Agriculture Reference
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contained and treated. The hazardous waste production had to be constrained by
selecting certain manufacturing types, increasing waste-handling facilities, and if
these did not entirely do the job, limiting rates of production. Green engineer-
ing emphasizes the fact that these processes are often inefficient economically
and environmentally, calling for a comprehensive, systematic life-cycle approach.
Green engineering attempts to achieve four goals:
1. Waste reduction
2. Materials management
3. Pollution prevention
4. Product enhancement
WHAT'S NEXT?
Green design requires sorting through what is hype and what is truly a techno-
logical breakthrough. This can be likened to a physician who is inundated daily
with literature from the pharmaceutical industry on all the new drugs that will
allow her to be a more effective doctor, the seemingly endless series of visits from
pharmaceutical reps, and the sharing of success stories with colleagues in person
or virtually on Web sites. How does one separate the wheat from the chaff? The
green designer is confronted with similar ill-posed problems. What is the best
software for hazardous waste design? How different, really, is the new genetically
altered species from those grown from native soils? What is the value added of
an early warning system for a drinking water plant? What are the added risks of
intervention versus letting nature take its course (i.e., “natural attenuation”)?
The Future Engineer (FE), Professional Engineer (PE), and American Institute
of Architects (AIA) certification processes will become even more important. The
time while the emerging engineer is learning the ins and outs of the profession
from seasoned professionals will increase in importance. And perhaps even more
important, the new engineer will need a whole host of mentors beyond the PE
and AIA. We have talked about the interdisciplinary nature of green design. Thus,
each discipline and perspective calls for a mentor. The actual amount of tutelage
will vary considerably. If a designer seeks to design and oversee wetland restoration
projects, hands-on experience with wetland ecologists is vital. If the designer is
more concerned about hazardous waste remediation, some time in the laboratory
of an environmental analytical chemist would be worthwhile. In both cases,
after the initial experience, career-long relationships with these mentors should
be maintained. The green designer has tools that were not available to earlier
generations of designers. E-mail and file sharing allow for ongoing relationships
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