engineering
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Why I Don’t Want to Get STEAMed
STEM education is all the rage: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the collection of disciplines regarded as the most desirable, the most likely to lead to financial success for individuals and economic growth for nations, the obsession of universities and policy makers alike. I don’t know who was the first to consider the possibility of… Continue reading
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Hydraulic Fracturing: Toward Better Deliberation
When the conversation opened up on the second day of our November workshop, after my presentation on acceptable risk, the project team and the invited participants spent much of the remainder of the morning developing and jotting down ideas for fostering better, more informed and more constructive public deliberation about hydraulic fracturing. Our initial ways… Continue reading
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Hydraulic Fracturing: Risk v. Acceptable Risk
I have said that the first day of our workshop on hydraulic fracturing, in November, brought out a long list of risks related to hydraulic fracturing and, indeed, the engineers and scientists who participated were quite adept at identifying such risks and possibilities for mitigation. Something else came out during those first sessions, though, which… Continue reading
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Hydraulic Fracturing: Images from Under Ground
My tongue-in-cheek comment on the language of hydraulic fracturing was intended to get at the ways in which metaphors and images can affect – and sometimes skew – our understanding of risks and responsibilities. This effect can work in any direction, for or against any particular position, and it can be especially pronounced when the… Continue reading
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Hydraulic Fracturing: The Project
As I have been hinting, I’m currently caught up in a collaborative project on engineering, ethics and policy related to hydraulic fracturing. The idea for the project began to take shape in conversations I was having with my colleague, Chloé Arson, who is over in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech.… Continue reading