Educating Future Environmental Engineers to Advise ... · Intro + ethics 1. Intro 2. Basic ethics...

Educating Future Environmental Engineers to Advise Policymakers on Innovation, Ethics and Sustainable Development

Steffen Foss Hansen, L.P.W. Clausen

2 DTU Environment, Technical University of Denmark

DTU Environment Facts & Figures

• We teach environmental engineers

•  Have taught them for 150 years –  Technical hygiene – Hydrology

•  Environmental chemistry • Water management •  Solid waste •  Soil pollution and remediation


Process of solving (Tame) Problems

Conklin 2006


Living in an Anthropogenic World

•  Anthropogenic world: – Nature dominated by humans –  Integration of human and natural systems – Human capability to manipulate the external

environment has increased –  Physical state of natural system has gone

from local to global

•  Problems are no longer tame

•  Profound complexity

•  Problems are wicked


Dealing with wicked problems in a antropogenic world

• Novel and complex problems

• Formulating solution while gathering data, learning more, refine problem

• Back-n-forth btween problem and solution


Rittel’s solution for wicked problems

• ”Ratinoale dialogue among a set of diverse stakeholders…”

• ”…putting human relationship + social interaction at the center”

• Suggestion very similar to Allenby (2003)

•  ”Just as a systems engineer must include as part of his or her assessment the values of different stakeholders, at a much more profound level, the Earth systems engineer must move beyond personal beliefs to appreciate and, indeed, respect the values of many systems and cultures involved in the complex, evolving system.” (Allenby2003)


Course 12240 Environmental management and ethics

-  2003

-  Master level

-  Approx. 70 students

-  5 ECTS points (60 ECTS/year)

-  Duration: 3 weeks during Jan.

-  Multi-cultural class

Blended learning is implemented by: (Interactive) Lectures, quiz’s, debates, different types of group work and workshops, reading material, literature review, reports.


Course Structure

Intro + ethics 1.  Intro

2. Basic ethics

3. Env ethics

4. Wicked prob

Decision-support tools 5. Stakeholder analysis

6. Technology assessment

7. DPSIR

8. CBA + Impact assessment

Env management & Policy 9. Evironmental regulation and policy part I

10. Precautionary principle

11. Evironmental regulation and policy part II

1 2

3


Overall learning goals

• The students understand the fundamental theory about environmental management and ethics (knowledge, comprehension)

• The students are able to look at an environmental issue from different angles (application, analysis, reflection)

• The students can organise a process where the ethical dimensions are brought into play (synthesis, evaluation)


Mission of group work

•  Group work

•  Explore the environmental, health, social and ethical aspects related to a specific topic

•  Use methods and tools introduced in the course

•  Provide well-founded policy recommendations

•  The choice of topic is up to you


Course Structure


2. Basic ethics

3. Env ethics

4. Wicked prob



7. DPSIR





1 2

3


Basic ethics

• Virtue ethics: Focus on inherent character of a person rather than on specific actions

• Consequntialism: Morality of an action is dependent of the action’s outcome or results

• Deontology: Decisions should be made considering factors of one’s duties and other’s rights

384–322 BCE

1748-1832 CE

1724–1804 CE


Environmental Ethical Theories

• Most ethical theories considers humans (and in some cases animals) as the only ones that have right to moral consideration

•  Environmental ethics emerged as a protest to this anthropocentic worldview

•  According to many environmental ethical theories, nature also has the right to moral consideration


White, Jr. 1967: The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis

• ”What we do about ecology depends on our ideas of the man-nature relationship. More science and more technology are not going to get us out of the present ecologic crisis until we find a new religion, or rethink our old one.”

•  Lynn White, Jr. The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic CrisisScience, New Series, Vol. 155, No. 3767 (Mar. 10, 1967), pp. 1203-1207


Richard Routley (1973): ”Is there a need for a new, an environmental ethic?”,

• “The dominant Western view is simply inconsistent with an environmental ethic; for according to it nature is the dominioin of man and he is free to deal with it as he pleases… it exist only for his sake“

• “A new ethics is needed”


Peter Singer (1974): ”All Animals are Equal”

•  Familiar with libaration movements for Spanish-Americans, gay people, women, etc.

•  Extend the prinicples of equality to all species

•  Impossible to justify that all humans – infants, mental deficients, Hitler, Stalin – have some kind of dignity or worth that no elephant, pig or chaimpanze can never achieve


3 major kinds of Environmental Ethics

• Land ethics – anno 1949 –  Fundamental principles –  It’s origin and rational of the founders – Current status including examples – Relation with technologies

• Deep Ecology – anno 1972 –  Fundamental principles – …

• Ecofeminism – anno 1974


Relation with technologies

Technological development is related

to the environmental degradation.

Two different attitudes against the

use of technology:

– Refuse to use it

– Positive use for the environment

and society


Course Structure


2. Basic ethics

3. Env ethics

4. Wicked prob



7. DPSIR





1 2

3




4. DPSIR analysis

3. Cost/benefit analysis


•  Origin and history of development

•  Stepwise approach

•  Ethical foundation

•  Pros and cons of each tool

•  Practical examples

•  Exercises to get them started on applying the tool to their case study


Course Structure


2. Basic ethics

3. Env ethics

4. Wicked prob



7. DPSIR





1 2

3


Environmental Management & Policy

•  Democratic principles of the Union – Representative democracy, openess, public consulatation, etc.

•  Treaty of Lisbon – Article 3.3 The Union shall establish an internal market. It shall work

for the sustainable development of Europe…

•  Title XX Envionment –  Preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment

and human health –  Prudent utilisation of resources, etc.

•  Key EU institutions


Environmental Principles

• Polluter should pay

• Environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source

• Principles that preventive action should be taken

• Precautionary principle


The decision/making process on the environment…

…the Union shall take account of:

•  available scientific and technical data (Term project Part 2 & 3),

•  environmental conditions in the various regions of the Union (Term project Part 3),

•  the potential benefits and costs of action or lack of action (Term project Part 2 and 3),

•  the economic and social development of the Union as a whole and the balanced development of its regions (Term project Part 3)

•  cooperate with third countries and international organisations


So How Does the Union do this?

•  Command and Control Regulation

•  Economic incentives

•  Voluntary Environmental Programmes •  Information campaigns


Teaching Philosophy

•  Small exercises – Is your problem tame or

wicked?

•  Feedback groups of 3 every day

•  Socrative

•  Group work – Students hand in group

reports – We give them written

feedback

•  Lectures – 20 min. – Question and Discussion


Thank you for your Attention!

?’[email protected]

Educating Future Environmental Engineers to Advise ... · Intro + ethics 1. Intro 2. Basic ethics...

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