Page 57 - civ_env_sust_eng

(2014/02/09) Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering
______________________________________________________________________________________

The program complements the College of Engineering's Alternative Energy Technology graduated degree

program, now in its fifth year. The sustainability certificate program will develop a structured educational

supplement to existing engineering disciplines within the College of Engineering. The program is intended

for both current graduate students as well as the technical and scientific workforce of the metro Detroit
region.

The program requires 13 credit hours of sustainable engineering education in chosen courses from all of the

engineering departments. The program is designed in a way to maximize the use of existing courses to deve-

lop the program. Students can choose from such courses as "Water Supply and Wastewater Engineering,"
"Ethics in Engineering and Construction" and "Alternative Energy Technology System and Design.

3.19. Western Kentucky University - Conference: Sustainability and Civil Engineering

2009 - “Sustainability and Civil Engineering”, Jeremy Rodgers, Western Kentucky University.

In today’s society the idea of sustainability is possibly more prevalent than at any other point and time.

Across our everyday lives we encounter the practice of sustainability from renewable energy resources to

curbside recycling programs. As our demand for products, infrastructure and lifestyle amenities grow, so

should our awareness that we live in a fragile balance between meeting these needs and meeting these needs
in a way that has minimal impact to the environment and does not jeopardize our own public health and

safety.

We as Civil Engineers and future Civil Engineers play a vital role in the Sustainable Development in meeting
the needs of the public. We are those designing and building the infrastructures that support us as a society. A

Civil Engineers utmost responsibility is sustainability.

When you decide to follow a certain career path and make the decision to become a professional in that field,
whether it be medical, law or in this case a Professional Engineer, you have a code of ethics that you are

bound to. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics was designed so that a standard

could be put in place as to how engineers should practice professionally. This Code of Ethics lays out seven

Fundamental Canons that an engineer shall always govern their actions by. The first of these Canons introdu-

ces us to the concept of Sustainable Development.

“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.” (ASCE Code of

Ethics, 1996)

This concept of Sustainable Development could in many ways be considered the “Golden Rule” of enginee-

ring. If as engineers we follow this one Canon the other Canons immediately fall into place.

Sustainability by definition is the method of using a resource in a way that the resource is not depleted or

permanently damaged. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Traditionally the concept of sustainability has

been applied to relating biological systems (the Earth) and human systems (society). Although, very complex

when looking at the direct relationships of human needs and biological impacts, the concept is really one that
is as old as time itself that has been taught through the concept of not over harvesting from the Bible.

For this discussion the concept of sustainability will deal primarily with Sustainable Development as defined

by the ASCE in 1996: “Sustainable Development is the challenge of meeting human needs for natural resour-
ces, industrial products, energy, food, transportation, shelter, and effective waste management while conser-

______________________________________________________________________________________

57 / 76