ASEE North Midwest Conference: Sustainable Engineering

1. ASEE NorthMidwest Conference: Sustainable Engineering James R. Mihelcic Civil & Environmental Engineering John W. Sutherland Mechanical Engr. – Engr. Mechanics Sustainable Futures Institute Michigan Technological University September 21, 2007

2. Why Sustainability? “The concept of sustainable development would be impossible without the full input of engineers” Maurice Strong, Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992

3. Outline • What grand challenges lie ahead? • What is happening in response to these challenges? • Industry • Michigan Tech • What are the challenges to engineering education?

4. Some Grand Challenges • Developing World • Water • Energy & Climate Change • Air • Built environment • Materials & Solid Waste

5. Urban and rural populations of the world: 1950-2030

6. Population: Not the Whole Story • Economic Growth (GDP/Capita) • U.S. – $30k (now) – may be ~$100k by 2050 • India & China – may be $50k by 2050

7. Resources and GDP Resource use, waste, and energy consumption all proportional to GDP

8. Can We Continue with BAU? • In 50 years • 2x Population • 5-10x economicgrowth • 10-20x EarthDemand/Impact • 20th Century – 2.5times more energy efficient • Business as Usual won't meet increased demand!!

9. A Familiar Region Population Distribution & Growth (from The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book, 1995)

10. Current human activity within the GLBE requires the resources of 8 times the air, land and water than currently exist, or 4,643,449 km2 to be sustainable Ecological Footprint Area within the Great Lakes Watershed 580,430 km2

11. Water Stress Most increased water stress – due to increasing water withdrawals (from Alcamo et al, 2007)

12. Invest NOW!!

13. EnergySome consider it the greatest engineering challenge of this century Note the date

14. Since 1979, more than 20% of the polar Ice Cap has melted away Energy Generation – CO2 Emissions

15. Air Quality Concerns Estimated that more deaths result from air pollution related to vehicle emissions than from traffic accidents Cifuentes et al. (2001) – Science

16. Built Environment Growth in built environment in the Baltimore-Washington DC Metro Area during the last century (from USEPA, 2001). Built Environment covers 2-3% of the North American land area!!

17. Materials Use and Solid Waste** Mid-size Automobile ** Solid Waste = 4200 kg Usage Materials/Manufacture 25% 67% End - of - Life “ Waste is a resource 8% out of place. ” Source: USAMP Study (1998) of a Generic Vehicle ~ 1500kg

18. Responding to these Challenges Adapted from GM, Jerry Rogers

19. Companies now see a way to innovate and/or appear more socially responsible by going green.

20. “In the jargon of the business world, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. All economic activity is dependent on the environment. . . . If the environment is finally forced to file under Chapter 11 because its resource base has been polluted, degraded, dissipated and irretrievably compromised, then the economy goes bankrupt with it because the economy is just a subset within the ecological system” -Former Senator Gaylord Nelson, 1996

21. More Thoughts (DuPont)

22. The world needs us! Engineers can help end global poverty, by providing safe water, sanitation, indoor air, health, clean energy, etc

23. In the 1990s, the number of U.S. cars increased six times faster than did the population from 1969-95 (Alvord, 2000). European Environment Agency (EEA): "more efficient engines may not be enough to offset shifts towards larger cars, increases in car/air travel, and increases in distance driven per person (Burke, 2000). Beyond Green Engineering

24. Pollution ----------- Widget # of Widgets Total Pollution X = Increased Consumption Engineering Less Pollution ----------- Widget Increased Pollution Many more Widgets = X Engineering & Consumption As engineers what can we be doingto change consumption patterns???

25. Sustainable Futures Institute • One response to the Sustainability Challenge at Michigan Tech • Established in 2003 • Triple bottom line: industrial/economic, environmental, and societal sustainability • Thrusts: Research, Education, & Outreach MISSION: Create and disseminate new principles, methods, and tools that support/promote sustainable development

26. Sustainability "Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amends if you do. " - Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce or is it Sustainable Development? (from Julie Zimmerman, Yale University) "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." -Aldo Leopold, A Land Ethic, from Sand County Almanac Sometimes all the definitions are confusing – at heart, need to internalize "sustainability" in a way that makes sense to you. A transition to sustainability involves moving from linear to cyclical processes and technologies. The only processes we can rely on indefinitely are cyclical; all linear processes must eventually come to an end." -Dr. Karl Henrik-Robert, MD, founder of The Natural Step, Sweden Sustainability is equity over time.": "As a value, it refers to giving equal weight in your decisions to the future as well as the present. You might think of it as extending the Golden Rule through time, so that you do unto future generations as you would have them do unto you." " -Robert Gilman, Director, Context Institute "A sustainable society is one which satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of future generations." Lester R. Brown, Founder and President, Worldwatch Institute "Clean air, clean water, safety in city parks, low-income housing, education, child care, welfare, medical care, unemployment (insurance), transportation, recreation/cultural centers, open space, wetlands..." -Hazel Wolf, Seattle Audubon Society

27. “Design of human and industrial systems to ensure that humankind’s use of natural resources and cycles do not lead to diminished quality of life due either to losses in future economic opportunities or to adverse impacts on social conditions, human health, and the environment” Our Definition of Sustainability(from Mihelcic et al., 2003)

28. University Entities Partnering for Sustainability Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society Campus Sustainability Initiative Sustainable Futures Institute Remote Sensing Institute Center for Environmentally Benign Functional Materials Michigan Tech Research Institute Advanced Power Systems Research Center Center for Science & Environmental Outreach D80 Center Biotechnology Research Center Power and Energy Research Center Wood-to-Wheels Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center Ecosystem Science Center

29. 3 Pillars of Sustainability Environmental Sustainability Fate & transport mechanisms Impact modeling Risk assessment Natural resources Human & ecosystem health Economic/Industrial Sustainability Productivity Cost Profit & employment Manufacturing Design Sustainable Futures Model Societal Sustainability Informed citizenry Equity Stakeholder participation Land use planning Social justice Knowledge diffusion

30. Challenges for Engineering Education Does Sustainability have a role to play in addressing such challenges as: • Popularity of engineering among young people? • Diversity? • Globalization? • Innovation?

31. Engineering Losing Favor? "Scientists & engineers make up less than five percent of U.S. population, but create up to 50% of gross domestic product" – Reader’s Digest, December 2005 Source: National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators 2002

32. Top 10 Causes on Minds of Young People(Cone Inc., AMP Insights, 2006)

33. Graduate Certificate in Sustainability • Requires 15 credits • Multidisciplinary, recognizes curricular breadth in: • policy, societal, economic systems, • environmental systems, and • industrial systems • Created several focused courses on sustainability that are taught by engineering and social science faculty

34. "We need to understand why in a society so dependent on technology, a society that benefits so richly from the results of engineering, a society that rewards engineers so well, engineering isn’t perceived as a desirable profession. . . . Our profession is diminished and impoverished by a lack of diversity." William A. Wulf Former President of the National Academy of Engineering Increasing Diversity

35. Increasing Diversity through University Initiatives in Sustainability

36. Michigan Tech Partnership with Southern Univ. and A&M College • Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs • College of Engineering, Center for Energy & Env. • Location (Baton Rouge, LA), on lower Mississippi River and near Gulf of Mexico, has unique regional sustainability issues.

37. Globalization • "90% of world’s scientists & engineers will be living in Asia by 2010" – Richard E. Smalley, Rice University • "We go where the smart people are." – Howard High, Intel

38. Four Master’s International programs allow graduate students to serve 2+ years in the U.S. Peace Corps as part of their M.S. degree. The D80 Center houses humanitarian engineering activities that serve 100’s of engineering students from first year to PhD. Sustainable Development in a Global Context How do we globalize our workforce and get students interested in the world?

39. Undergraduate Certificate in International Sustainable Development Engineering

40. Innovation • NAE: Engineering 2020 • "If the United States is to maintain its economic leadership and be able to sustain its share of high technology jobs… it is agreed that innovation is a key…" • “Academic institutions should develop curricula specifically designed to teach innovation skills and support major changes in innovation learning.” – Council on Competitiveness

41. "Clean-tech plays to America’s strength because making things like locomotives lighter and smarter takes a lot of knowledge — not cheap labor. That’s why embedding clean-tech into everything we design and manufacture is a way to revive America as a manufacturing power." Thomas L. Friedman, The Power of Green, April 15, 2007 The Power of Green

42. re-define the problem potential realized benefits re-engineer the system optimize the existing solution (incrementalism) investments (i.e., time, money, resources,energy) Increasing potential benefits with increasing degrees of design freedom for a given investment(to appear in Mihelcic & Zimmerman, 2008).

43. While the situation is dire, we need to understand that the sustainable revolution is just in its infancy.

44. Sustainable Revolution Renewable energy Carrying capacity Social justice Biodiversity Industrial Revolution Consumption Smog Environmental justice Hazardous waste Cancer Agricultural Revolution Land ownership Wealth Cities

45. For reasons of diversity, fairness, innovation, competitiveness, and respect of future generations, the power of green needs to be part of the DNA of engineering education The Power of Green & Universities

46. Conclusions • Sustainability requires a meta-disciplinary approach that integrates economics, social sciences, engineering, environmental assessment, industrial ecology, a global perspective, innovation, etc. • Sustainable solutions include: • translating and understanding societal needs into engineering solutions such as infrastructure, products, practices, and processes • explaining to society the long term consequences of these solutions • ensuring no individual or group is left behind

47. Thank Youfor Your Attention!!Questions?? Sustainable Futures Institute www.sfi.mtu.edu