Engineers as environmental leaders and decision makers

To date, engineers have had little visibility as environmental leaders. Political bodies in my country are dominated by lawyers, with very few individuals possessing a technical or engineering background. Engineers are rarely seen in political circles. The reasons may include the following: Most engineers have technical training that is narrow and highly specialized. Many engineers may be too theoretical to deal easily with social, political or economic problems. Engineers may be politically naive. Engineers are often poor communicators. Many dislike interacting with the public. Engineers have two choices to make in the future. They can remain as technical advisors to government agencies and clients or emerge as environmental leaders and decision makers. It is too late for most of us to make the choice as individuals. However, I think it would be possible to make a difference within one or two generations. The profession could evolve to provide political leadership. Perhaps one-fourth of engineers of the future should be recruited to become superb environmental generalists. This might be done by widely publicizing the real contributions that engineers make in analyzing and solving environmental problems. Children should be recruited to become environmental/political/engineering leaders as early as age 12. Scholarships could be offered to gifted children, providing a broad education which combines the technical skills of engineering with a wide range of environmental disciplines. These studies would be integrated with a background in economics, law, history, and literature, as well as the political sciences. Special leadership training would be mandatory, especially in developing communication skills. A variety of early assignments could give the students practical exposure. One possibility would be to create the equivalent of an “Environmental Engineering Youth Corps” that would provide hands-on experience under the guidance of mentors, assisting government agencies in the design and construction of projects in developing nations. Through collaboration with consulting engineers, industry and government agencies, the “integrated environmental engineers” might be prepared to enter industrial and governmental leadership roles by the time they are in their mid-20s. With time, the new environmental engineers might even displace attorneys for leadership in political processes.
source: The individual engineer challenge in Sustainability See also XlnkS429

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