ASCE Tackling Climate Change... sort of

ASCE continually states how the civil engineering profession must be a leader in sustainability. Recently, ASCE has come out ready to battle the causes and effects of climate change. It's a good idea, because engineers will need to be involved.

So, to establish itself as a leader in sustainability, ASCE has achieved the following:

1. included non-binding, wishy-washy language requiring sustainability in their code of ethics (posted entry about this here)
   
2. started a committee to create a green design certification program (my take here)
   
3. put out a press release of an agreement with CSCE and ICE (pdf of agreement) committing... actually I can't quite understand what they are doing. It says something about "assisting all governments through the development of a low-carbon infrastructure road map setting out key steps up to 2050."
   

I guess we civil engineers will get around to that leading in the sustainability issue pretty soon. The agreement includes terms like "develop" "evaluate" "consider". I have a hard time believing that we still have questions. It has been 12 years since the Kyoto Protocol was abandoned by the US, it has been over 2 years since the IPCC report concluded that anthropogenic climate change was indeed occurring and likely to cause bad things to happen, and the draft Waxman-Markey bill has been out since March of this year.

My point here is that civil engineers are being awfully passive in their attempts to lead sustainability. Somehow ASCE and civil engineers think we need to develop new ideas. The press release even proposes committing resources to carbon sequestration, but only when cost-effective. Guess what, it ain't cost-effective (BBC article).

If ASCE wants to be a leader on sustainability they can catch up to the scientists and experts that are leading the way. They should announce unequivocal support for the UN's Copenhagen meeting and the ultimate goal of serious carbon emission reduction. Civil Engineers should support the highest levels of emission reduction, no political or economic excuses should prevent us from arguing for what is right.

In the meantime the USGBC has started up a tremendously successful green building ratings program and independent architects have achieved deep committments with Architecture 2030 and greening of the campus initiatives. That is leadership. It is effective and it is inspiring.

On the other hand, ASCE's press release does mention addressing transportation issues. Great start, but if you look at the cover for their new publication Guiding Principles for the Nation's Critical Infrastructure you will see the main focus is !Highway Construction! Sustainability is essentially equated with resiliency in the document, which I guess means you build the infrastructure even bigger and stronger. It makes me wonder if the organization really understands what sustainability is.



In the latest ASCE president's blog, it almost seems as if ASCE doesn't want a cap on emissions. It at least wasn't clear to the commenters, all of whom have agreed (or claimed to agree) with the entry and have been convinced to write their politicians asking them to strike it down based on no evidence of climate change. It's a shame, because we've already found ourselves in a deep hole and we haven't even realized that we're the ones with the shovel.

My youth and contrarian tendencies sometimes causes me frustration, but I know ASCE is moving in the right direction. Quoting a recent seminar by Jeff Speck "you can always trust Americans to make the right decisions once they have exhausted all the other possibilities"

Also in the news:

• EPA to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2)
  
• current CO2 limits will kill coral
• Engineering feat may not save Venice
• Doctors warn on health crisis from climate change
• Land-use reform and pay to drive strategies key to reducing transportation emissions