SUSTAINABLE

ENGINEERING
ME 4305
Related Terms
• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Engineering
• Sustainable Design
• Sustainability
• Sustainability Science
SUSTAINABILITY
What is it?
Why is it?
Sustainability (U.S. EPA)
• Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything
that we need for our survival and well-being depends,
either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.
Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under
which humans and nature can exist in productive
harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and
other requirements of present and future generations.
• Sustainability is important to making sure that we have
and will continue to have, the water, materials, and
resources to protect human health and our environment.
http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm#sustainability
Sustainable Development (Brundtland)
• Sustainable development is development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. It contains
two key concepts: (1) the concept of “needs”, in particular
the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which
overriding priority should be given; (2) the idea of
limitations imposed by the state of technology and social
organizations on the environment’s ability to meet present
and future needs
"Brundtland Report”: Our common future. By World commission on environment and development.
London, Oxford University Press, 1987

• Inter- and Intra-generational equity

Sustainable Engineering
• Sustainability [in terms of engineering] is the design of
human and industrial systems to ensure humankind’s use
of natural resources and cycles does not lead to
diminished quality of life due either to losses in future
economic opportunities or to adverse impacts on social
conditions, human health, and the environment.

• Mihelcic, J., Crittenden, J., Small, M., Shonnard, D., Hokanson, D., Zhang, Q., Chen, H., Sorby, S., James, V.,
Sutherland, J., Schnoor, J. (2003). Sustainability science and engineering: emergence of a new metadiscipline.
Environmental Science & Technology, 37(23), 5314-5324.
THE “THREE PILLARS”
OF SUSTAINABILITY
 Environmental
Social Sphere Sphere
(what’s good for people) (what’s good for the
natural world)

Techno-
economic
Sphere
(what’s good for
business)
 Environmental
Sphere
Social Sphere (what’s good for the
(what’s good for people) natural world)

b le
a
quit
e
Techno-
economic
Sphere
(what’s good for
business)
 bearable
Environmental
Social Sphere Sphere
(what’s good for people)
(what’s good for the
natural world)

Techno-
economic
Sphere
(what’s good for
business)
 Social Sphere Environmental
(what’s good for people)
Sphere
(what’s good for the
natural world)

via
ble
Techno-
economic
Sphere
(what’s good for
business)
 Sustainable

Environmental

bearable
Social Sphere
(what’s good for people) Sphere
(what’s good for the
natural world)

le
it ab via
u
eq ble

Techno-
economic
Sphere
(what’s good for
business)
Deceptive Venn Diagram

Overlapping Interests Nested Hierarchy

The diagram on the left, while useful, falsely implies that the three
pillars can exist independently. Rather, they are subsets.
 Who’s invested most heavily in each pillar?
People and
organizations
concerned with world
poverty, health, social
justice, etc.

People and organizations

concerned with world People and organizations
environmental protection, concerned with world
resource conservation, scientific economic growth, trade,
research, etc. employment, etc.
 15

Interaction of the three pillars

Industry
(economic capital) Goods

Society
Labor (human capital)

Environmental
products and Recycle/reuse
Waste &
services
t emissions
im pac
me ntal
iron
Env

Environmental
amenities
Environment
(natural capital)
Adapted from Engineering Applications in Sustainable Design and Development, Striebig/Ogundipe/Papadakis
Also known as the “Triple Bottom Line”, or “People, Planet, Profit”
Sustainable Engineering Knowledge
• Technological
• Environmental
• Social
• Economic
Some issues
• Population
• Water
• Soil
• Forests
• Biodiversity
• Pollution & waste production
• Mineral extraction
• Fossil fuel resources
• Renewable energy
• Climate change
• Healthcare
• Food production
• Economic development
Facts of Nature
• Matter
• The earth is a closed system matter-wise (approximately)
• Energy
• The earth is an open system energy-wise, (primarily) driven by the
sun
• Life
• Life exists in the biosphere – a thin, fragile layer on and around the
earth surface
• Key life process
• Photosynthesis underwrites existence (mostly)
• Systems
• Life depends on complex, interconnected, self-regulating
processes that circulate energy and materials in cycles
Historical/Conventional Thinking
• TAKE – MAKE – WASTE
• Take natural resource from the earth
• Make useful products from them or use as fuel
• Dump or emit the waste byproducts, along with the products
themselves when they’ve outlived their usefulness
• Based on the “empty world” assumption
• The assumption was workable for much of human history
• Population was low
• Consumption low
• Resources abundant and mostly renewable
• Natural recycling processes capable of handling waste
• Human activities could reasonably be thought of as independent of
one another, as regards earth’s environment
Example – fishing (then and now)
When fish were abundant and
fishing was simple, what was the
limiting factor for how much
economic benefit could be gained
from fishing?

The people and tools

available to catch them

To strengthen the
fishing economy,
what should
society invest in?

Fishers and fishing technology

Example – fishing (then and now)
When fish are not abundant and
fishing technology is highly
advanced, what is the limiting factor
for how much economic benefit can
be gained from fishing?

The amount of fish available

to be caught

To strengthen the
fishing economy,
what should
society invest in? Renewal, conservation, and
management of (i.e., sustaining)
the fish ecosystem
Grand Banks Cod Fishery
Grand Banks Cod Fishery

Annual Catch (Metric Tons)

Grand Banks Annual Catch (Metric Tons). Source: Annual Catch of Cod from 1850 to 2011,
Myers et al., 1995; Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization
Modern Challenges to Conventional Thinking
Modern Challenges to Conventional Thinking
Modern Challenges to Conventional Thinking
Modern Challenges to Conventional Thinking
Modern Challenges to Conventional Thinking
Modern Challenges to Conventional Thinking
• Empty world assumptions may no longer be viable
• Population now large and growing exponentially
• Resource consumption large and growing
• Resource reserves dwindling and in some case non-renewable
• Natural recycling (waste absorption) processes incapable of
handling waste production on relevant timescales
Full World Assumptions
• Need to transition to behavior based on a “full world”
assumption
• Population growth cannot continue indefinitely
• Resources must be strategically managed to avoid depletion
and/or alternatives must be developed
• Waste must be minimized and/or artificially processed to avoid
environmental accumulation/damage
• Human activities must be analyzed in the context of being part of a
complex, interconnected system.
Challenges for sustainability
• Time Scales
• Human default is for short term thinking
• Nature operates on long time frames
• Scope of thinking
• Human default is for reductive, modular thinking (treat different parts of
the environment in isolation)
• Ecological complexity, with intricate relationships, requires systemic
thinking
• Competing values
• Humans disagree about what values have priority
• Economic, aesthetic, cultural, etc..
• Value visibility
• Humans most readily respond to economic value
• Many parts of nature don’t have direct economic value, but may
nonetheless play vital, if unobserved, roles in the overall ecosystem
“Laws” of ecology
• Everything is connected to everything else
• The environment is a complex system – every change affects
the overall balance, every part has a role to play
• Everything must go somewhere
• There is no “away” in “throw away”
• Nature knows best
• Trying to overcome, circumvent, or control nature is
wrongheaded. Work with nature, not against it
• There is no free lunch
• Everything comes from somewhere. Everything we gain from
the environment comes with some type of environmental cost
Case study in:
• Long vs. short term thinking
• Holistic vs. modular thinking
• Ecological complexity
• Everything is connected to everything

TREES, SALMON, &

HYDROPOWER
Three important commodities from the Pacific Northwest
Columbia River Watershed
 Columbia River Watershed

Snake River in the Grand Tetons

 Columbia River Watershed

McDonald Creek,
Tributary to
Flathead River
Columbia River Watershed

Stanley Creek,
Tributary to
Kootenay River
Columbia River Watershed

Wapta Falls, Kicking Horse River,

one of the headwaters of the Columbia River
Columbia River Watershed

On the Columbia River just above Bonneville Dam

 Columbia River Watershed
Astoria-Megler Bridge over Columbia River near Pacific Ocean
Columbia River Watershed
Resource extraction…
• Trees harvested in the Columbia watershed
• Salmon caught in the Columbia River and
its tributaries
• Hydropower dams built on the Columbia
River and its tributaries

Three independent, and seemingly

unrelated, economic activities to extract
commodities from nature
 But are they independent?
How do these activities impact each other?
Blocks rivers and
eliminates/reduces salmon
migration; salmon fry
preyed upon in reservoirs Dams

Salmon
Fishing
Logging
Columbia River Watershed
Columbia River Watershed
 But are they independent?
How do these activities impact each other?
Blocks rivers and
eliminates/reduces salmon
migration; salmon fry
preyed upon in reservoirs Dams
Accommodating salmon
migration increases dam
construction costs and
operating costs

Salmon
Fishing
Logging
Fish ladder – Bonneville Dam
 How do these activities impact each other?
Blocks rivers and
eliminates/reduces salmon
migration; salmon fry
preyed upon in reservoirs Dams
Accommodating salmon
migration increases costs
for dam construction and
operation
Salmon
Fishing
Floods forest land
upstream; degrades forest
land downstream due to
reduced flow and lack of
seasonal flooding
Increased erosion causes
siltation of reservoirs and
decreased dam lifetime
and effectiveness
Logging
San Clemente Dam (CA) Removal - 2015

”The San Clemente Dam reservoir [was] over 95% full of sediment”
 How do these activities impact each other?

Blocks rivers and

eliminates/reduces salmon
migration; salmon fry
preyed upon in reservoirs Dams
Accommodating salmon
migration increases costs
for dam construction and
operation
Salmon
Fishing
Floods forest land
upstream; degrades forest
land downstream due to
reduced flow and lack of
seasonal flooding
Increased erosion causes
siltation of reservoirs and
decreased dam lifetime
and effectiveness
Logging

Erosion clouds water, silts salmon

spawning beds; Deforestation
reduces shade and decreases
underwater structure
Mud washing into stream from
logging road in Canadian Rockies
 How do these activities impact each other?

Blocks rivers and

eliminates/reduces salmon Floods forest land
migration; salmon fry upstream; degrades forest
preyed upon in reservoirs Dams land downstream due to
reduced flow and lack of
Accommodating salmon seasonal flooding
migration increases costs
for dam construction and Increased erosion causes
operation siltation of reservoirs and
decreased dam lifetime
Salmon and effectiveness
Fishing
Salmon spawn and die in the upper reaches of
Logging
the watershed, depositing nutrients delivered
from the ocean. In salmon-active zones, over Erosion clouds water, silts salmon
70% of the nitrogen in the foliage of riparian spawning beds; Deforestation
trees comes from salmon, and trees grow 3 reduces shade and decreases
times faster than in areas without salmon underwater structure
Animals at all trophic levels move salmon
nutrients into the forest
IPAT (Master) Equation
•  Conceptual “equation” to help understand how human
activity affects the environment
• I=PxAxT
• I = impact
• P = population
• A = affluence
• T = technology
Human Development Index - HDI
   1
1
3
𝐻𝐷𝐼
𝐻𝐷𝐼 =(𝐼 × 𝐼 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛×
h𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡h × 𝐼 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
=(𝐼 h𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡h × 𝐼𝐼 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 )
𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 )
3

  𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 −20 𝑦𝑟𝑠

𝐼 h𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡h=
𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚(85 𝑦𝑟𝑠 )−20 𝑦𝑟𝑠

  𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐h𝑜𝑜𝑙

𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐h𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥=
𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (18 𝑦𝑟𝑠)
  𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐h𝑜𝑜𝑙
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐h𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥=
𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛(15 𝑦𝑟𝑠 )

  ln (𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎)− ln ($ 100)

𝐼 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 =
ln (𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 ( $ 75 𝑘 ) )− ln ( $ 100)
P rim a ry E n e rg y C o n s u m p tio n p e r C a p it

HDI and Energy Consumption by country (2011 data)

Preferred minimum HDI
M illio n B tu p e r p e rs o n

900

800

700

600 USA
500
Max Sustainable AVG Energy consumption
400

300

200

100

0
0 50 100 150 200 250

Human Development Index

Environmental economics
• “The goal is to balance the economic activity and
the environmental impacts by taking into account
all the costs and benefits. The theories are
designed to take into account pollution and natural
resource depletion, which the current model of
market systems fails to do.”

A Brief Introduction to Environmental Economics, Marlies Wierenga, ELAW – August 2003

Natural capital
• “Natural Capital can be defined as the world’s stocks
of natural assets which include geology, soil, air,
water and all living things.”
• “It is from this Natural Capital that humans derive a wide
range of services, often called ecosystem services, which
make human life possible.” http://www.naturalcapitalforum.com/what-is-natural-capital
Natural capital
• Natural resources
• Resources provided by nature that are divisible, capable of being
discretized, monetized, and traded.
• Environmental resources
• Resources provided by nature that are indivisible, difficult to
monetize or trade
Ecosystem Services
• Provisioning Services
• Food, water, lumber, fiber, fuel,…
• Regulating Services
• Water purification, pollination, waste decomposition, carbon
sequestration, pest control
• Cultural Services
• Recreation, spirituality, education
• Supporting Services
• Photosynthesis, water cycle, soil formation, nutrient cycle, genetic
diversity, habitat formation

2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

ARE THERE LIMITS TO
GROWTH?
Thomas Malthus - 1798
• An Essay on the Principle of Population -1798
• "The power of population is so superior to the power of
the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature
death must in some shape or other visit the human race.”
• Reaction to (utopian?) optimism of post U.S. and French
Revolution, industrial revolution era
• Did not anticipate technological advancements in food
production, birth control
Garret Hardin - 1968
• The Tragedy of the Commons, Science, 1968
• A process by which common pool resources—or, common
goods—are depleted by the collective, uncoordinated
actions of individuals, all of whom believe themselves to
be acting rationally in their own best interest, but who
ultimately act to the detriment of all
• Hardin’s historical example
• Boston Commons – cattle grazing
Possible Solutions?
• Privatization
• Can work for resources that are easily discretized and localized
• Ignores complex relationships
• Central government regulation
• Can work for resources easily monitored and controlled.
• Some resources transcend boundaries, difficult to control
• Middle ground: local, regional cooperative agreements
• Modern Cattle Grazing
• Private land
• Permits for federal public land
• Texas: Open Range State, but voters in each county can enact local
ordinances about fencing.
• Unauthorized grazing on public lands
 Tragedy of the commons:
Other examples
• Ocean fisheries
• Ground water resources
• California Central Valley
• US Forest resources
• 1850-1910: “an average of 13
square miles of forest was cleared
every day for 50 years”
• US Forest Service - 1905
• Clean air
Public Lands
Public Wilderness Areas
The Club of Rome - 1972
• The Limits to Growth (LtG) report - 1972
• The Club of Rome – think tank
• Study conducted by MIT researchers
• Computer simulations of the interaction between societal
growth and limited resources
• world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and
resource depletion
• Scenarios: Business as usual, various combinations of
technological improvements and social/political actions
LtG: Unstable Solution - Business as usual

http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/a-synopsis-limits-to-growth-the-30-year-update/
LtG: Stable Solution: technical and social actions

http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/a-synopsis-limits-to-growth-the-30-year-update/
A causal loop
diagram from
the LtG report
Behavior of Complex Systems
Overshoot & Collapse: Reindeer

http://www.geo.arizona.
edu/Antevs/nats104/00l
ect21reindeer.html
Overshoot & Collapse - Cyclic

http://www.ualberta.ca/~gyates/projectlynx/lynxecology.html