Engineering the Environment

Originally Published:
Planet S Magazine
April 12 - April 25, 2007 Volume 5: Issue 17
Page 7

In 1994, Carl Sagan, the famed astronomer and popular science author, wrote a book called Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. In it, Sagan gently persuades the reader that we, the inhabitants of planet Earth, are not the centre of the universe—although we were once entirely convinced that this was the case. Our planet, instead, is a mere pale blue dot in the cold expanse of space. But rather than beating ourselves up about it, and falling into despair, he hopes we can learn to live with the knowledge that we are specs floating around in a large and impersonal universe.

Currently on YouTube is a video titled “Pale Blue Dot.” The video is composed of spectacular satellite images of Earth and our solar system while Sagan narrates overtop, condensing his book into about three minutes of inspired and poetic language. In addition to his insistence that we see ourselves as just a small part of a bigger whole, Sagan reminds us that Earth is the only place we know of capable of housing life. At least for the foreseeable future, we don’t have the option of moving and settling elsewhere.

So—if the Earth is all we have, at least for now and as far as we know, we are responsible for the shape it’s in. This means we must take a stand in improving our environment—and we must do it before it’s too late.

Luckily, there are people committed to this project, both across the globe and in our own backyard. Helping fill the second role is a group of students, mainly from the College of Engineering, at the University of Saskatchewan. Their organisation, Footprint Design, was founded by Chris Richards in September of 2004, and they’ve done great work designing and producing environmentally-friendly products ever since.

According to Footprint’s Jon Henderson, a 4th year Engineering student, the goal of the group is to use their knowledge to promote sustainability—both environmental and economic.

“Footprint Design is based on the idea of the ecological footprint, which is the amount of land-mass and resources required to sustain your way of life. So we have incorporated that concept: minimizing your ecological footprint through sustainable ways of life, like conserving and composting. We’ve just tried to incorporate ‘ecological footprint’ into design.”

That’s right—pro-environment engineers. Now, engineers have been saddled with plenty of stereotypes throughout the years, but rarely have any of them had much to do with environmental sustainability. But for Henderson and Footprint, engineers are in fact the perfect people to deal with a problem like reducing damage to the environment.

“An engineer is just a problem solver. Historically, the problems that they’ve been given to solve have been the ones that are most economically viable, like pumping oil from the ground and processing it into fossil fuel,” says Henderson.

“Now, I think the environmental movement is becoming more economically viable—like [the fact that] wind-power has found a market. That’s sort of opening up the avenue for more design, and engineering work can be focused on environmental areas—and more of an environmental focus that’s economically feasible, so you can make a career out of it.”

But more than just the current economics of environmental technologies, Henderson notes that, just like everyone else, engineers have a moral responsibility to tread as lightly on the earth as possible.

“An engineer definitely has the obligation to make the environmental impact of their work as small as possible. Of course, the nature of the profession or the work they do might not allow them to do so. But, within their means, they have a responsibility—they are obligated to protect the safety, health, and well-being of the public.”

The engineers of Footprint Design have already taken on a few ambitious projects, including that of producing biodiesel fuel. They even have a biodiesel processor stored in the Engineering department.

“Biodiesel is a carbon-neutral fuel—it’s a diesel alternative made with canola oil, [and] it’s a fairly simple process to make it. There are a few benefits to it. Because the original source for any carbon you’re releasing is from the plant you’re harvesting, [when] you assume that you’re re-planting another crop of canola that’s going to take the CO2 you have emitted, it’s a closed-carbon cycle—you emit CO2 and then the canola plant is going to take it back in. And it’s good for the diesel engine because there is no sulfur dioxide emission.”

In Europe, many gas stations are already making biodiesel fuel available. The hope, of course, is that this will spread to other places—like Canada. Henderson is optimistic.

“You’re already starting to see it. [Some] gas stations have a 5 percent biodiesel blend. The City of Saskatoon has a bus that’s running on biodiesel. I think the infrastructure is there, so it’s just a matter of whether or not companies are willing to start blending biodiesel with their fuel—so it’s definitely in the near future.”

Another project of Footprint Design is the development of a wind turbine, which they intend to construct on University Land—something that has required a lot of planning and effort on the part of the group, explains Henderson.

“University land is quite valuable. They want to be pretty careful they’re not wasting anything—especially with a student-run project, they need some guarantee that what we’re putting up is going to work [and] not cause them any problems.”

Still, Henderson is confident the U of S will see the benefits of the project.

“It should produce about one kilowatt every hour, which is about 8,760 kilowatts per year. And for every one kilowatt of electricity produced by the wind turbine we’re saving 4.58 kilograms of greenhouse gasses, produced otherwise by coal in Saskatchewan.”

Along with ambitious projects like bio-diesel and wind power, Henderson notes that a major mandate for Footprint Design is to educate the public on promoting sustainability in day-to-day life.

“Something not too many people talk about, but that’s really important, is conservation. Do you need to be driving around in an SUV by yourself to get to the grocery store that’s five minutes away? There are also things [in terms of] diverting waste, like recycling or composting. [And] you can make sure that the house you’re living in is efficient by sealing up cracks, for instance,” says Henderson.