Engineers and the Environment

Learning objectives:
Impact of Technology on the Environment
Changing Attitudes towards the Environment
Personal Beliefs vs Professional Obligations
to the Environment
Lessons from Case Studies
Reference Reading: Fleddermann 4th Ed. Section 7.2
& Harris 3rd or 4th Ed. Chp 9
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

1. Introduction: Spaceship Earth

Philosophy of sustainability
To meet the needs of the current generation without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs

Planet Earth closed system with finite

resources and limited possibilities to develop
regeneration technologies
Does nature belong to us or do we belong to nature?
What are the rights and obligations of engineers
regarding environmental issues?
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

Impact of Technology on the

Environment

EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

Impact of Technology on the Environment

Engineers are responsible in part for the creation of
technology that has led to degradation of the
environment
Engineers are also an essential part of the solution of
environmental problems
Example 1: Global Warming
- Since the Industrial Revolution, human
activities have contributed substantially to
climate change

April 2006 Issue

Example 2: CFC and the O3 Layer

- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) miracle
chemical proved disastrous to O3 layer
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Example 1
CO2,CH4
N2O,etc

Global warming problem

Due to human activity there is an increase in the concentration
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which caused more
heat to be trapped
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Global warming How serious?

Fact or hype?
Experts agree on
- increase in global T
- more frequent and intense heat
waves
- more severe hurricanes and
typhoons
- ecological changes/extinction
- melting of polar ice
- rise in sea levels

20% in 50 yrs

Great challenge for engineers to

take actions in their personal and
professional lives to counter this
Base period 1951-1980
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Example 2

Stratospheric O3 Depletion

O3 in the stratosphere
serves to cut down on UV
radiation reaching the
Earths surface
O3 is destroyed by a
number of chemicals,
most important of which
is CFC
Increase in UV irradiation
leads to more skin cancer
CFCs are now banned and replaced by other
compounds
O3 layer is slowly recovering
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

2. Engineering Codes and the Environment

5 engineering codes specifically mention the

environment, in addition to stating that engineers must

hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the
public:
(i) ASCE
Fundamental Principle 1 Engineers uphold and advance
the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering
profession by using their knowledge and skill for the
enhancement of human welfare and the environment
Fundamental Canon 1 Engineers shall hold paramount
the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive
to comply with the principles of sustainable development
in the performance of their professional duties
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

(ii) IEEE: Canon 1 requires its members to accept

responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent
with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to
disclose promptly factors which might endanger the public
or the environment
(iii) ASME: Canon 8 Engineers shall consider
environmental impact in the performance of their
professional duties
(iv) AIChE: Members shall hold paramount the safety, health
and welfare of the public and protect the environment in
the performance of their professional duties
(v) NSPE (III 2.d added in 2007): Engineers are encouraged
to adhere to the principles of sustainable development
in order to protect the environment for future generations
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

3. Attitudes towards the Environment

Survey published in 1987 showed that companies can
be grouped into 3 categories:
(i) crisis-oriented environmental management (29%)
(ii) cost-oriented environmental management (58%)
(iii) enlightened environmental management (9%)
Crisis-oriented environmental management
(sub-minimal)
- no full time personnel assigned to environmental
concerns, devoted as few financial resources as possible
to environmental matters, and fought environmental
regulations
- for example, D. Roderick, Chairman US Steel in 1982:
the primary role and duty of management really is
to make money
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 Cost-oriented environmental management

(minimalist)

- accepted government regulation as a cost of doing

business but without enthusiasm or commitment,
had established company policies on environmental
matters and separate units devoted to them
Enlightened environmental management (EEM)
(progressive)

- responsive to environmental concerns, had wellstaffed environmental divisions, used state-of-the art
equipment, and had good relationships with
government regulators
In the past 20 years, attitudes have changed. In the
present climate, it is good business for
a corporation to be perceived by the
public as environmentally responsible
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

Reasons for Progressive Attitude

[1] Self-interest: Businesses are recognizing that
good environmental practice good business practice

save $$ - reduce wastage by using resources

(materials, energy etc) more efficiently
obey the law - avoid prosecution
reduce risk - control risks (eg reduce use of
hazardous materials) and liabilities
improve relations with customers
improve market position/competitiveness

Pollution Prevention Pays!!

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 Example: IBM Climate Leadership Award 2012-14

from USEPA
Conserved 6.1 billion kW-hr of electricity, saving $477
million, between 1990 and 2012
Redesign product packaging - annual materials
and transport cost savings of $17.3 million in 2012
Recycled 36% of hazardous wastes (eg solvents)
generated
87% of total nonhazardous waste (eg paper, wood,
metals, glass, plastics) generated
in 2012 recovered and recycled
Good publicity
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Reasons for Progressive Attitude (contd)

[2] Promotion of human well-being (present & future)

Pollution causes health problems

Reduction of pollution and
conservation of resources
promote sustainability
(eg

China 2010 - Outdoor air pollution

contributed to 1.2M premature deaths;
cost of environmental degradation ~$230B)

Example: Chinas rapid industrialization

Dated: Feb 22, 2013

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[3] Respect for nature

Do natural objects eg trees, rivers and animals have
intrinsic value (ie value in themselves) or
instrumental value to humans?
Destruction of natural ecosystems eg clearing
forests affects humans also
Example: Deforestation
Underlying causes:
Population growth
Increasing demands for forest products
Conversion of forest lands to agriculture
Other forms of development, such as mining and
fossil fuel extraction

Forest burning

Mining

Soil erosion

Global warming

Since 1600, hundreds of animals and plant species

are recorded as having gone extinct
Loss of biodiversity interferes with essential
ecological functions
Species have economical value eg medicine from
plants; genetic information to create new food crops
Failure of markets and people to recognize the true
value of biodiversity
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4. Governing Laws
Examples of governing laws:
US Occupational Safety and Health (1970)
- Clean Air Act (1970, 1977, 1990)
- Clean Water Act (1948, 1972, 1977)
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976)
Singapore Environmental Protection and Management
Act (1999)
Consolidates laws relating to environmental pollution
control, to provide for the protection and management of
the environment and resource conservation
A proposed industry will be allowed only if emissions of
pollutants can comply with standards, wastes can be safely
managed and properly disposed of, and the factory can be
sited in a suitable industrial estate
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 Difficulty encountered in formulating environmental-related

acts/codes: how to define a clean environment?
Need to take into account both the need to protect the
health of workers and the general public and the viability
of industries
balance health and wealth
Degree-of-harm criterion (from Harris):
When pollutants pose a clear and pressing threat to
human health, they must be reduced below any
reasonable threshold of harm. Cost should not be
considered a significant factor
When substances pose an uncertain risk to health or when
the threshold of danger cannot be determined, economical
factors may be considered
Higher priority should be given to irreversible harm
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Environmental Ethics
1 definition: Ethical relationship between humans and
the natural environment
Do engineers have a greater moral responsibility?
consider our roles in past, present and future
Ideally, codes of environmental ethics should
- resolve conflicts between duties to employer and
society
- facilitate decisions by individual engineers as to
whether to work in particular areas
- help formulate technology and infrastructure policies
Such codes are presently lacking
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Controversy Regarding Environmental

Ethics
Complexity of environment
systems are interlinked, full understanding is
lacking
Conflict of interest in environment
human activities/development and their impacts
Traditional ethical theories are human centered,
largely been concerned with professionalism and
responsibility for technical competence
nonhuman environment neglected
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Do animal have rights?

5. Professional Engineering Obligations

to the Environment
Concern for the environment may be health related (eg
dumping of toxic materials) or non-health related (eg
destruction of animal habitat)
Question: Should professional engineering obligations
to the environment extend beyond a concern for factors
that endanger human health? 2 possible arguments!
Yes!
- Engineers are usually the creators of technology which
contribute to environmental degradation as well as
environmental improvement
- Refusal to participate in environmentally destructive
projects can lead to their cancellation/modification
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 No!
- Engineers may lack the expertise to make such
judgments, hence objections may be based on personal
moral beliefs rather than professional ethics
- Engineers disagree over environmental issues, hence
extending the provisions of the codes to controversial
areas might weaken their influence
- Requiring engineers to protect the environment where
human health is not an issue may produce problems of
conscience for some
Question: How to handle professional engineering
obligations regarding non-health related issues?
2 proposals by Harris (Chap 9) regarding this highly
controversial issue
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 Proposal 1 Although engineers should be required

to hold paramount human health in the performance
of their engineering work, they should not be required
as professionals to inject non-health related
environmental concerns into their engineering work
minimal professional obligation
Proposal 2 Engineers should have the right to
organizational disobedience with regard to
environmental issues, as required by their own
personal beliefs or their own individual interpretations
of what professional obligations require
personal views should be respected
What is organizational disobedience relevant to
Proposal 2?
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 Organization disobedience
- right to promote personal beliefs outside the workplace
- right to refuse to carry out assignments they believe are
wrong
- right to protest actions they believe to be wrong
Harris proposal for inclusion into engineering codes:
When organizational constraints permit, engineers shall
not be required to participate in projects that violate their
professional obligations.or personal beliefs. Engineers
shall also have the right to voice responsible objections
to projects that they believe are wrong, without fear of
reprisal(and) the right to support programs and causes
of their own choosing outside the workplace
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6. Case Study: Gilbane Gold

Video Screening 2
Fictitious case of a company discharging too
much lead and arsenic into a local wastewater
treatment plant and a young environmental
engineers dilemma
- what are his obligations to the company, the
public, his profession and his own career when
these seemed to be in conflict?
- are there creative middle way solutions?
- if you are in that position, what would you do?
Library Call No: CMR 592

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Supplementary Notes: Gilbane Gold

SYNOPSIS

Gilbane Gold is the name given to dried sludge from

the Gilbane wastewater treatment plant. It is sold to
farmers as a commercial fertilizer. The annual
revenue generated saves the average family about
$300 per year in taxes. Several years ago the city
of Gilbane established limits on the discharge of
heavy metals to the sewers in order to protect
Gilbane Gold from the build-up of toxic materials
that could end up in the soil. The limits are 10X
more restrictive than federal limits but are based on
the concentration of the discharge with no restriction
on total weight of discharged material.
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 Z CORP, a computer components manufacturer,

discharges wastewater containing small amounts of
lead and arsenic into the city sewers. By the current
city test standards, the discharge usually meets
allowable levels.
Z CORP people know of a newer test which shows
that the discharge occasionally exceeds the limits.
The ethical dilemma is: Should Z CORP tell the city
about the new test? Acceptance of the new test
would require additional investment in clean-up
equipment by Z CORP.

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 A complicating factor: Z CORP has just received

a contract for five times as many computer modules
as they presently make, but at a thin profit margin.
Five times as much waste will be produced. Adding
five times as much water will meet the city standards
for discharge concentration, but Gilbane Gold will
contain five times as much heavy metal as before.
Z CORP's VP says changing the test standards
would cause the company to lose money on the new
contract. Her position: Z CORP provided jobs; the
city should worry about the environment.
Word leaks out and a TV investigation begins.
EG 2401 - K. G. Neoh

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Gilbane Gold
What Should David Jackson Do?
[1] Should we sympathize with Davids sense of
responsibility?
David is caught between his desire to be a good
employee and his sense of obligation as an engineer to
protect the health, safety and welfare of the public
[2] Is David right in thinking that Z CORPs officials are
too involved in meeting production schedules and
increasing market share?
[3] Did Davids education & training adequately prepare
him to assume the responsibilities at Z CORP?
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[4] Possible actions by David

(a) Try to find an inexpensive technical solution to
the problem (Most desirable. As an Env Eng, David
is expected to use his technical skills to solve the
needs of Z CORP and the public)
(b) Consult professional society officials (At best
some advice is given)
(c) Tell Phil and Diane that his professional integrity
will no longer allow him to sign the discharge reports
to the city unless he makes clear to the city officials
that Z CORP is conforming to the city regulations
only by the old standards and not by the new ones
(Insubordination?)
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(d) Tell Phil and Diane that he has already been

summoned to appear before the city officials and he
has to mention the new tests since his own
professional integrity and his concern for his own
liability will not allow him to do anything else. At the
same time he can explain to city officials about Z
CORPs difficult financial situation and that there is
no inexpensive technical solution yet
(e) Ask Diane to persuade corporate HQ to recognize
the plants problems with increased production and
provide some technical/financial support
(f) Leak info to the TV reporter. Career is jeopardized
and Z CORPs relationship with local community is
affected (Undesirable approach, is it the right thing
to do?)
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