Environmental and Social Aspects of Domestic Bathing - Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability - page 193

of the impending crisis had been understood or wise counsels had prevailed. Now
we are faced with the prospect of a similar collapse of civilisation (Beddington
2009 ; Chamberlin 2008 ; de la Rue du Can and Price 2008 ), but this time it is differ-
ent from others in the historical period, though possibly not in archaeological or
geological periods. Now the danger is of a global collapse, of culture, of economy
and of biodiversity. We cannot plead ignorance of the signs - see, for example,
World Meteorological Organization ( 2013 ). We have to admit to lack of wisdom
(Maxwell 2007 ). We have lacked the ability - so far - to turn away from the ideol-
ogy of exploitation (Locke 1690 ; and see Macpherson 1962 for a critique) which
has set us on course for 'our headlong collision with nature', an apt phrase used as
a subtitle in Edwards et al. ( 2006 ).
Sustainable Development This collision may be traced to the uncritical pursuit of
economic growth throughout the recent centuries of capitalism, punctuated by fre-
quent crashes. Each such crash comes as a surprise and seems at the time to be ter-
rible, but so far the crashes have been short lived. An analysis of this kind presumably
is maintained, though not expressed openly, by those who favour economic growth.
The belief in continued business-as-usual economic growth, bizarre as it may seem
to those who understand the true ecological situation, dominates popular discourse,
economic discourse and political discourse. This may be observed by critical atten-
tion to the language and selectiveness of the mass media (Media Lens undated ).
Engineering Ethics A principal response from the advocates of growth, when
challenged with the proposition that growth cannot continue indefi nitely, is to call
up the effi ciency argument. Great weight is placed upon the drive for improved
effi ciency of private and public institutions and of technical processes. This is where
engineers and technologists come in. The very words are related to ingenuity and
techne (art, skill), and it is widely supposed that we will be able to solve present
problems by applying technical skills. Through the earlier part of the last century,
the age of leisure was foreseen, with machines and computers doing most of the
heavy and repetitive work. Since the 1950s the paperless offi ce was confi dently
predicted. Since the same period, cheap abundant energy was promised, fi rst through
nuclear fi ssion and, when that was seen to be problematic, nuclear fusion. For
decades now, climate change has been known to be a potential danger and more
recently known to be an actual danger. Solution? Fusion energy or, failing that,
geoengineering; they will come up with something.
Unfortunately, the histories of the age of leisure and of the paperless offi ce do not
bolster faith in the prospects of fusion energy or geoengineering for actually solving
problems. They may come to pass, as did digital representation and storage of data,
as did the use of heavy machinery and clever robots and as did fi ssion energy. Yet we
use paper with extreme profl igacy, in the home as well as the offi ce and especially in
advertising. We use energy profl igately, so that net use increases, despite the
undoubted (and hard-won) gains in thermodynamic and transmission effi ciency pro-
vided by engineers. Information technology, which could have greatly reduced the
physical energy needed for processing and transmitting information, has not fulfi lled