Role and Relevance of ASCE to America’s Energy Choices Richard N. Wright, Dist.M.ASCE, NAE ASCE Committee on Sustainability ASCE Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate Founder Societies Carbon Management Technology Project

ASCE Has Three Strategic Priorities Infrastructure: Propose practical solutions to improve America's neglected infrastructure. Raise the Bar: Establish educational and legal standards necessary to prepare professional engineers to address the future's most pressing challenges. Sustainability: Embrace civil engineers' role as contributors to a sustainable world.

Sustainability Means Sustainability is a set of environmental, economic and social conditions in which all of society has the capacity and opportunity to maintain and improve its quality of life indefinitely without degrading the quantity, quality or availability of natural, economic and social resources. Triple Bottom Line – Economic Growth – Environmental Stewardship – Social Progress Includes Resilience to Natural, Accidental and Willful Hazards

Are We Now Sustainable? USA

Sustainability is Required by ASCE’s Code of Ethics Canon 1 Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.

When There is a Problem Engineers whose professional judgment is overruled under circumstances where the safety, health or welfare of the public is endangered, or the principles of sustainable development ignored, shall inform their clients or employers of the possible consequences.

Sustainability in ASCE’s Policy Statements 360: Impact of Climate Change: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports government policies that encourage anticipation of and preparation for possible impacts of climate change on the built environment. 389: Mitigating the Impact of Natural and Man-Made Hazards: ASCE supports sustained efforts to improve professional practices in planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and reuse/decommissioning that mitigate the effects of natural and man-made hazards.

Sustainability in ASCE’s Policy Statements 418: The Role of the Civil Engineer in Sustainable Development: The civil engineering profession recognizes the reality of limited natural resources, the desire for sustainable practices (including life-cycle analysis and sustainable design techniques), and the need for social equity in the consumption of resources. 488: Greenhouse Gases: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports the following public and private sector strategies and efforts to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from existing and future infrastructure systems ----

Activities Addressing ASCE’s Sustainability Strategic Priority Strategic Planning Measuring and Rating the Sustainability of Infrastructure Projects ASCE Web-Based Continuing Education Formal Education in Sustainability Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation Innovation in Sustainable Civil Engineering Award Sustainable Project Profiles Sustainable Headquarters and Conferences Maintenance and Development of ASCE Policy Statements Public and K-12 Education Sustainability in Sections, Branches and Student Chapters Founder Societies’ Carbon Management Technology Project

Strategic Plan Provide a Vision of the Future Improve Sustainability Education Incorporate Sustainability Thinking in the Design and Construction of Infrastructure Develop Relations of Trust and Respect Bring Fractured Parts of our Profession into a Coherent Way of Thinking

Measuring and Rating the Sustainability of Infrastructure Projects Do the Right Project Do the Project Right

Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Alliance of American Society of Civil Engineers American Public Works Association American Council of Engineering Companies Envision™ Rating System Training and Credentialing – Assessors qualified in use of Envision: ENV SP – Verifiers for independent, third party, assessment.

Envision™ Credit List

ASCE Web-Based Continuing Education Courses defined in workshop involving all ASCE institutes and Technical Activities Committee Courses are/will be developed by the Committee on Sustainability’s Sustainable Infrastructure Education Subcommittee. Courses delivered by ASCE Continuing Education

Sustainability Continuing Education Courses Available Fundamentals of Sustainable Engineering (15 hours) Sustainable Project Management: Delivering Projects for a More Sustainable Infrastructure (12 hours) Ecological Systems: Maintaining and Enhancing Natural Features and Minimizing Adverse Impacts of Infrastructure Projects (6 hours)

Sustainability Continuing Education Courses in Preparation Access & Mobility: Integrating Transportation with the Built Environment (6 hours) Community Participation: Effective Stakeholder Involvement Throughout the Project Life Cycle (6 hours) Sustainable Land Use (6 hours) Water Resources: Sustaining Quality and Quantity (6 hours)

Sustainability Continuing Education Courses Planned Air Quality Management (4 hours) Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainability: Triple Bottom Line Accounting (12 hours) Lighting: Saving Energy, Enhancing Safety, and Preserving the Night Sky (2 hours) Mitigating Noise and Vibration: Supporting Quiet and Livable Communities (4 hours) Waste Management: Reusing, Reducing, or Eliminating Waste (4 hours)

Formal Engineering Education – The Center for Sustainable Engineering has prepared and made available college/graduate level course materials ( – Formal Engineering Education Subcommittee Inputs to ASCE Body of Knowledge Inputs to ABET Criteria Committee Making ASCE Continuing Education Courses available to students and faculty.

Climate Change Mitigation of climate change is a role of the Committee on Sustainability Adaptation to climate change is the role of the Committee on Adaptation to a Changing Climate Both Mitigation and Adaptation are covered in Envision ™

Climate, Weather and Extreme Events Climate is average of weather conditions over a long time period, for example the average high temperature for September 13 for DCA is 81 F. Weather is the current temperature, precipitation, wind velocity, etc. Extreme events are the infrequent conditions for which we need to design infrastructure: heavy precipitation, flooding, storm surge, heat waves, high winds, droughts, wildfires, etc.

Average U.S. Temperature Projections

Some Projected Changes from IPCC SREX Very likely increase in length, frequency, and/or intensity of warm spells or heat waves over most land areas. Likely increase in frequency of heavy precipitation events or increase in proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls over many areas of the globe. Medium confidence in projected increase in duration and intensity of droughts in some regions of the world, including central North America.

Mitigation of Climate Change Role of Infrastructure in Energy Use and GHG Emissions (proportion of US Source Energy) – Buildings – 41% – Industry – 31% – Transportation- 28% Infrastructure affects: – Embodied energy – Operating energy

Adaptation to Climate Change Climate Science Questions the Bases of Engineering Codes, Standards and Practices. The statistics of past extreme events won’t characterize those of the future. Research with climate/weather scientists to observe extreme events and model scenarios for future extreme events. Updating infrastructure standards and codes.

An “Engineering Approach” to Sustainability and Climate Change From Welsh architect Alex Gordon, 1972, design for: Long Life Loose Fit Low Energy

Sections, Branches and Student Chapters Guidelines for Activities of Sections, Branches and Student Chapters Information Exchanged at: Involved-in-ASCE-Activities/

Carbon Management Technology Conference October 21-23, 2013 in Alexandria, VA Themes Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Carbon Management Pathways from Electricity Generation to End User Potentially Game-Changing Technology and Evaluation Engineering Challenges and Solutions for Adaptation to Climate Change

Questions and Discussion