|
Watching stimulus money in action is fascinating. Or so I thought while watching a February PowerPoint slide-show detailing how tribological research, done by an Albany, New York area company, could improve energy efficiencies of compressors, pumps, and other heavy mechanical machinery, and reduce carbon emissions contributing to climate change. The slide show was put on by a PhD-level executive and mechanical engineer who's worked in the U.S. energy industry since the 1970's.
An Inconvenient Slide Show
<-- The trend here is obvious and disturbing. This and other images courtesy Wikipedia.
Then things got really interesting when a version of an often debated slide – seen and debated more than a few times here in CR4 (example) - as well as in Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth – was put on the conference-room screen.
A climate-change skeptic member of the audience and fellow mechanical engineer claimed the presenter was not showing the entirety of the graph, and had the presenter done so, his thesis that climate change is happening would be shot.
What if the world were ran by Engineers?
The presenter, who, for full disclosure, I happened to agree with, went on to defend his thesis. Without saying it explicitly, he made the point that much of the skepticism that exists in the engineering and scientific community, and with the wider public at large, is the result of a deliberate effort of vested carbon-producing interests in the U.S. Congress.
<-- Fred MacMurray, who played Aerospace Engineer Steve Douglas on the early 1960's American TV series My Three Sons.
This show was popular when I was envisioning a future career for myself in the 60's and early 70's. Its lead character was a TV-engineer "role model" I personally took inspiration from.
Inspiration also came from the Apollo astronauts. They too were TV personalities that inspired me and the engineers I went to school with.
Are there as many engineer role models on TV today, or are science careers now out-of-fashion for TV characters to inspire young Americans?
Our presenter, a PhD-level researcher and recipient of ASME's prestigious Mayo D. Hersey Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement and science of tribology, then went on to point out that the vast majority of the members of Congress are lawyers, with a primarily legal, and not technical, background.
His unstated point was that if this were reversed, and Congress was composed mostly of engineers and scientists, then much of the skepticism about climate change would disappear. After all, Germany, a country that produces 46% of its energy from renewables, is led my Angela Merkel, a PhD in Physical Chemistry.
College Training Differences?
Could this be why climate change is still an issue in the U.S., I thought?
After all, way back in 1992, myself and a classroom of graduate-level mechanical engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic were doing calculations from a Scientific American coursebook that confirmed, yes, climate change was happening, and our designs of new internal combustion engines and gas turbines should take this into account.
My own engineering training was filled with "do-no-harm" to people considerations. Safety factors for mechanical systems, product life-cycle, mean time between failure, and even the wages paid to production workers were all elements I was trained to consider as I moved forward in my engineering career. Naturally, profitability was also a consideration, but the focus of the bulk of the homework was on design of safe and long-lasting products.
So weren't lawyers receiving similar "do-no-harm" – read environment - training, like me?
Do No Harm (that bothers your legal department)
So has the legal community, having the power of the purse strings, intimidated the engineering and scientific community into accepting junk-science?
Before I lay into my own, slightly intimidating career experiences with the legal folks, I need to point out that it's easy to enjoy a good joke at the expense of lawyers, especially when surrounded by other engineers.
To their credit, I've leaned on lawyers again and again for the most important events in my life. They include an adoption, traffic tickets, home purchases, and real estate advice. I have sincere gratitude for their services, and maintain friendships with multiple lawyers, including a former college roommate and a relative who works in the field. I'm proud to say that my first home was closed on by a pillar of the Albany, New York legal community, a brave man who flew multiple missions with the Flying Tigers in China during World War II.
- Larry Kelley
Read earlier blog pieces by Larry: click here.
Resources:
http://sections.asme.org/hudson-mohawk/notables.html#Heshmat
http://sections.asme.org/hudson-mohawk/2009_Feb_Newsletter_Color_v3.pdf
Further Reading:
The Economist - There was a lawyer, an engineer, and a politician
| 
2
Re: Do Engineers Fear Lawyers? - Part 1
Comments rated to be Good Answers:
Comments rated to be "almost" Good Answers: