Engineering Ethics And The Environment

This text, first published in 1998, examines the ethical responsibilities of engineers for the environment - of interest to all engineers.

We have used this book, manuscript form, as supplemental reading in our environmental engineering classes at Duke University. The discussion of ethics is usually reserved for the final few days of class, when the students should start asking ‘so what? about course material. We respond to this question by covering the principles of ethics in one lecture and spending two or more sessions discussing various readings. Engineering students who have spent four years learning how to crunch numbers and to solve technical problems to three significant figures admit that the study of environmental ethics introduces new and exciting concepts into their professional thinking, and provides a perspective which otherwise would be missing from their education.

The rapid pace of technological change constantly gives rise to new ethical dilemmas, and engineers must be as well versed in societal values and ethics as they are in the technical concepts of their disciplines. Ethics and Professionalism in Engineering provides a practical introduction for engineering students that emphasizes ethical decision-making. McCuen and Gilroy situate engineering ethics in the wider context of business and environmental ethics and guide students through case studies emphasizing value conflicts often encountered in engineering.

Ensuring that their work has a positive influence on society is a responsibility and a privilege for engineers, but also a considerable challenge. This book addresses the ways in which engineers meet this challenge, working from the assumption that for a project to be truly ethical both the undertaking itself and its implementation must be ethically sound. The contributors discuss varied topics from an international and interdisciplinary perspective, including l robot ethics; l outer space; l international development; l internet privacy and security; l green branding; l arms conversion; l green employment; and l deliberate misinformation about climate change Important questions are answered, such as l what is meant by engineering ethics and its practical implications; l how decisions made by engineers in their working lives make an impact at the global as well as the local level; and l what ethics-related questions should be asked before making such decisions. Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability will be a valuable resource for practising and student engineers as well as all who are interested in professional ethics, especially as it relates to engineering. Researchers and policy makers concerned with the effects of engineering decisions on environmental sustainability and international stability will find this book to be of special interest.

A guide to understanding and resolving the knotty ethical issues confronting today's engineering professional Little in an engineer's formal training offers adequate preparation for navigating the murky waters of professional ethics. Engineering and Environmental Ethics fills this critical gap, providing you with a reliable compass to help steer a safe course through the welter of governing laws and regulations, while balancing personal and professional obligations with the more global concerns of the environment and society. This book offers the opportunity to learn directly from your colleagues' experiences through more than 100 absorbing case studies that typify common ethical problems encountered by engineers. Taking a neutral viewpoint for each case, the authors supply helpful commentaries in which they address underlying philosophical issues, weigh the various pros and cons of possible responses, and offer expert opinions on how the problem could have been resolved better or differently. The cases are organized both by engineering specialty (chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical) and by environmental concerns (air, water, solid waste, domestic, and safety and accident management). Engineering and Environmental Ethics is a valuable professional resource for practitioners in all engineering specialties, as well as corporate policymakers and environmental managers. It can also serve as an excellent primary or secondary text for engineering students enrolled in professional ethics courses.

A response of the engineering profession to the challenges of security, poverty and underdevelopment, environmental sustainability, and native cultures is described. Ethical codes, which govern the behavior of engineers, are examined from a historical perspective linking the prevailing codes to models of the natural world. A new ethical code based on a recently introduced model of Nature as an integral community is provided and discussed. Applications of the new code are described using a case study approach. With the ethical code based on an integral community in place, new design algorithms are developed and also explored using case studies. Implications of the proposed changes in ethics and design on engineering education are considered. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Engineering Ethics / Models of the Earth / Engineering in a Morally Deep World / Engineering Design in a Morally Deep World / Implications for Engineering Education / Final Thoughts / References / Author's Biography

This is the first casebook to focus specifically on engineering and environmental ethics. It features full-length, multi-faceted, real-life cases of design and managerial dilemmas in a variety of settings--together with background readings that illustrate how one can integrate ethical and environmental challenges into engineering decisions, especially ones early in the design process. It presents the dilemmas as descriptively as possible--without revealing what the authors think are "proper" or "good" solutions--and encourages readers to think deeply about real-life situations and to engage in "moral imagination." CHALLENGES TO ENGINEERING DESIGN. Bell Telephone Design; Dow Corning Breast Implant Design; Carter Racing. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEERS. American Solar Network; Design Tex; Rohner Textil; Unilever; IKEA. ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. W. R. Grace and the Development of NEEM; Bhopal; SELF; Solar Energy in South Africa; Eskom; Ghana Electrification Project. For Engineers, those who manage engineers, and those who wish to know more about how technology can address global problems.

This book focuses on the ethical issues in engineering that have to do with assessment, design, sustainability and globalization.