Executive Summary
The present paper discusses roles that engineers could actively play to address the challenges of global food insecurity, WMD terrorism, and environmental degradation. The rationale is premised on the fact that food insecurity, global terrorism, and environmental degradation are at the core of the very existence of mankind.
The results demonstrate that engineers can play an active role in taming environmental degradation by working on ways to actualize the fuel cell technology, developing innovations to capture and store excess carbon dioxide, and initiate sustainable and green engineering to cut down on harmful emissions.
In addressing the challenge of food insecurity, engineers can develop novel fertilizers and irrigation capabilities, use biotechnology to develop disease-resistant and fast maturing crops, and develop new techniques of harvesting rain water for use in irrigation.
Lastly, in addressing the challenge of WMD terrorism, engineers can develop high-tech defense mechanisms having the capacity to deal with WMDs before they reach their target, develop and implement comprehensive surveillance systems, and play an active role in developing novel strategies that could be used to neutralize the effects of chemical or biological weapons.
The paper concludes by underscoring the importance of engineers in advancing human welfare. The paper recommends (1) core curricula for engineers to be changed to ensure they receive comprehensive training to reflect new challenges and (2) funding and concessions to be made to enable engineers come up with innovative ways to address challenges.
Introduction
Around the world, demands on the profession and practice of engineering are increasingly shifting to reflect new challenges and expectations fuelled by the pressures of internalization and globalization (Bryce et al., 2004).
Today, more than ever before, there are increasing demands for engineering professionals to disembark from the cocoon of narrow technical focus and embrace a positive role in working with their communities to address a multiplicity of challenges and create opportunities that serve to improve life in the universe (National Academy of Engineering, 2012; Vanasupa et al., 2006).
The present paper discusses roles that engineers could actively play to address the challenges of global food insecurity, WMD terrorism, and environmental degradation.
Rationale
It is important to note that these challenges have been carefully selected on a needs assessment basis. Whereas it is a well known fact that the world is facing very many challenges that are hinged on the pressures toward internalization and globalization (Bryce et al., 2004), food insecurity, global terrorism, and environmental degradation are at the core of the very existence of mankind, hence their selection.
Environmental Degradation
Extant literature demonstrates that “…the global population is currently consuming natural resources at a rate of 120% of what the earth can regenerate” (Vanasupa et al., 2006 p. 375).
Industrialized and industrializing counties are well known for their insatiable appetite for fossil fuels; however, available literature demonstrates that not only will we deplete our fossil fuel reserves within the next 40-100 years if we ignore to take immediate action to control their use, but our propensity to consume these resources will continue to accelerate the melting of the polarize caps, leading to flooding (Vanasupa et al., 2006).
Excessive consumption of fossil fuels have also been positively correlated with the rapid accumulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases responsible for causing global warming, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, and other forms of adverse environmental events.
Engineers can play an active role in taming environmental degradation by working on ways to actualize the fuel cell technology, which has the capacity to convert hydrogen or hydrogen-containing fuels into the much needed electrical energy and heat through approvingly simple and mechanically straight forward electrochemical processes that do not degrade the environment (Nordin, 2010).
In essence, the perfection of fuel cell technology by relevant engineers presents our best bet of addressing the real challenges emboldened by the mounting use of fossil fuels, including the depletion of natural resources and the ensuing global environmental concerns.
Engineers also need to come up with technological innovations that could be used by communities and countries to capture and store excess carbon dioxide within the environment so as to prevent global warming (Bourn & Neil, 2008).
Such innovations require heavy investment in financial resources and heavy concessions from participating stakeholders, but are intrinsically important if we are to reduce the harmful environmental events occasioned by excessive emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the environment.
Lastly, engineers should be at the forefront in initiating sustainable and green engineering to cut down on harmful emissions into the environment (UNESCO, 2010).
Food Insecurity
The world’s population has now reached seven billion owing to great advances in health care, elevated levels of prosperity and longer life expectancy, but available statistics indicate that two in every seven people residing in developing countries are exposed to hunger and starvation due to food insecurity brought about by rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns (Fan, 2011).
The world’s population, according to these authors, is expected to reach nine billion by 2050, hence the need to come up with approaches and policy frameworks to guarantee food security.
Engineers can play an active role in ensuring food security by developing novel fertilizers and irrigation capabilities that will ensure faster and more efficient production of food to feed the population. Agricultural engineers in Israel, for example, have been able to apply modern irrigation techniques and high-yield fertilizers to grow food in arid areas.
Second, engineers can use biotechnology and other scientific techniques to develop disease-resistant and fast maturing crops. Such technologically-enhanced crops, in my view, will ensure that food is available in abundance. Lastly, engineers can undertake to develop new techniques of harvesting rain water for use in irrigating crops grown under harsh conditions (Bourn & Neil, 2008).
Weapons of mass destruction & Global Terrorism
Owing to the September 11 2001 terrorist attack on U.S. soil, it is increasingly becoming clear that the nexus of weapons of mass destruction (WMB) and terrorism poses one of the greatest challenges to world peace and prosperity.
While it is a well known fact that a successful major WMD terrorist assault could lead to mass casualties and generate extensive social, economic and political ramifications that would adversely affect developed and developing countries, non-state actors such as the Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Ansar al-Islam and Islamic Jihad Union have openly stated their insatiable desire to obtain and use WMDs against targets perceived as enemies to their religious fanaticism (U.S. Department of Sate, 2008).
Such a global challenge is real considering the amount of information available on the Internet regarding the assembly and use of WMDs, not mentioning the many black market proliferators and transnational criminal networks that may seek to benefit financially from the sale of these weapons to terrorists organizations.
To minimize the challenge of WMD terrorism, engineers can engage in the development of high-tech defense mechanisms that have the capacity to deal with WMDs before they reach their target. The U.S. military engineers, for instance, have succeeded in developing strategic missile defense systems that can guard the country against incoming missiles.
Second, it should be the role of upcoming engineers to develop and implement comprehensive surveillance systems with the capacity to receive and transmit information about the activities of known terrorist groups. In this light, it can be argued that engineers who designed and developed the U.S. drone surveillance systems succeeded to minimize terrorist activities due to their excellent data gathering capabilities.
Still, engineers can play an active role in developing novel strategies that could be used to neutralize the effects of chemical or biological weapons in case of use by terrorist groupings (Bourn & Neil, 2008).
Conclusion & Recommendations
The present paper has discussed some of the top-most challenges affecting communities globally, including environmental degradation, food insecurity and WMD terrorism.
Additionally, the paper has clearly outlined the critical roles that engineers are expected to play to address these challenges in line with their professional calling to advance human welfare. But while these roles lie at the core of the engineering profession, it is imperative to note that they may be unachievable if concerted efforts are not made by stakeholders and governments.
It is therefore recommended that the core curricula for engineers should be changed to reflect these dynamics and ensure that upcoming engineers receive comprehensive education and awareness reflective of these challenges. Additionally, concessions should be made by stakeholders in terms of funding and availing the necessary conditions for engineers to come up with innovative ways aimed at dealing with these challenges.
References
Bourn, D., & Neil, I. (2008). The global engineer: Incorporating global skills within UK high education of engineers. Web.
Bryce, P., Johnston, S., & Yasukawa, K. (2004). Implementing a program in sustainability for engineers at University of Technology, Sydney: A story of intersecting agendas. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 5(3), 267-277.
Fan, S. (2011). Global food security challenges and opportunities. International Food Policy Research Institute. Web.
National Academy of Engineering. (2012). Grand challenges for engineering. Web.
Nordin, N. (2010). Limitations of commercializing fuel cell technologies. AIP Conference Technologies, 1225(1), 498-506.
UNESCO. (2010). Engineering: Issues, challenges and opportunities for development. Web.
U.S. Department of State. (2008). The global challenge of WMD terrorism. Web.
Vanasupa, L., Slivovsky, L., & Chen, K.C. (2006). Global challenges as aspiration: A classroom strategy to foster social responsibility. Science & Engineering Ethics, 12(2), 373-380.