism does not escape the need for fundamental social change and a shift in priorities. That was the mistake many in the Appropriate Technology Movement made. It takes more than the existence of appropriate or clean technologies to ensure their widespread adoption.
There is a great reliance on technology to solve environmental problems around the world today, because of an almost universal reluctance by governments and those who advise them to make the social and political changes that would be necessary to reduce growth in production and consumption. Yet the sorts of technological changes that would be necessary to keep up with and counteract the growing environmental damage caused by increases in production and consumption would have to be fairly dramatic. The technological fixes of the past will not do. And the question remains, can such a dramatic and radical redesign of our technological systems occur without causing major social changes and will it occur without a rethinking of political priorities? Technology is not independent of society either in its shaping or its effects.
Engineering have played a critical role in increasing the health, technology and quality of life in the last 50 years, From developing new equipments and goods, power systems, weapons, new materials, vehicles which will transport people and goods on ground, water and air, better water supplies, design of buildings to protect us from natural hazards and provide health care, improved agriculture, transportation systems, basic infrastructure on which modern society depends, power plants which give electrical power to do daily work and run industry. Engineers work has helped to comfort and do daily routines easier, reduced the death rate dramatically which is one of the principal reasons that population has been able to grow so dramatically in the last 150 years (And also kill thousands of people during war and terrorism). It has pointed out, the improvements in transportation alone have enabled rapid migration of large numbers of people all over the world and increased the volume of raw materials and finished products in international trade 800 times in the last century. Economic output has increased over 20 times, fossil fuel 30 times and industrial production 100 times in the last century. Along with this growth has come some undesirable environmental, health and social impacts, particularly in the last half century.
What is economic development?
Economics can be defined in many ways; following are some of the definitions.
Economics is the human science which studies the relationship between scarce resources and the various uses which complete for these resources.
Economics is the study of how people choose to allocate limited resources to satisfy their unlimited wants.
Economics is the study of how society decide what to produce, how to produce and whom to produce.
”Purpose of studying economics by engineers to learn how not to be deceived by economists. “
Economic development is the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants.
The economic development process supposes that legal and institutional adjustments are made to give incentives for innovation and for investments so as to develop an efficient production and distribution system for goods and service. Economic development is a sustainable increase in living standards that implies increased per capita income, better education and health as well as environmental protection.
Development is economics on a social level that has evolved into a professional industry of highly specialized practitioners normally working in public-private partnerships that are sanctioned and many times at least partially funded by local, regional and state/provincial tax dollars. These economic development corporations function as individual entities and in some cases as departments of local governments. Their role is to seek out new economic opportunities and retain their existing business wealth. There is intense competition between communities, states and nations for new economic projects. The creation and retention struggle is further intensified by the use of many variations of economic incentives to the potential business. These incentives vary greatly and can be highly controversial. The measurement of success within this industry is normally job creation, economic growth and increased or retained tax base.
Sustainable Economic Development
Sustainable development can only occur as the result of the creation of a worldwide caring community. A community of people who are working together for common ends and to meet the basic needs of all our people.
The concept of sustainable economic development is central to the achievement of these key goals. It can be thought of in terms of policies and programmes designed to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The achievement of sustainable economic development requires a new and different approach to policy making and its implementation. The Government is looking for greater integration and co-ordination of policy making and its implementation across the public sector, and across social, economic and environmental policy portfolios. It is also looking for an approach characterized by greater partnership between central government, local government, Maori economic entities, private industry and other community groups.
The Role of Engineers
Engineers must lead this new industrial revolution. There is some excellent leadership by professional organizations such as the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to make sustainable development a high priority in engineering and business -- both in practice and in the education of future engineers. They are promoting codes of practice, education, mentoring programs and policy changes that will encourage the engineering profession to lead this revolution. A current fundamental problem is the underlying assumption (by many) that environmental protection should be left to environmental professionals such as environmental engineers. But environmental specialists alone will not help us move toward a sustainable path. All humans consume resources, occupy ecosystems and produce waste. We need all professionals to carry out their lives and activities in a manner that is environmentally sound and sustainable. In addition, the current education and training of most environmental professionals who are and will be employed by government, industry, academia and environmental organizations is narrowly focused and incomplete. Most of these professionals are trained in dealing with a subset of environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, or hazardous waste, but are not trained to deal with environmental issues in an integrated and comprehensive fashion. The focus of training is on controlling pollution and waste once created and in remediating environmental damage, rather than reducing or eliminating pollution and waste generation at the source. Designing a sustainable future requires a paradigm shift toward a systemic perspective which encompasses the complex interdependence of individual, social, cultural, economic and political activities and the biosphere. The engineers of the future must be much more interdisciplinary -- the lines between the traditional engineering disciplines must be much more fluid or removed completely. Engineers will have to join forces with biologists, chemists, meteorologists, economists, planners, political scientists, ethicists and community leaders in unprecedented ways to lead society on a sustainable path. Since it is likely that we will double the amount of housing and building construction in the twenty-first century (and buildings utilize a tremendous amount of materials and energy) it is imperative that civil engineers team up with architects, planners and other engineers to revolutionize construction. I believe that there is a special role for civil/environmental engineers in the future. Rather than being the engineers that primarily design technologies to control or remediate pollution, I believe the environmental engineers will be the interdisciplinary, systems specialists who will bring together, coordinate and manage all the specialists to solve complex environmental problems and promote sustainable development. Moreover, all engineers must play a much stronger role in the public policy process to provide the right incentives for industry and others to move on a sustainable path so that engineers can be encouraged and supported to design sustainable technology. As Don Roberts advocates, we must become better informed of the interdependence of environmental, economic, health and social issues, inform others and become leaders. Otherwise the agenda will be set by others who neither know the benefits nor the limits of technology in a sustainable modern society.
Educating Engineers for Sustainable Development
Such a shift in the thinking, values, and actions of all individuals and institutions worldwide calls for a long term societal effort to make environmental and sustainability concerns a central theme in all education, particularly for engineers, economists and business people. If we are to achieve a sustainable future, institutions of higher education must provide the awareness, knowledge, skills, and values that equip individuals to pursue life goals in a manner that sustains human and non-human well-being. This is critical since higher education prepares most of the professionals who develop, manage, teach in and influence society's institutions. Several prominent engineering schools are making important strides such as Georgia Tech making sustainable technology a core mission and MIT with its Program in Environmental Education and Research (PEER). Despite these efforts and those of a number of colleges and universities which have active environmental studies programs and train graduate professionals, education and research about the interdependence of and a sustainable relationship between humans and the rest of the environment is not a priority in higher education. As David Orr has said, "The crisis of humanity and the biosphere is a crisis of mind, perception and heart. It is not a problem in education it is a problem of education." To date, no engineering school in the US (or, to my knowledge, internationally) has made design for the environment, industrial ecology, pollution prevention or the relationship of technological development to sustainability the cornerstone of engineering education.
Conclusions
Sustainable development relies on technological change to achieve its aims but will governments take the tough steps that are required to force radical technological innovation rather than the technological fixes that have been evident to date? Such measures would require a long-term view and a preparedness to bear short-term economic costs while industry readjusts.
It would appear that so long as sustainable development is restricted to minimal low-cost adjustments that do not require value changes, institutional changes or any sort of radical cultural adjustment, the environment will continue to be degraded. Unless substantial change occurs, the present generation may not be able to pass on an equivalent stock of environmental goods to the next generation. "Firstly, the rates of loss of animal and plant species, arable land, water quality, tropical forests and cultural heritage are especially serious. Secondly, and perhaps more widely recognized, is the fact that we will not pass on to future generations the ozone layer or global climate system that the current generation inherited. A third factor that contributes overwhelmingly to the anxieties about the first two is the prospective impact of continuing population growth and the environmental consequences if rising standards of material income around the world produce the same sorts of consumption patterns that are characteristic of the currently industrialized countries."
Even if people put their faith in the ability of human ingenuity in the form of technology to be able to preserve their lifestyles and ensure an ever increasing level of consumption for everyone, they cannot ignore the necessity to redesign our technological systems rather than continue to apply technological fixes that are seldom satisfactory in the long term. Technological optimism does not escape the need for fundamental social change and a shift in priorities. That was the mistake many in the Appropriate Technology Movement made. It takes more than the existence of appropriate or clean technologies to ensure their widespread adoption.
