Engineers’ role in sustainable economic development

As we all know Engineers play the major role in developing societies. Without the Engineering knowledge we won’t be able to live as much as comfortable. Each and every home appliance to major public appliances were succeeded through the human’s knowledge of Engineering. Now, it’s been a question about the sustainability of resources and economic development. Thus, it made the vital for sustainable engineering aspects in the world.

Economy development

Before we came to know what Economy Development is, we should know what Economy means is. “An entire network of producers, distributors, and consumers of goods and services in a local, regional, or national community” is called an Economy.
Now, we can state that Economic Development as “progress in an economy, or the qualitativemeasure of this. Economic development usually refers to the adoption of new technologies, transition from agriculture-based to an industry-based economy and generalimprovement in living standards”

What are the environmental issues?

As we all know, from the century of mankind begin, for the each pace he took towards scientific advancement, he had conflict with nature. As the result now we face great catastrophes due to unnatural changes in nature.

Environmental degradation and resourceoverexploitation often follows rapid economic growth because development dependsprimarily on natural resources and frequently means underinvestment in pollution controland local environmental institutions. Environmental degradation can in turn result indecreased productivity. The worst effects of this are often borne by poor households, interms of pollution, livelihood sources and vulnerability. Environmental degradation andvulnerability among poor households are exacerbated by climate change and form afeedback cycle leading to increased economic pressures at the national level. The costs ofcompensating for pollution therefore become higher than the estimated costs of preventingpollution in the initial stages of development. Due diligence and ensuring theimplementation of environmental and social assessments in development projects areimportant. But these must be complemented by macro and inter-sectoral approaches. Forinstance, the planning of projects implemented under the traditionally separate povertyalleviation and environmental management sectors must be integrated in order to expandthe potential scope for ‘win-win’ poverty-environment initiatives.

The three main economic causes of environmental problems aremarket failure, policy failure and institutional failure (i.e. inappropriate institutions). Theenvironment is exploited due to market failure because the use of many natural resourcesand environmental services (for example, the assimilation of pollution) has imperfect or nomarkets and are therefore undervalued and overused. Environmental managers andeconomists must therefore determine methods for valuing environmental goods andservices. Regulation, taxation and the creation of standards or tradable permits are ways toreduce market failure. Secondly, policy failure or inappropriate policies can also causenegative impacts on the environment. For example, the promotion of chemicals andfertilizers under a policy aimed at increasing agricultural output. Inter-sectoralcoordination, for instance, between the Ministries of the environment, health and finance,during the development policy process is necessary to avoid similar scenarios. Thirdly,there are inappropriate institutions that overexploit resources or undermine effectivemanagement. Coordinated environment-development policy reform programs are needed toidentify environmental problems and go beyond the proximate to the underlying causes ofthose problems. Environment-Development Interactions (EDI) policy reform matrices canbe used to assist with examining environmental problems, looking for indicators ofoverexploitation and valuation, then finding the underlying market, policy, institutionalcauses.

There is clear evidence for the global trend in rising temperature levels,widespread melting of snow and ice, and the rising of the global mean sea level. Theeffects of these changes on the environment and human and economic development aremajor and strategies to deal with these additional risks are a must. The main strategiescovered consist of mitigation (those steps designed to keep climate change below adangerous level) and adaptation (furthering human and economic development with afuture vision of risks).

Sustainable Economic Development: Through Engineering

Increasing recognition that the overall goals of environmental conservation and economicdevelopment are not conflicting but can be mutually reinforcing has prompted calls for ‘environmentally sustainable’ economic development. Although there are difficulties in defining sustainable development in an analytically rigorous way, there is still a need to evolve a concept of sustainability that both distinguishes it from other post-war meanings of development and is useful for practical analysis and policymaking.

A sustainability revolution is taking placefrom an old economy that is high carbon, high pollution, waste intensive, and ecologically disruptive, to a new economy that is low carbon, low pollution, energy/resource efficient, and ecologically supportive. Businesses, cities, and regions that lead this revolutionwill prosper, because the new economy will outperform the old one. Businesses, cities, and regions thatlag are in danger of being left behind.
Our time is somewhat analogous to 100 years ago when the automobile industry emerged andeverything changed—the way cities and regions grew, the way transportation took place, which industriessucceeded and which failed. In the 1920s, Detroit came to be the world headquarters of the globalautomobile industry and the wealthiest city in the country with the fastest growing population of any cityin the world.This time is also somewhat analogous to the information technology revolution 20 years ago when acomplex of related technologies—the personal computer, the cell phone, and the Internet—emerged andeverything changed again, with Silicon Valley/the San Francisco Bay Area becoming the world’s leadingeconomic region.

Green economic development is a term used to describe the effort to go about the process of developing the economic model for a city or town in a manner that takes into account the environmental needs of that community. In essence, this means creating a development strategy that allows the jurisdiction to prosper financially while also being mindful of environmental issues that affect the ecological balance in that area. The call for more attention to green economic development is found in many communities in which there is concern for minimizing contaminants in the air and the earth that could have dire circumstances for future generations, while also seeking to provide enough of an economic infrastructure to allow the community to enjoy jobs, comfortable housing, and reliable transportation options.

The exact form that green economic development will take varies from one community to the next. One of the more common approaches involves taking steps to reduce pollution. Here, both residents and companies operating within the area will employ different strategies to reduce emissions and protect the environment from harm. For example, residents may choose to purchase automobiles that are more energy efficient while companies will install equipment that helps to eliminate waste of raw materials and the release of contaminants into the air.

When the idea is to create a new community, green economic development often begins in the basic layout of that community. The arrangement of commercial and residential spaces may be planned with precision, allowing commuting between the two to be accomplished using a transit system rather than relying solely on individually owned vehicles. Bicycle lanes may be included along main thoroughfares and other side streets in the area, encouraging the use of bikes as a means of transportation. Communities may be planned in a manner that takes into account the natural flow of the terrain and also allows for the inclusion of parks and other areas in which natural settings are preserved.

With green economic development, the goal is to create a community that offers every amenity while still following an environmentally responsible model for business operations and residential use. Even long-established communities can utilize the concept of this sort of economic development to make changes over time that benefit those living and working in the area, while still reducing the footprint on the local ecology. Over time, these efforts pay off in the form of a sustainable community that is both ecologically and economically sound for not only the current generation but also for the generations to come.

Urban Response:

Cities are on point for this transformation. More than half of humanity nowlives in cities and that half annually produces 85% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, consumesmore than 75% of the Earth’s resources, and generates approximately 75% of the Earth’s waste. Ifcurrent trends continue, 61% of all people will live in urban areas by 2030, and the rural populationwill be smaller than it was in 1995. Fortunately, cities are responding to the economic challengesand opportunities offered by the sustainability revolution.Increasingly, cities are moving from individual initiatives to more comprehensive plans.

  • Energy Efficient Buildings.
  • Clean Renewable Energy Sources.
  • Improved Transportation Options.
  • Reduced Waste and Industrial Pollution.
  • Adaptation (to the Effects of Climate Change)

Engineers role in these areas are seems to be very important because

  1. Engineers recommend the installation of the most efficient lamps and electrical ballasts available in an office or other major building.
  2. They review architectural plans and make changes to the design to improve the heating and cooling properties of new buildings.
  3. Analyze the energy usage in a production line, and recommend changes to boost efficiency and save money

Sustainable Engineering

Sustainableengineering is the science of applying the principles of engineering and design in a manner that fosters positive social and economic development while minimizing environmental impact. This mission is largely accomplished through efforts to redesign and retrofit existing systems based on an analysis of current operations, production quality, and the functional deficiencies that may potentially hinder these processes. Sustainable engineering practices may be applied to a variety of industries, including manufacturing, new and existing construction, energy systems, transportation, waste management, and environmental remediation. In short, any industry in which energy is expended or resources are consumed can benefit from responsible sustainable development.

In terms of existing energy systems, buildings, and industrial processes, civil and environmental engineers specializing in sustainable engineering will typically review and benchmark energy and resource usage over a period of time for the purpose of evaluating function and performance. This also helps to serve as a marker for comparison analysis between similar systems or structures. The engineer may then look for ways to improve function and performance by identifying and prioritizing measures that will promote sustainability and reduce reliance on non-renewable resources. In effect, this equates to increasing overall profitability through realized savings in operational costs. It also usually requires the engineer to suggest necessary modifications to the existing design or construction in order to implement these strategies.

New construction and development are another matter. In fact, it’s generally much easier to reap the benefits of sustainable engineering when designing from the ground up, so to speak. In addition, operational savings are typically sooner recognized simply based on the fact that installing sustainable systems at start-up enhance the performance and life cycle of the equipment or constructional materials involved from day one. Recommendations regarding sustainable design are likely to include consideration of geothermal construction, solar and wind-powered lighting, heating, and cooling systems, waste heat and water recovery systems, and other “green” initiatives.

As much as we seen through above, Engineers plays a major role in maintaining sustainability of economy and nature. Through sustainable Engineering studies we shall make the world sustainable for the generations to come.

Engineers’ role in Sustainable Economic Development.