Lecture 1: Unit 1 [Insert Course Reference Here]

Lecture 1: Unit 1 [Insert Course Reference Here]
[Insert Facilitator Reference Here] [Insert Contact Details Here] [Insert Contact Web address Here] Introduce myself: - Env Eng Graduate Worked 4 y for Arup as an Env Eng - Now working for TNEP - web address. Before we get started: - Sitting for 10 mins - Hands up those who usually sit in the spots they’re in - Best way to learn is to be actively involved & out of comfort zone - If really want to learn, then bare with me - move seats & sit somewhere new, beside someone you don’t usually sit next to. - Will give you a few minutes to do this as it’s so important! Overview: First lecture about getting a new perspective on sustainability and engineering First year students, range of backgrounds - my turn to learn first! How many of you straight from school? How many have done something else in between? How many are here having already done another undergrad degree? Task: Ask students for their understanding of sustianability - write on whiteboard - leave up for the lecture & compare at the end.

Technical Unit 1: A New Perspective
Part i) Setting the Context – A Global Summary Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth? Part iii) The Next Wave of Innovation & Enabling Technologies Part iv) Implications and Benefits for Global Development Part v) Fitting into the picture: Engineers & Sustainability Overview: This material forms part of a module that TNEP is preparing for the Environment College of Engineers Australia Part of the response to a number of groups and individuals saying that we need to get sustainability education into every engineer’s course. Sustainability is a fundamental principal of all engineering studies, so Engineers Australia is funding the preparation of material to help in this respect. There are a number of Engineers Australia publications that I’ve brought with me today - feel free to come down in the break and have a look. Describe points on board - flow of lecture. I will point out the important bits to write down. Please ask questions as we go through - the more you ask, the more we’ll all learn. No question is stupid!

i) Setting the Context – A Global Summary
“One of the biggest problems in the world today is that people do not think” (M. Scott Peck, psychiatrist & author of The Road Less Travelled) Part 1. Overview: In the mind of the public, environmentalists and developers do not agree on much. But until the 1980’s, most did agree on one thing: that the more you do for the environment the worse off the economy will be, or the more you promote development and growth the worse off the environment will be. In other words, major trade offs are required between the two objectives and there is little possibility of significant win-win outcomes. Globally, the last three decades have been a time of awakening. People have started to think - about how us being here impacts on what might - or might not - be here in future.

Historical Perspective:
1980s - the start of a range of major initiatives to find common ground United Nations’ Brundtland Report (Our Common Future). Key definition of Sustainable Development: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” During the 1980s and 1990s people gathered together in large numbers to discuss issues of environmental, social and economic importance. Given the transfer of power from governments to business, it is imperative that all sectors of society work together as stewards of the planet, to ensure that there is quality of life for our future generations. One outcome of this process was the Bruntland Report, Our Common Future, published in 1987 by the United Nations' World Commission on Environment and Development This landmark report showed that it was possible to reconcile the concerns of developers and ecologists through government leadership. It coined the new phrase ‘sustainable development’ to sum up this new paradigm of development. It defined Sustainable Development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. It was instrumental in achieving the acceptance of the emerging paradigm of sustainable development in mainstream governmental structures, departments and programs. It is a good idea for those of you who don’t know this definition to write it down - many many others, but this one is one of the most well known. Part i) Setting the Context – A Global Summary

1992 - First World Summit for Sustainable
First World Summit for Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro UN Millennium Goals: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat major diseases 7. Develop a global partnership “Never before has world opinion been so united on a single goal as it is on achieving sustainable development.” (United Nations Report) Rio: Support for this new form of development was demonstrated by the attendance at the first World Summit for Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro in 1992. More than a hundred world leaders and representatives from 167 countries. UN Millenium Goals: At the United Nations’ Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders from 189 nations placed sustainable development at the heart of the global agenda by adopting the Millennium Development Goals Set clear targets for the reduction of poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by 2015. 189 nations have committed to the UN Millennium Goals to reduce world poverty by 50% by 2015. Furthermore, a worldwide survey by the UN identified 15 global issues that will dominate the future; the foremost of these was achieving sustainable development. Part i) Setting the Context – A Global Summary

2002 - Second World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg
First World Summit for Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro UN Millennium Goals Second World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg Since mid-1990s - disappointment over lack of commitment - concern regarding potential areas of conflict Emerging principles of ‘sustainable development’ appeared to be conflicting with the short term pressures on businesses’ financial bottom line. Second world summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg Many thousands of people gathered, but no major decisions reached. Disappointment over lack of commitment & concern regarding potential areas of conflict People thought emerging principles of sustainable development were conflicting with the short term pressures on businesses’ financial bottom line. Part i) Setting the Context – A Global Summary

Further, there is both a local and global dimension to it….
Businesses now constitute the majority of the 100 largest ‘economies’ in the world. How fast we shift to a sustainable economy depends on if we adopt integrated and holistic approaches. The challenge of sustainable development is complex - requiring integrated systems approaches ... Further, there is both a local and global dimension to it…. So our rate of progress will depend on achieving the correct mix and balance between: - The State and the market - Government and NGOs - Competitive & co-operative action at locally, nationally & globally Businesses now constitute the majority of the 100 largest ‘economies’ in the world. The largest corporations have higher incomes than the GDP of a number of small countries. Speed with which we shift to a sustainable economy therefore depends on whether we adopt integrated and holistic approaches. The challenge of sustainable development is complex - requiring integrated systems approaches … So our rate of progress will depend on achieving the correct mix and balance between: - the State and the market - government and NGOs - competitive and co-operative action at the local, national and global levels Difficult… but possible! Part i) Setting the Context – A Global Summary

ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?
Given projected increases in global population and the trends of the spread of western consumerism, humanity needs to reduce its negative environmental load by at least 90% or there will, over time, be significant decline of “ecosystem resilience”. This has been given names such as "reducing our negative impact on the environment" … by a Factor of 4, or a Factor of 10. In short we need to do more, with less for longer. Part 2. Overview: We are facing ever increasing pressures on our natural resources, to provide enough for the increasing population. There are clear signs that a number of fundamental planetary processes are on the verge of failure. The mounting evidence of ecosystem collapse with its limiting effects on growth, and the great uncertainties that inherently exist when trying to understand the complex systems of nature and society and the biosphere, suggest that we need a humble, precautionary approach. Fundamentally sustainability is wise from a risk management perspective for nations, businesses, governments and communities. In five years of work by the Netherlands Governments Sustainable Technology Development project, the study .. Given projected increases in global population and the trends of the spread of western consumerism, humanity needs to reduce its negative environmental load by at least 90% or there will, over time, be significant decline of “ecosystem resilience”. This has been given names such as "reducing our negative impact on the environment" by a Factor of 4 (a 75% reduction in resource intensity) or a Factor of 10 (a 90% reduction in resource intensity). In short we need to "do more, with less for longer.” This view may seem extreme, but it comes from a detailed understanding of trends in resource usage globally and how, despite the apparent success of eco-efficiencies, energy and material flows are still increasing globally. Describe: Factor 4 - Reducing the impact to 1/4 of the orignal impact - so 25% remaining, or a 75% reduction in impact.

Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane in the last millennium:
There is real concern in the science community that due to significant uncertainties inherent in modelling complex ecosystems we have overestimated their resilience and now face the risk of unknown consequences. Let us consider the high profile issue like global warming, a case where climate modelling now has enough data to begin to make predictions about how fast we need to change to reduce such risks. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the effects on climate due to pollution, land clearing and the industrial economy are now very apparent. The majority of the world’s scientists have repeatedly warned whether through the IPCC or other committees that we do not have time to waste on the greenhouse issue. Dr Pearman, former chief of the CSIRO's atmospheric physics division and Australia's representative on the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that the panel's report in 2001 had concluded that at whatever level global warming was stopped, it would take a 70% cut in global emissions to stop it. "We don't have that much longer," he said. According to the IPCC, stabilising concentrations at double the pre-industrial levels will require deep cuts in annual global emissions, eventually by 60% or more. Dr David Kemp, Australia Environment Minister: If we are going to achieve stability in global temperatures in the years ahead then CO2 emissions will have to be reduced by between one half and two thirds. Recent studies by the British Government and The Australia Institute show that deep cuts to greenhouse emissions of 60% in principle are possible by 2050 using a combination of energy efficiency, demand management and green energy. The good news is that if phased in over fifty years, such changes will not overburden the economy. Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

Plot of CO2 concentrations and temperature from 400,000 years ago to 1950:
Change in CO2 Concentration To put the issue of global warming from the greenhouse effect in perspective it is important to understand 3 key factors: a) Detailed data, shown in Figure, based on air extracted from ice cores drilled in the Antarctic ice cap, show that while we appear to be experiencing a peaking in the natural cycle of greenhouse gases and temperatures, we are actually adding man- made greenhouse gases to that peaking of the natural cycle. b) CO2 levels in the atmosphere are at 380 parts per million. They have not been above 300 parts per million for at least 400,000 years. Further, data based on isotope ratios in marine micro fossils suggests strongly that CO2 levels have not in fact been above, or much above, 300 parts per million for about 23 million years. . c) CO2 pumped into the atmosphere will remain there for 80 to 100 years and so will influence temperature and contribute to the greenhouse effect for long after its release. This means that that even if new emissions of carbon dioxide are reduced the overall concentration of CO2 will continue to increase as the continuing emissions combine with background levels. The costs of inaction on this issue will lead to such visible impacts as increased health problems (tropical diseases spreading) and insurance costs, (increased occurrence of natural disasters), loss of land (with sea level rises), and a less stable climate. Change in Temperature

When (1 + 1) > 2 “When one problem combines with another problem, the outcome may be not a double problem, but a super-problem.” (Professor Norman Myers, Ecologist) Coupling effect = when different phenomena feed back on each other. The impacts of the greenhouse effect alone may be significantly mitigated, but when these are combined with deforestation and biodiversity loss, the conversion of vast land mass to fresh water intensive modern agriculture, increasing urban waste streams, then the stress on our remaining natural ecosystems can no longer be ignored. The impacts of the greenhouse effect alone may be significantly mitigated, but when these are combined with deforestation and biodiversity loss, the conversion of vast land mass to fresh water intensive modern agriculture, increasing urban waste streams, then the stress on our remaining natural ecosystems can no longer be ignored. New meaning for the ‘coupling effect’ … not the university phenomena, but when different things feed back on each other - like when you get something going wrong on your stereo system and hear that awful screech - coupling effect. Example: Not listening to a whole semester of subject lectures… then forgetting to hand in an assignment - If one of these, then you can still pass, but both together - all of a sudden, it’s a fail, another semester of study, potentially slipping back a year and potential repercussions through the rest of university. Doh! Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

Environmental Surprise
Land Degradation, Australia The Aleutian Islands, Alaska The Amazon, South America Land Degradation Globally the area of arable land has been declining, with a loss of greater than 12 million hectares over the past decade, due to land degradation. In Australia alone salinity effects already 2.5 million hectares (5% of cultivated land) and this could rise to 12 million hectares (25% of cultivated land). The Aleutian Islands, Alaska One would have thought that off the coast of Alaska hundreds of miles from civilization, nature would be relatively safe from human influence. But throughout the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea, the ecosystem has collapsed. Waters once brimming with seals, otters and king crab are now dominated by sharks, pollock and urchins. Long-term research has documented the extensive decline of Aleutian sea otters, 70 percent since 1992 and 95 percent or more throughout much of the Aleutian Islands since the 1980s.Scientists discovered that the collapse was driven by increased killer whale predation of sea otters caused by a complex string of effects such as whaling removing the primary food source and the death of the phyto-plankton food source resulting from ocean temperature increase through global warming. The Amazon The Amazon will become drier in the future potentially even becoming a desert in centuries to come unless deforestation and its causes are more seriously addressed. The reasons are firstly El Nino, which is forecast with global warming to become more common. In during an El Nino event there was a drought throughout the Amazon. Secondly, deforestation and the accompanying burning off in the Brazilian Amazon increased 40% between August 2001 and August 2002 compared to the previous 12 months due to a range of factors. And thirdly, the predictions for the future temperature of the tropics in places like the Amazon are getting higher and higher, so even if rainfall stays the same and temperatures are getting higher, there is going to be more water evaporating from the Amazon and droughts are going to be more severe Fall of the Roman Empire Historically the fall of civilizations has been heavily influenced by environmental surprise due to their actions. During the later period of the Roman Empire, agriculture provided more than 90% of the governments revenue. By the fifth century the government and military bureaucracy had more than doubled. The taxes on farmers from Rome were beyond what farmers could afford so they had to go into debt and constantly work their land. Poor incentive structures to farmers, and massive deforestation required to fuel the Roman War Machine led to rapid soil degradation. By the 3rd century AD over farming the land had got to the point that in some parts of North Africa and through the Mediterranean, up to one half of the arable land had to be abandoned. Depopulation of the countryside had other repercussions. The un-stewarded land, further degraded leading to the spreading of swampland which became breeding grounds for disease. Malaria outbreaks were common in the last days of Rome further weakening the already impoverished population. Plagues broke out in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, killing a 3rd of the population in some regions of Italy. It took Europe 600 years to recover. Fall of the Roman Empire … The Atlantic Conveyor? Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?
“Pentagon Report” - anyone heard of it? A recent Pentagon report warns that abrupt climate change could pose a major worldwide security threat. The report describes a rapid-warming scenario that could lead to wars, nuclear conflict, large-scale droughts, famine, and other disasters. The contingency-planning exercise describes a worst-case scenario and does not constitute an actual forecast of what the Pentagon expects to occur. However, it does provide a sobering analysis of a warming level and pace considered possible by climate scientists. North Atlantic Thermohaloclyne Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

(Herman Daly, a leading academic ecological economist)
Sometimes the cost of destroying ecosystem services becomes apparent only when the services start to break down. In 2003, the World Bank listed the risks of environmental damage and social unrest as major factors that, if not addressed and significant progress made, will limit the extent to which the world economy can grow. We are facing a form of ‘limiting factor’ today, unlike anything our economies have faced before… soon it will be forests not mills, fisheries not boats, that which will be the limiting factor for economic growth. (Herman Daly, a leading academic ecological economist) Sometimes the cost of destroying ecosystem services becomes apparent only when the services start to break down. The World-watch Institute cites the following examples: Bangladesh suffered its most extensive flood of the century in the summer of Two-thirds of this low-lying nation at the mouth of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers was inundated for months, 30 million were left temporarily homeless. . Damage estimates exceed $3.4 billion. Logging upriver in the Himalayas of north India and Nepal exacerbated the disaster, as did the fact that the region's rivers and floodplains have been filled with silt and constricted by development. Climate change and rising sea levels are projected to make Bangladesh even more vulnerable to flooding in the future In China’s Yangtze basin in 1998, heavy rainfall plus upstream deforestation triggered flooding that killed 3,700 people, dislocated 223 million and inundated 60 million acres of cropland. That $30 billion disaster forced a logging moratorium and a $12 billion crash program of reforestation. The damage was caused not just by heavy rain but also by deforestation and extremely dense settlement on the floodplain. The Yangtze had lost over 85% of its forest cover. Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

“If we (Australia) continue to waste water as we do now, water will be the limiting factor in Australia's economic development.” (David Priestly, CSIRO) “Salinity is bigger than tax reform. You can always fix a broken policy, but you can't fix a ruined food-bowl country.” (John Anderson, Australia’s Deputy Leader, & leader of the National Party) The mounting evidence of ecosystem collapse with its limiting effects on growth, and the great uncertainties that inherently exist when trying to understand the complex systems of nature and society and the biosphere, suggest that we need a humble, precautionary approach. We would be wise to use an anticipatory precautionary approach based on cybernetic rules, that leads the economy away from areas of risk and towards areas where human endeavours can be carried out with a low level of inherent risk. Fundamentally sustainability is wise from a risk management perspective for nations, businesses, governments and communities The Natural Step has pioneered the use of precautionary cybernetic rules. Some of their most well known rules are that human society must not systematically increase the concentration of substances in nature that are sourced from the earth's crust [Dont put anything in that you cant take out] and decrease the diversity or productivity of nature through the extraction of resources or the transformation of ecosystems [Dont take anything out that you cant put back in]. Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

The mounting evidence of ecosystem collapse with its limiting effects on growth, and the great uncertainties that inherently exist when trying to understand the complex systems of nature and society and the biosphere, suggest that we need a humble, precautionary approach. Fundamentally sustainability is wise from a risk management perspective for nations, businesses, governments and communities. Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

iii) The Next Wave of Innovation & Enabling Technologies
Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity. (Michael Porter, Harvard University) It is generally agreed that innovation is fundamental in creating economic prosperity, whether it be a company or a nation. Sustainability is believed to be the driver for the next wave of innovation and emerging technologies are supporting this theory. The problems are serious but there are exciting pioneering efforts and solutions being developed around the world through many sectors of industry. Take students through the wave diagram… first industrial revolution - steam engine and new machines to increase the labour productivity of cotton-spinning and the production of steel. This was followed by further industrial shifts with the engineering that evolved out of advances in the understanding of, for instance, electro-magnetism. This was followed by a focus on mass production of the automobile and electrification of cities, a wave which lasted until the 1940s. The rise of semiconductors and electronics provided just some of the enabling technologies that helped create new business opportunities throughout the 50’s and 60’s. In the case of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) wave of innovation, it is easy to identify the technologies that were driving the growth of capacity in the industry. Innovations in computer processing power, network bandwidth and data storage have all helped achieve the predictions of Gordon Moore in the 1970’s that “computing power will continue to double every 18 months, while costs hold constant” . This last wave of industrial activity was largely based on semiconductors, fibre optics, networks and software

Technological innovations  Design know-how  Cost effectively 
Significant evidence that the next waves of innovation will be driven by the need to improve productivity while lightening our environmental load on the planet... Technological innovations  Design know-how  Cost effectively  In some areas very profitably  critical mass of enabling technologies that complement each other, providing more efficient ways to meet people’s needs. In order for a wave of innovation to occur there needs to be a significant array of relatively new and emerging technologies and a recognized genuine need in the market that is leading to a market expansion There is significant evidence that the next waves of innovation will be driven by the need to improve productivity while lightening our environmental load on the planet. We now possess both the technological innovations and design know-how to tackle many environmental problems cost effectively and in some areas very profitably. Not only do we now have solutions to many ‘problems’, but we are also gaining insight as to which solutions are the most cost-effective and profitable. Nations and companies that work together to address sustainable development can position themselves to be at the forefront of the next waves of innovation. Not only do we now have solutions to many ‘problems’, but we are also gaining insight as to which solutions are the most cost-effective and profitable... Part iii) The Next Wave of Innovation & Enabling Technologies

Emerging Technologies: Spatial Data Greenhouse technologies
Novel Materials: Bamboo New car design Climate Neutral Buildings Mining Wastes or Mining Resources Consider a few interesting points. · Some of businesses’ most significant costs are capital and inputs, such as construction costs, raw materials, energy, water and transportation. It is in businesses’ interests to minimise these costs, and hence the amount of raw materials and other inputs they need to create their product or provide their service. Business produces only two things, either useful products and services or unsaleable waste. How does it assist a business to have millions of dollars of plant equipment and labour tied up in generating waste? It is in individual business’s interests to find markets for this ‘waste’ and/or design industrial processes so that waste is minimised and that which is produced can be used or sold elsewhere · Ninety-five percent of all raw materials used in production are transformed into waste products within six months of being sold. ( · Womack and Jones found that it takes a year to transform the raw materials into a typical cola can. During this time, these resources travel half way around the world. Lean Thinking analysis shows that recycling cola cans would create numerous win-win benefits and dramatically reduce costs through the supply chain. Attitudes to future energy supplies are changing, with most of the world’s future oil supplies in politically unstable regions. The world oil peak is predicted to occur in the next two decades, but alternatives are now available. We now possess both the technological innovations and design know-how to tackle many environmental problems cost effectively and in some areas very profitably. Specifically, this involves everything from green buildings, hybrid cars, wind power, resource processing, transport systems, metals/plastic recycling and other enabling technologies that will be covered in Section Four of this book. However, still more innovations are emerging from the fields of materials science, ranging from re-examining old systems with whole systems design approaches, to green chemistry using bio-mimicry principles based on nature, which is part of the nanotech wave of innovation. All of these will help achieve sustainable development. Examples such as these add weight to and provide proof of what many have already sensed. Namely, that the problems are serious but there are exciting pioneering efforts and solutions being developed around the world through many sectors of industry. Not only do we now have solutions to many ‘problems’, but we are also gaining insight as to which solutions are the most cost-effective and profitable. Hence, nations and companies that work together to address sustainable development can position themselves to be at the forefront of the next waves of innovation. Nations and companies that work together to address sustainable development can position themselves to be at the forefront of the next waves of innovation. Part iii) The Next Wave of Innovation & Enabling Technologies

iv) Implications and Benefits for Global Development
It is physically impossible for all developing nations to achieve “Western” material living standards with current modes of development. Need a high level of resource productivity and efficiency. At present, about 25% of global development aid capital is spent on energy. Governments, such as China’s, are increasingly seeing the opportunities in this area, in energy and in water. It is well known that the global human population is expanding exponentially. [DRAW CURVE] With the current rate of resource use, there are various theories of population crashes and at least a significantly lower quality of life. However, if we take sustainability as being the foundation on which to base future development, it can be the way forward in resolving conflict over resources, human settlements and environmental protection.

Mega-Cities: Over the next 50 years, one of the major development issues will be fast growing mega-cities. Dhaka, Mumbai and Delhi will number among the world’s five largest cities. Asia, as a whole, will account for 12 of the world’s largest 21 mega-cities by 2015. Today’s largest metropolis is still Tokyo, which has an estimated 27 million residents. By 2050, trends suggest there will be over 50 mega cities globally, with most of them in Asia. Part iv) Implications and Benefits for Global Development

Trends for urbanisation of “Developing and Transition Countries” and OECD countries:
The increase in human population over the last two centuries has been remarkable. Mainstream concern about these issues is such that the US Newsweek magazine dedicated an entire special issue on Asia’s urban explosion. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development's

Historically: Rome was the first settlement to reach 1 million people in 5 BC. In 1800 London became the second. By 2015 Asia alone will have 267 cities with 1 million or more residents. 25 years from now most Asians will live in cities and towns. Of the more than 2 billion people who will be added to the earth’s total population in the next 50 years, the vast majority will live in urban Asia.

Benefits of Pursuing Sustainable Development:
“Sustainability” adopts multi-disciplinary approaches to complex issues. It provides robust solutions that, if pursued on a global scale, will offer significant benefits for governments, society and business. These benefits impact indirectly with benefits to health, reduced numbers of environmental refugees, increased resilience to infrastructure failure or attack and other benefits to national security. Security experts are now predicting that access to key raw resources, such as oil and water, will be a significant source of conflict this century. The new development paradigm of sustainability adopts multi-disciplinary approaches to complex issues, thus providing robust solutions that in practice, if pursued on a global scale, will offer significant benefits for governments, society and business Finally, Sustainability offers a way forward to resolve the present conflict between global trade rules and environmental principles.

v) Fitting into the Picture: Engineers & Sustainability
“It is up to engineers to consider sustainability in every project they design and construct & every product that is made. Sustainability is now a fundamental responsibility that all engineers must carry every day.” Doug Jones, President, Engineers Australia 2004 So, what’s this to you? Why am I here telling you about this in an environmental engineering 1st year subject?.. Engineers play a crucial role in creating infrastructure in the world. Engineers are problem solvers who apply their knowledge and experience to building projects that meet human needs, and to cleaning up environmental problems. They work on a wide range of issues and projects, and as a result, how engineers work can have a significant impact on progress toward sustainable development.

Trust in Institutions to Operate in Society’s Best Interests:
Interesting graph - how we trust powers that be..

We are the generation for which previous generations committed themselves to save the environment. We are the generation for which they made the commitment to restore the balance. “It is more than three decades since man first walked on the moon. The Apollo 11 mission captured the imagination of the general public and was viewed at the time as an example of how far we had progressed as a people. In the following years, however, it also became a defining contrast: we were clever enough to put a man on the moon but we couldn't come up with the answers to our problems here on earth – poverty, hunger, disease, cross-border violence and so on. This requires a commitment from governments, industry and the community.” Australian Senator Robert Hill (Australia’s former Minister for the Environment and 2001 Defence Minister)

If someone were to present the Industrial Revolution as a retroactive design assignment, it might sound like this: What were we thinking?!

“We need to respond to the overarching responsibility for engineers in the application of our engineering education, training and experience to provide excellent sustainable engineering solutions for the benefit of our employees, clients and the community.” Doug Jones, President Engineers Australia 2004 Part ii) Declining Ecosystems: A New Limiting Factor for Growth?

No matter how determined a company or a nation is to change, these changes will take time to implement, hence we have no time to waste. The sooner we start, the longer we have to phase changes in, the less disruptive and more beneficial this will be to business and society and the best chance we have of long term success.

Achieving sustainable development would be impossible without the full input by engineers.
Maurice Strong, Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, New York, Spring 1992

Closed-loop ecosystem: (WFEO Handout)

Engineers around the world understand that they have a tremendous responsibility in the implementation of sustainable development. Many forecasts indicate there will be an additional five billion people in the world by the middle of the 21st century. This requires more water, waste treatment systems, food production, energy, transportation systems, and manufacturing -- all of which requires engineers to participate in land planning, and to research, study, design, construct, and operate new and expanded facilities. This future "built environment" must be developed while sustaining the natural resources of the world and enhancing the quality of life for all people. The Engineer’s Response to Sustainable Development by The World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) 1997.

In Summary: Part i) Setting the Context Part ii) Declining Ecosystems
Part iii) The Next Wave of Innovation & Technologies Part iv) Implications and Benefits for Global Development Part v) Engineers & Sustainability Feedback form. Break 10 minutes Feel free to come and have a look at books End of Technical Unit 1

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