Sustainable engineering
Sustainable engineering is the process of designing or operating systems such that they use energy and resources sustainably, in other words, at a rate that does not compromise the natural environment, or the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable Engineering focuses on the following - Water supply Food production Housing and shelter Sanitation and waste management Energy development Transportation Industrial processing Development of natural resources Cleaning up polluted waste sites Planning projects to reduce environmental and social impacts Restoring natural environments such as forests, lakes, streams, and wetlands Providing medical care to those in need Minimizing and responsibly disposing of waste to benefit all Improving industrial processes to eliminate waste and reduce consumption Recommending the appropriate and innovative use of technology Every engineering discipline is engaged in sustainable design, employing numerous initiatives, especially life cycle analysis (LCA), pollution prevention, Design for the Environment (DfE), Design for Disassembly (DfD), and Design for Recycling (DfR). These are replacing or at least changing pollution control paradigms. For example, concept of a "cap and trade" has been tested and works well for some pollutants. This is a system where companies are allowed to place a "bubble" over a whole manufacturing complex or trade pollution credits with other companies in their industry instead of a "stack-by-stack" and "pipe-by-pipe" approach, i.e. the so-called "command and control" approach. Such policy and regulatory innovations call for some improved technology based approaches as well as better quality-based approaches, such as leveling out the pollutant loadings and using less expensive technologies to remove the first large bulk of pollutants, followed by higher operation and maintenance (O&M) technologies for the more difficult to treat stacks and pipes. But, the net effect can be a greater reduction of pollutant emissions and effluents than treating each stack or pipe as an independent entity.
