Environmental Engineering FOURTH EDITION

10 ENVIRONMENTAL, ENGINEERING

environmental degradation and an almost automatic “not in my back yard” reaction. He
or she recognizes, as many people do not, that virtually all human activity entails some
environmental alteration and some risk, and that a risk-free environment is impossible
to achieve. The balance between risk and benefit to various segments of the population
often involves questions of environmental ethics.
Is it ethical to oppose a particular location of an undesirable facility because
of its proximity to ecologically or politically sensitive areas, rather than working
to mitigate the undesirable features of the facility? Moreover, is it ethical to locate
such a facility where there is less local opposition, perhaps because employment is
needed, instead of in the environment where it will do the least damage? The enact-
ment of pollution control legislation in the United States has had a sort of NIMBY
by-product: the siting of US.-owned plants with hazardous or toxic effluents, like oil
desulfurization and copper smelting, in countries that have little or no pollution control
legislation. The ethics of such “pollution export” deserve closer examination than they
have had.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AS A PROFESSION

The general mission of colleges and universities is to allow students to mature intellec-

tually and socially and to prepare for careers that are rewarding. The chosen vocation

is ideally an avocation as well. It should be a job that is enjoyable and one approached

with enthusiasm even after experiencing many of the ever-present bumps in the road.

Designing a water treatment facility to provide clean drinking water to a community

can serve society and become a personally satisfying undertaking to the environmental

engineer. Environmental engineers now are employed in virtually all heavy industries

and utility companies in the United States, in any aspect of public works construc-

tion and management, by the EPA and other federal agencies, and by the consulting

firms used by these agencies. In addition, every state and most local governments have

agencies dealing with air quality, water quality and water resource management, soil

quality, forest and natural resource management, and agricultural management that

employ environmental engineers. Pollution control engineering has also become an

exceedingly profitable venture.

Environmental engineering has a proud history and a bright future. It is a career

that may be challenging, enjoyable, personally satisfying, and monetarily rewarding.

Environmental engineers are committed to high standards of interpersonal and envi-

ronmental ethics. They try to be part of the solution while recognizing that all people

including themselves are part of the problem.

ORGANIZATION OF THIS TEXT

The second chapter, Assessing Environmental Impact, gives an overview of the tools

needed to assess environmental impact of engineering projects. The concept of risk is

introduced and coupled with the concept of environmental ethics. The third chapter