Sustainability and Resilience - OLD

Sustainability and Resilience - OLD

 Classroom Content vs. Real-World

Andrew Kline's profile image
Andrew Kline posted 07-26-2024 09:42 AM

I just graduated in May with my BS in civil engineering. During that time, I also earned a minor in sustainable engineering. I often wondered how applicable some of the theoretical learning would be to the real-world and my career.

One thing we talked about a lot was carbon offsets, but in the world of transportation engineering, what can we do to reduce our impact with carbon emissions? I have also taken some courses talking about materials like pervious concrete that has sustainability benefits, but are these new materials actually breaking into the scene and also having carbon emissions impacts?

William McAnally's profile image
William McAnally posted 08-05-2024 05:29 PM

I've been waiting to see some answers to your questions. Perhaps we don't have enough community members yet.

In the US we are mostly depending on the private sector to do the right thing wrt carbon offsets. The topic has become politicized, with Democrats identified with global warming concerns and Republicans with opposition to taking any action. The Inflation Reduction Act is a huge step forward but addresses carbon reduction indirectly. I don't think it calls for offsets or credits (corrections welcome).

Pervious pavers have been slow to catch on, probably because of cost; however, with nearly everyone looking at increased flooding risk, we may see them used more often.  

Bill Mc

William Wallace's profile image
William Wallace posted 08-31-2024 12:38 PM

According to EPA, transportation is the largest contributor to GHG emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels for mobility.  Reducing these GHG emissions requires systemic change: replacing gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles (batteries charged using renewable energy sources, green hydrogen powered vehicles), cutting down on VMT or vehicle miles traveled (remote work, local materials sourcing with low embodied carbon, 15-minute cities), and probably more stuff I forgot. My concern is that this degree of required change is NOT working its way into the places where system-level change decisions are being made, where change-instigating projects are being formulated and executed, and where carbon emissions reduction technologies and methodologies are being taught and applied.  Hopefully the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and its $1.5 trillion for investment in carbon mitigation and climate change adaptation will get things started.  Unfortunately, a 2022 survey of architectural and engineering (A&E) professionals noted that clients are not asking for climate-informed designs and A&E firms don't have the expertise to provide them.  As far as climate politicization is concerned, here's my opinion published by Engineering News-Record as a Viewpoint.