engineering and public policy for the 21st century - oeccp essay

8/9/2019 Engineering and Public Policy for the 21st Century - OECCP Essay

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/engineering-and-public-policy-for-the-21st-century-oeccp-essay 1/18

EDWARD NG | UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO | 2009

Engineering and Public

Policy for the 21st CenturyA Brief History of Technology and Society, 1950-

2009



Contents

List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... 3

Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 5

Section 1: The Rise of Suburbia ............................................................................................... 7

Section 2: The Immediate Consequences ................................................................................ 8

Section 3: The Big Picture ...................................................................................................... 10

Section 4: The Next Steps ...................................................................................................... 14

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 17

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 18



List of Figures

Figure 1: The number of US motor vehicles and vehicles miles traveled have risen steadily over

the past 4 decades (U.S. Department of Transportation) .............................................................. 9

Figure 2: US petroleum flow in millions of barrels (Energy Information Administration) ........... 11

Figure 3: US petroleum imports have vast outstripped production in the past decade (Energy

Information Administration) ......................................................................................................... 11

Figure 4: Fuel prices have fluctuated sharply within recent years(Energy Information

Administration) ............................................................................................................................. 12

Figure 5: Fuel prices jumped considerably both during the 1970s and 2000s (Energy Information

Administration) ............................................................................................................................. 13

Figure 6: Energy efficiency and consumption has increased steadily from 1980-2006 (Energy

Information Administration) ......................................................................................................... 15

Figure 7: CAFE Standards increased US fuel mileage even when fuel prices declined in the

1980s(Energy Information Administration) .................................................................................. 15



Abstract

The pro-suburbia policies facilitated by engineering improvements in transportation

implemented at the start of the Cold War have led to the requirement of intensive

infrastructure and the development of an unsustainable energy policy. The failures of these

policies have since revealed themselves at the beginning of the 21st century, with implications

ranging from a damaging foreign policy to energy scarcity to concerns of global warming. The

greatest challenge of this half of the century is to redevelop an unsustainable standard of living

into a sustainable one through the implementation of effective government policies and

engineering solutions. While this essay discusses predominantly US policies and practices,

Canadian policies and practices have not deviated significantly from our southern counterparts.



Introduction

The ebb and flow of revolutionary developments in engineering and the implementation of

public policy have defined human civilization for the past 6 thousand years. A 6 400 kilometre

wall made of brick, mud, and stone located along the border of the Chinese territory of Inner

Mongolia is a lasting testament to this relationship. It was only when some of the earliest civil

engineers were able to design and build reliable walls that the ancient Chinese dynasties could

throw vast resources to build the massive wall as part of their civil defence, allowing other

societal and technological development to progress. The advancements in agricultural

engineering with the establishment of the first farms led to the development of permanent

residences and eventually governance beyond early tribes. The construction of a vast 85 000

km road network allowed the Roman Empire to ensure the control and expansion of its borders

while at the same time facilitating trade throughout.

In turn, public policies have recently had a profound effect on the direction of engineering. As

the slow realization of the negative consequences of rapid growth came about during and after

the Industrial Revolution, governmental policies began to shape the direction of technological

progress. Concerns about the effects on human health, safety, and the environment arose as a

result of the vast increase in fossil-fuel burning steam engines. The Great Smog of 1952 in

London first drew widespread public attention to the serious health effects of air pollution, and

set off a number of anti-pollution measures aimed at reducing the consequences of uninhibited

progress in the developed world. As emissions standards had continued to rise, thedevelopment of more efficient industrial processes were introduced to meet the demands of

the new legislation. A few decades later, the 1970s Oil Crisis would compel the US government

to force car manufacturers to improve gas mileage through legislation.

While the immediate cause-and-effect processes between engineering and public policy is

certainly obvious, the wider implications of engineering and policy have not recently been

dutifully explored. The rapid technological advancements occurring just within the 20 th century

have dramatically and rapidly altered all aspects of life – from societal behaviour to the physical

landscape. The rapid introduction of disruptive and enabling technologies has often left policy

makers pursuing short-sighted, reactive strategies in order to reduce just some of the negative

consequences of new engineering developments. Consequently, at the time a more correct

policy is legislated, the entrenchment of the old methods and practices from outdated policies

will have created an added challenge to the application of a more effective strategy.

This statement could never be more valid and pertinent than today. The current challenges

Western civilization faces, as a result of the rapid technological progress of the previous

century, are enormous. Our response to the ordeals of energy scarcity, failing infrastructure,

and global climate change will determine whether we will maintain or supersede the current



standard of living. These issues have been created as a result of rapid development, having

become entrenched by the pro-growth, pro-suburban policies set since the 1950s. A decades-

old policy has since defined where most North Americans go to sleep, where they go to work,where they go to buy goods and services, and how they travel. The end result has been an

unsustainable, nearly-dysfunctional, energy-intensive lifestyle which has since become

threatened by global instability, fickle financial markets, and damage to the environment.

However, through a combination of policy and clever engineering solutions, facilitating and

improving the current standard of living in lieu of global instability may be accomplished within

this century. By implementing a number of governmental policies facilitated by engineering,

North Americans can reduce the dependency on extra national fuel sources, provide more

effective and efficient infrastructure, and begin the long process towards lessening climate

change.



Section 1: The Rise of Suburbia

While suburbs had existed since the turn of the 19th

century, post-World War II suburbia has

since defined the current North American lifestyle. The majority of Americans currently live in asuburban neighbourhood, of which have been characterized as morose fields of monotonous

single-family, single-income, detached homes. These scarcely functioning communities,

produced on an industrial scale as a result of the U.S. policies implemented at the beginning of

the Cold War, has since consumed vast quantities of infrastructure and caused millions of

dollars of superfluous losses through lost productivity and inefficiencies. The sharp rise and fall

of oil prices during the 1970s and the first decade of the 21st

century has since revealed the

energy-intensive and unsustainable nature of suburbia.

The development of suburbs was first facilitated by advances in the transport engineering. The

incremental improvements of faster and more affordable transportation, from horse-drawn

trolleys, railroad, streetcars, and eventually the gas-powered automobile had made low-density

development more accessible to the average citizen, giving way to an ever-increasing expansion

of suburbia as travel time shortened. As an example, the first ‘streetcar buildouts’, suburbs

facilitated by public transportation, were developed in the 1870s (Hayden 76). No longer were

suburbs restricted only to wealthy Protestant, established individuals whom could afford the

costly transport to and from the city, but to a varied mixture of skilled workers and people of

modest middle income individuals, expanding the number of eligible suburban dwellers

(Hayden 73). Eventually the transportation engineering advancements culminated with the

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which largely developed greater capacity road networks and

expanded the distance of fringe suburbs from the city core significantly.

With the logistical foundations of suburbia in place, the development of the vast tracts of

homes during the post-World War II era rested primarily upon public policy. And so, with the

support of the Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs, banks gave loans for the

construction of 10 million new homes during the 8 years following World War II (Hayden 132).

The shift towards the privatization of the housing industry supported by public money and

policy meant that large swaths of farmland were turned into large tracts of single unit homes

within a few months, produced with little regard to supporting infrastructure, and communityand regional planning. Since then, the 1950s model of rapid development of fields of suburban

homes has largely been unchanged and unchallenged, leaving all levels of government, and

ultimately the taxpayer, to pick up the costs of the inefficiencies of a poorly-planned growth

model.



Section 2: The Immediate Consequences

Today’s legacy of a near-continuous, unchecked growth of suburbia facilitated by transport

engineering advancements is an impressive but failing network of infrastructure, characterizedas a sort of extensive life-support system for bedroom communities. The public events of the

collapse of the overloaded I-35W Mississippi Bridge and an overpass near a Montreal suburb

two years prior have only since revealed the immense strain placed upon North American

infrastructure, which has been partly caused by rapid unsustainable postwar suburban growth.

A 2005 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated that an investment of

$1.6 trillion will be required to rebuild US infrastructure simply to meet existing US government

regulations (American Society of Civil Engineers).

While the immense cost of rebuilding aging infrastructure cannot only be a result of the

development of suburbia, the diversion of resources in order to build and maintain low-density

communities has exacerbated the costs of failing infrastructure and will continue do so if

appropriate policies are not applied immediately. Without proper policy to control growth, the

current rate of development of suburban housing will result in further expansion of 150 million

gallons of unnecessary capacity per day for water and sewer systems, and an excess of nearly

200 000 miles of additional road infrastructure (Transit Cooperative Research Program 9-11). At

the present time when current infrastructure is already in need of costly repairs as a result of a

failed infrastructure policy; allowing the construction of unneeded infrastructure to later

inevitably maintain would simply be irrational.

The vast network of roads, water and sewer infrastructure has not only proved to be costly

through the development of unneeded capacity, but it has also left current infrastructure under

significant strain. The conversion of undeveloped rural areas to a location where hundreds of

homes need to be powered, watered, and serviced by road and transit has placed tremendous

pressure on existing infrastructure, which have often been constructed to simply service

existing or newly planned low-density suburban development. The extension of infrastructure

from low-density subdivision to subdivision pushes the limits of the infrastructure capacity

within built-up regions, as new housing continues to be built further and further away from

business and industrial centres.

The stress on infrastructure has never been as conscientious in the public’s eye then with

roadways. For many North Americans, sitting in heavy congestion, sometimes on a 3-lane ‘high-

capacity’ freeway, has become part of the daily routine. The dislocation of residences from

where people are employed, entertained, and purchase goods and services have created an

under-capacity of road infrastructure around destination centres, while at the same time

creating an over capacity for suburban areas at the edge of the city limits. From 1982 to 2008,

the percent of US roadways which were said to experience severe traffic congestion increased



from 34% to 58% (American Road & Transportation Builders Association 2), caused by an

upsurge in the vehicle miles traveled and number of motor vehicles (see Figure 1). Annual costs

of congestion due to lost productivity and fuel costs have continued to increase to nearly $90billion (American Road & Transportation Builders Association 2).

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

0

50

100

150

200

250

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

V e h i c l e M i l e s T r a v e l e d p e r M o t o r V e h i c l e ( m i l e s )

M o t o r V e h i c l

e s ( i n m i l l i o n s )

Year

US Motor Vehicles and Vehicle Miles Travelled

(1970-2003)

Motor vehicles Vehicle Miles Traveled per Motor Vehicle

Figure 1: The number of US motor vehicles and vehicles miles traveled have risen steadily over the past 4

decades (U.S. Department of Transportation)

Despite increasing commute times, current transit systems have not been a viable alternative

to the automobile outside of the city core. The number of vehicles as a percentage of the

American populace has only increased since World War II, doubling from 20% to 60% over the

course of 40 years (Bruegmann 78). The reasons of car ownership are many, with advantages

over other transit alternatives, including walking, biking, and public transit, within low-density

development readily apparent. By design, navigating through the characteristic hierarchical

road system of low-density development necessitates a greater travelling distance then the

more traditional grid road system, with destinations being built further away and scattered

throughout the city.

As a result, walking and cycling to a location outside a subdivision becomes less desirable due

to the increased traveling distance, while the flexibility required to navigate to various

destinations throughout cities is lost with the rigid scheduling and routes of public transit. The

disadvantages are compounded when the same congested roadways are used as with private

automobiles and public transit, lengthening commute times even further.



Section 3: The Big Picture

While suburban homes are often ideally seen as private enclaves separated from the rest of

society, international, geopolitical events have affected the suburban style of living significantly,and will most likely worsen if current policies are sustained. Twice in the past half-century, the

fluctuations in the pricing of a single commodity have affected the behaviour of millions almost

overnight. Compounded by the over-reliance of this vital resource in low-density exurbs, a

single, vital commodity has helped to define post-Cold War US foreign policy and become the

most significant contributor of greenhouse gases.

Used to create everything from plastic toys to high-strength composite materials, and fuelling

everything from planes to cars, petroleum has become infused into nearly every aspect of

modern life. Indeed, the future of not only of North America, but the world, will largely be

based on how integrated the future standard of living is with this crucial commodity. The

availability of conventional oil is shrinking rapidly, and dramatic steps must be carried out to

reduce the dependency on oil. While reducing all dependency on oil is unlikely, reducing the

bulk direct dependency on oil is within the next decade is certainly achievable. Many of the

engineering achievements in the 21st

century will be judged and valued in its ability to reduce

our current dependency on oil.

The reliance on oil cannot be understated, much in part due its vast utility. The rapid growth

policies of the postwar era were largely based and facilitated by the local abundance of oil

reserves, which had included the automobile-dependent exurbs. Indeed, the need for energywhich fuelled such development has been met largely with petroleum - about 40% of all current

US energy consumption may be traced to petroleum, with electric power generation and

transportation being the main consumers of all energy at 40% and 29% respectively (see Figure

2).

However, as a finite resource, the US government became quick to secure international oil

reserves in order to sustain its energy-intensive growth policies; by 1970 US oil production had

peaked and by the 1990s, imports were twice that of US oil production (see Figure 3), a portion

of which is sourced from countries such as Venezuela and Iran. As a result of the sustained

availability of a cheap fuel source, the US has become the second largest consumer of energy

per capita within the G8, and for a significant period of time, the largest emitter of greenhouse

gases.

The heavy reliance on a single commodity has also left the current standard of living exposed to

security risks, financial speculators, and increasing global demand; which exist well beyond the

influence of millions of powerless stakeholders. The past few years have seen the price of crude

quadruple from $30 a barrel in 2003 to over $140 at its peak in July of last year, squeezing

already thin budgets for many working, middle-income families. The price of going anywhere in



Figure 2: US petroleum flow in millions of barrels (Energy Information Administration)

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,0006,000,000

1949 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999

T h o u s a n d s

o f B a r r e l s

Year

US Petroleum Production and Imports

(1949-2007)

Production Impor ts

Figure 3: US petroleum imports have vast outstripped production in the past decade (Energy Information

Administration)

a car had doubled within a year (see Figure 4) and while using alternative means of

transportation may had been a viable option for some, the short-sighted development of low-

density suburbia has left those alternatives as either inconvenient or non-existent. However,

the rising costs of oil have not only affected the price paid at the gas pumps, but also fuelled

inflation through the staggering increase in the costs of logistics and petroleum-based



materials. Millions were affected through the rampant speculation of oil from those working on

Wall Street, which were in turn fuelled through the illusions of unending growth. The modern

world’s extreme dependency of a singular, finite, and increasingly scarce commodity had gonefrom an extraordinary technical solution to a vast economic problem.

Figure 4: Fuel prices have fluctuated significantly within recent years (Energy Information Administration)

However, the dependency on oil has left a greater impact than just the exposure of

disempowered North Americans to financial markets. The sharp increase in atmospheric

greenhouse gases in the post-industrial revolution has now left the vast majority of the

scientific community to conclude that humanity is heading into irreversible climate change.

Reports from various governmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC), indicate that a wide range of devastating consequences are to result; rising sea

levels, increased extreme weather events, species extinction, changes in water availability and

agricultural yields, and an increased range for disease vectors, all which threaten to further

destabilize already vulnerable developing nations.

Even developed nations, of who are the most equipped to cope with the consequences of

climate change struggle to do so. The 2003 European heat wave, the extreme flooding in the US

Midwest in 2008, and the on-going catastrophic drought in Australia have only since revealed

the vulnerabilities of today’s infrastructure to meet the demands of climate change. While the

effects of climate change are already felt and seen, a rapid reduction of the use of dirty fuel

sources, including petroleum, may dampen the consequences of climate change for future

generations.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Aug 15, 1990 Sep 23, 1994 Nov 01, 1998 Dec 10, 2002 Jan 18, 2007

R e t a i l G a s o

l i n e

P r i c e s ( C e n t s p e

r G a l l o n )

Date

US Regular Conventional Retail Gasoline

Prices (1990-2009)



It would also be disingenuous to disregard the role of petroleum in current geopolitics. Since

petroleum has become an essential economic lubricant of the developed world, uncomfortable

and perhaps secretive relationships have arisen in lieu of the necessity of oil. Over the past 3decades, the US dependence on imported oil has risen from 12% of all oil consumption, to

nearly 75% (Energy Information Administration). The overreliance on not just a finite resource,

but of one which is sourced and transported from unstable regions creates an uncertainty

which may be at times overwhelming. The first oil crisis during the 1970s revealed the

detriment such a reliance on oil had, even when US domestic oil production was a much greater

percentage of oil consumption than imports.

Oil prices nearly tripled overnight (see Figure 5) due primarily to the oil embargo instituted by

OPEC, a vast oil cartel of countries containing an estimated two-thirds of the world’s oil

reserves, which in turn was induced by on-going conflicts in the Middle East. In response,

drastic measures such as oil rationing, the extension of daylight savings time, and the legislation

of Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations were enacted in order to reduce US oil

consumption. However those measures were merely reactionary, too late to prevent a major

economic disruption. In a state of déjà vu, the 1979 Iranian Revolution forced oil prices to $100

per barrel, causing a similar recession during the early 1980s. And again in 2008, oil prices

soared to $140 per barrel from the large increase in petroleum demand from developing

nations. The dependency on oil had tied the ordinary American consumer to events in far off

lands, for better or for worse.

0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

200.0

250.0

300.0

350.0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 G a s o l i n e

P r i c e ( c e n t s p e r g a l l o n )

Year

Historical US Gasoline Price in 2008 Real

Dollars (1950-2009)

Figure 5: Fuel prices jumped considerably both during the 1970s and 2000s (Energy Information Administration)



Section 4: The Next Steps

The current style of living developed over decades of short-sighted policy-making is clearly

unsustainable. The vast expanses of suburbia cannot continue to be built, and neither may wecontinue to depend on petroleum as our primary source of energy. The inefficiencies of

suburbia, coupled with an unstable source of energy, have left the developed world hostage to

geopolitics, financial markets, and dwindling of easily accessible energy supplies, which in turn

disrupt normal societal functions. Without government intervention, the threats posed to

energy-intensive economies will continue to exist and most likely worsen as energy

consumption is projected to increase 50% over the next 2 decades (Energy Information

Administration). To help counteract this disturbing trend, increases in energy efficiency,

encouraged through economic incentives and government legislation, and enabled by

engineering solutions, will provide long-term benefits in a relatively short period of time.

Energy efficiency has often been called the ‘fifth fuel’, alongside coal, natural gas, nuclear and

renewable energy sources, and has been long neglected as a primary means to reduce energy

consumption and the infrastructure required to support it. Simply put, energy efficiency utilizes

existing technologies that will reduce energy usage in a number of energy-intensive

applications, including lighting, transportation, HVAC systems, and appliances, reducing energy

consumption significantly without large capital input. Already, the past 2 decades have seen

dramatic improvements in terms of energy input per GDP dollar produced, greatly as a result of

engineering advances and functional government policy in a number of areas, ultimately

decreasing energy input by 70% in both the US and Canada (see Figure 6).

A significant portion of the decrease in energy input per GDP has been due to effective

government policy. Public programs such as Energy Star and legislation such as the Corporate

Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards have driven energy efficiency forwards further than

what would occur if electricity prices or consumer choices were allowed to dictate such

advancements. The CAFE standards, a sales-weighted fuel economy standard first enforced in

1978, pushed overall fuel mileage from 18.8 mpg to 26 mpg within four years, as fuel prices

rose to its 1981 peak of $3.05/gallon (see Figure 7). Overall fuel mileage continued to increase

to 29 mpg by 1988 with rising CAFE standards even as fuel prices collapsed in the 1980s. Sincethen, the CAFE standard has remained stagnant, with average fuel economy barely increasing

by 1 mpg for 18 years, even under the condition of rapidly rising fuel prices at the start of the

21st

century. Similarly, tighter performance standards in refrigerator efficiency in California lead

to a 4.4 percent increase year-on-year increase from 1975 to 1985, and continued to increase

as government standards were raised, even as electricity prices declined below 1975 electricity

prices (McKinsey Global Institute 13).



Figure 6: Energy efficiency and consumption has increased steadily from 1980-2006 (Energy Information

Administration)

The challenges to meet these standards were met through clever engineering solutions,

whether through more efficient engines, sealants, or electronic control systems, that allowed

these and a variety of other consumer products to consume less energy.

$0.00

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002

$ p e r G a l l o n

M i l e s p e r G a l o n

Year

CAFE Standards and Fuel Prices (1977-2006)

CAFE Standard CAFE Fuel Price

Figure 7: CAFE Standards increased US fuel mileage even when fuel prices declined in the 1980s(Energy

Information Administration)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Q u a d r i l l i o n B T U

B T U p e r G D P $

Year

US & Canada Energy Profile (1980-2006)

Canada-Consumption/GDP $ US-Consumption/GDP $

Canada-Total Consumption US-Total Consumption



Increasing these standards in a technologically feasible manner will allow for additional

reductions in energy consumption at a cost far lower than any new heavy infrastructure

required to sustain unrestricted growth. A 2007 report by the McKinsey Global Instituteestimates that effective governmental regulation will save 16 quadrillion BTU (QBTU) in energy

consumption in the residential sector globally by 2020, preventing the construction of 610 new

power plants.

Within heavy industry, advancements primarily lying within co-generation, optimization of

electric motors, thin slab casting in the iron and steel industry, furnace and steam efficiency in

refining, and the additional use of recycled paper in the pulp and paper industry are estimated

to be able to abate 53 QBTU of growth in global energy consumption (McKinsey Global Institute

24).

Another report from the World Resources Institute estimates that raising the CAFE

standard to 30 mpg for light duty vehicles will save 49 billion gallons of petroleum or 6 QBTU in

the US by 2025 (World Resources Institute 6). By encouraging the development of more

efficient technologies, either through more aggressive federal efficiency standards and

appropriate economic incentives (or disincentives) in all sectors, a significant reduction in

energy usage may be realized saving billions in the construction of new power plants or

imported fuel.

Other government initiatives not directly applicable to the market have been pushed on both

sides of the border. A proposed expansion of the US Weatherization Assistance Program, which

targets low-income homes, will pursue a retrofit of one million homes annually, and will save anestimated at least 1.6 QBTU annually by 2037 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory 107). The

promotion of electric smart grids by the Obama administration to improve load levelling and

electric grid monitoring will help to provide utility companies a means to reduce peak loads and

implement a more distributed generation system – both of which will help build additional

capacity to the existing system without the construction of new centralized power plants. In

addition, Ontario’s Places to Grow initiative calls for the densification of existing and limitation

of new development through the establishment of the Greenbelt. Another initiative from the

Toronto-based transportation authority Metrolinx, MoveOntario 2020, establishes a plan to

drastically expand transit systems, which will help to reduce automobile dependency in theregion. It is important to note - all these programs will be facilitated by engineers who will help

plan and develop everything from massive infrastructure projects to more efficient home

appliances.



Conclusion

While both the US and Canadian governments are now taking an interest in energy,

infrastructure, and the environment, the recent massive infusion into public infrastructure hasmerely been a reaction to the failed policies of the past, spurred through necessity rather than

insight. If the proper foresight had been applied to the rapid development in the post-war era,

the large number of the issues confronting us today would have at very least been lessened.

The knowledge required for such foresight has always been available, but has often been

usurped by policies and practices which reflect short-term gains or band-aid solutions: cheap

energy, larger roads, and cookie-cutter subdivisions. Rather, those professionals with first-hand

knowledge, including engineers, should influence future public policy towards sustainable long-

term solutions. Solutions which will spur further economic growth by preventing the problems

of energy scarcity and failing infrastructure while developing a talent trust to solve the practicalproblems which will inevitably confront us.

While the problems we face currently will be solved by today’s engineers with clearly defined

goals, the implications of upcoming areas of technology, including geoengineering,

nanotechnology, bioengineering, are still a large unknown. Currently, very little public policy

has been developed in order to deal with both the potential negative and positive externalities

– that is there is no pointed direction for the use of these applied technologies, nor any

investigation into the possible pitfalls of these sectors. Eventually however, these policies must

be put into place. There are few others able to predict the repercussions and present solutions

for these emerging sectors than engineers. The implementation of programs to encourage

some of today’s young bright minds, who in the recent past helped to generate the illusion of

tremendous wealth at Wall Street, should spur innovation and solutions to solve the problems

of the future.

The lack of foresight in the pro-suburban, rapid growth policies set out at the beginning of the

Cold War has already defined the latter half of this decade and will do so for the next. The

product of these policies is a lifestyle exposed to the instability of international geopolitics. The

greatest engineering challenge of the early 21st

century, that is, of maintaining the current

North American standard of living while reducing the reliance on extra-national disturbances,lies immediately ahead. The combination of engineering development and government policies,

will help dampen the concerns global warming, energy security, and help to normalize

international relations. While significant adjustments must be made to current practices, the

warrant of sacrificing current conveniences for the sake of energy and infrastructure is

unnecessary. Indeed, if the correct policies are implemented, a lifestyle which is more self-

reliant and sustainable will stand even stronger in the face of dwindling energy resources and

global instability.



Bibliography

American Road & Transportation Builders Association. The Costs of Traffic Congestion in

America . Washington, D.C.: American Road & Transportation Builders Association, 2005.

American Society of Civil Engineers. Infrastructure Report Card 2005. 14 January 2009

<http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103>.

Bruegmann, Robert. Sprawl: A Compact History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

CNN. U.S. population now 300 million and growing - CNN.com:. 17 October 2006. 19 January

2009 <http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/17/300.million.over/index.html>.

Energy Information Administration. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy

Statistics from the U.S. Government. 2009 1 March <http://www.eia.doe.gov/>.

Government of Ontario. Premier of Ontario - Backgrounder - MoveOntario 2020:. 15 June 2007.

March 10 2009 <http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/news/Product.asp?ProductID=1384>.

Hayden, Dolores. Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820-2000. New York:

Pantheon Books, 2003.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report." 2007.

McKinsey Global Institute. The Case for Investing in Energy Productivity. San Francisco: Global

McKinsey Institute, 2008.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Projected Benefits of Federal Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy Programs: FY 2006 Budget Request. Technical Report. Washington, D.C.:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2005.

Transit Cooperative Research Program. Costs of Sprawl 2000-TCRP Report 74. Washington D.C.:

National Academy Press, 2002.

U.S. Department of Transportation. Historical VMT Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department

of Transportation, 2009.

World Resources Institute. "A Snapshot of U.S. Energy Options Today:Climate Change and

Energy Security Impacts and Tradeoffs in 2025." 1 May 2007. Princeton University. 10 February

2009

<http://www.princeton.edu/~transreg/US%20Energy%20Options%20addition%20WRI.pdf>.

engineering and public policy for the 21st century - oeccp essay

Documents