Carl Pope, "Let's Get Technical: Time to Put the Engineers to Work"
Sierra (July/Aug 2005)
Engineers natural allies of environmentalists
Environmentalists point out problems
Engineers solve them (when they are allowed to)
Ford executives squashed Ford engineers excitement about
using hybrid technology in a big way
Engineers can solve the problems we ask them to solve
Tell them to make a civilian version of a military assault vehicle, they
will find a way to do it
If ask them to future out how to power our homes with less energy,
they can do that too
One way leads to the Hummer the other to solar cells.
Tech is a servant that does its master's bidding
In this country, those who are in control of tech have asked it to make them
richer and more powerful and its done that, at expense of other people, other
generations and other species
MATURE USE OF TECH INVOLVES
Do no harm (and so must have firm rules)
Laws and regulations make it poss to responsibility operate chemical
plants, oil refineries and sewage treatment facilities
Lack of rules invites irresponsibility
E.g., lower safety rules in Alaska, allowed tugboat escorts to be
phased out, and get Exxon Valdez
New techs that could be either hazardous or beneficial need to be developed
in publicly accountable way (with appro private incentives)
If researches paid to max profits of few, likely to pursue options that
increase public risk
E.g., GM foods:
Could be used to help poor farmers in Third World (engineer a barley
plant grow in brackish water in poorest parts of Africa)
Best sci not working for public institutions trying to help poor
farmers but for multinational corporations patenting expensive seed
varieties farmers can douse with herbicide
Tech wizardry of biotech been devoted to capturing more of income
of rich farmers in U.S.
In absence of firm rules and responsible incentives, corporations often cling
to dangerous but profitable old techs even when engineers have gone on to
design better versions
One American woman in 6 has enough mercury in her body to
threaten health of any baby she might bear
A handful of outmoded chlorine chemical plants emit 65 tons of
mercury into air each year (more than all nation's coal fired power
plants emit)
There is cost effective pollution control tech
But no rules to force these companies to use this tech and keep poison
out of our bodies
Incentive to make them clean up would be to force them to pay for
treating everyone who will eventually be poisoned by their mercury
releases
We can't sustain 6 billion people wanting better lives w/o 21st century
solutions
Need the services of sci and tech and engineers
Need to enlist human genius to solve problems not just to increase profits
Role of env. is increasingly to make sure appro rules and incentives in place
and then stand back and let the engineers get to work.