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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

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1. Introduction: Spaceship Earth

• Philosophy of sustainabilityTo 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?

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Impact of Technology on the Environment

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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

• Example 2: CFC and the O3 Layer- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – “miracle chemical” proved disastrous to O3 layer

April 2006 Issue

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

CO2,CH4N2O,etc

Example 1

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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

Great challenge for engineers to take actions in their personal and professional lives to counter this

Base period 1951-1980

20% ↑ in 50 yrs

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Stratospheric O3 Depletion• O3 in the stratosphere

serves to cut down on UV radiation reaching the Earth’s 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

Example 2

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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) ASCEFundamental 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 environmentFundamental Canon 1 – Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable developmentin the performance of their professional duties

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(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 developmentin order to protect the environment for future generations

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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 well-staffed 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

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[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!!

Reasons for Progressive Attitude

• 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 publicityEG 2401 - K. G. Neoh 13

Reasons for Progressive Attitude (cont’d)[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: China’s rapid industrialization

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Dated: Feb 22, 2013

[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 agricultureOther forms of development, such as mining and fossil fuel extraction

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Soil erosionForest burningGlobal warmingMining

• 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 conservationA 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 factorWhen 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

Do animal have rights?

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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 engineer’s 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 GoldSYNOPSIS

• 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.

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Gilbane GoldWhat Should David Jackson Do?

[1] Should we sympathize with David’s 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 CORP’s officials are too involved in meeting production schedules and increasing market share?

[3] Did David’s 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 CORP’s difficult financial situation and that there is no inexpensive technical solution yet

(e) Ask Diane to persuade corporate HQ to recognize the plant’s problems with increased production and provide some technical/financial support

(f) Leak info to the TV reporter. Career is jeopardized and Z CORP’s relationship with local community is affected (Undesirable approach, is it the right thing to do?)