The role of the professional engineer and scientist in sustainable development

The term, Honest Broker, is used to describe an expert engaged in a new type of decision making. Mitchell, Carew and Clift describe an Honest Broker as one who offers a range of technical options to the stakeholder, allowing other specialist to engage in a decision making process that will address eco-centric, techno-centric, and socio-centric concerns. This allows for consultation between professionals and stakeholders.  This differs greatly from the traditional technology advocate as the goal is no longer for the expert to make all the decisions and inform stakeholders on the process. Instead, the Honest Broker offers a technological opinion on a wide variety of technical options. The Honest Broker does not take make a decision as opposed to the technology advocate that makes a decision based on techno-centric concerns. 

Sustainable Abundance or Ecological Crisis?

In “Sustainable Abundance, or Ecological Crisis” (Technology Matters, 2006) by Nye, he explains the positive and negative impacts society had on society in terms of “technological optimism” and “technological pessimism”.

“Technological optimism” is described as technology’s positive impact on shaping society and bringing higher levels of comfort to humans. Four main stages were described in the article: “hunting and gathering, agriculture, industrial steam-power, and the atomic age”. The invention of the steam engine caused mass industrialization, leading to mechanisation of several jobs, namely farming. This further catalyzed the development of new technologies as fewer people were required to live farming lifestyles and more people were encouraged to work in cities. People were encouraged with the promise of fewer work days and earlier retirement. The current population is much greater than before and the living standards have also greatly increased due to technology.

“Technological pessimism” describes the negative side effects that technology has brought, namely damage to the environment and a possession-based lifestyle. Due to the development of technology, forests have been deforested, oceans have been polluted, soil has been eroded, and air has been intoxicated through fossil fuels. Climate change is upon us and the society’s mindset has become based on acquiring new possessions. A study conducted  has shown that people in the 1990s were no more happy than they had been in 1957 although they had more possessions and a more advanced lifestyle; work hours were greater in 1990s and the hours with friends had decreased leading largely due to a materialistic lifestyle.

I myself am a “technological optimist”. New technology has shaped society into what it is today and compared to previous generations, I believe the benefits on society outweigh the losses. Technological fixes can be used to solve several environment issues, but imminently cause other problems to arise. This is an endless cycle that is inevitable. There is no way to take technology away from society as it is already deeply ingrained in our lives; the only option is to continue development of fixes and attempt to slow down destruction to the environment around us through sustainable practices.