Impact of Engineers and Engineering on People and Nature

In fulfilling their roles in today's sensitive environments, engineers and their works bring about a wide variety of reactions. The resulting consequences on the people who must interact with them, and on nature that must compete with them, are becoming subject to critical social evaluation in the context of awakening concerns for environment, community values, and social consciousness. Engineers and engineering educators should study and measure these impacts, develop an analytical awareness of them, and attempt to develop a methodology for forecasting the impacts of proposed engineering works and products. The planning, designs, and actions of engineers should reflect a philosophy that places the highest of values on the enhancement of the quality of living.