In Utica, NY, they devised a "rain barrel" program where recycled steel drums equipped with hoses capture rain for irrigation rather than risking sewage overflows into area waterways. In Tennessee, they're working to create solar-assisted charging stations for electric vehicles. In Delaware, they can tour an Air Force Base to help come up with ideas for cleaning spilled chemicals that can contaminate ground water supplies.
"They" referred to above are engineers. As organizations work to save money on electric bills and earn tax credits and the government acts on a plan to create environmentally-friendly jobs, occupations in green engineering are expected to be among the most secure of the coming decade, according to a June Newsweek magazine report. The report was compiled based on input from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and career counselors, according to the web site for a compliance information company known as BLR. With traditional power company employees retiring and different forms of alternative energy increasing, employment in renewable energy is also on the rise, according to an article on the Power Engineering magazine web site.
There are civil engineers who work in urban planning and who come up with solutions for pollution, global warming, water resources and more, and there are environmental engineers who develop alternative energy products. There are also engineers in areas such as aeronautics, petroleum, mechanics, chemicals, computers, acoustics, electronics and biomedical science. Some of these engineers might also work as ocean engineers, coming up with ways to reduce coastal erosion and designing robots and remote control vehicles for deep sea exploration, according to the Junior Engineering Technical Society. Green engineering encompasses all engineering disciplines and is one facet in a broader discussion on sustainability, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University web site notes.
Already, engineering design companies are reporting growth in green engineering, according to an online publication known as Electronics Design, Strategy News. John Myung, vice president of sales and marketing for Focus Product Design, for the July article told the publication that companies are looking for new and better automobile designs. They're also ordering solar panels as a means of analyzing this form of alternative energy, according to information provided by Myung.
Virginia Tech, as the school with campus and online degree programs is known, is one of several institutions with green engineering offerings. In this particular instance, the school offers a minor that introduces students to water, air and soil issues, such as depleting drinking water from aquifers. The minor also explains how the engineering profession affects the environment and tells how engineers can create products, processes and systems to help solve or minimize environmental problems.
Students interested in green engineering programs at Ivy League schools can find them there as well. Yale University, for instance, maintains a Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering. The Environmental Protection Agency, through a Green Engineering Program, provides colleges, universities and technical schools information and materials that can help them incorporate a green philosophy emphasizing pollution prevention into the classroom. The EPA has even created a textbook intended for senior to graduate level chemical engineering students specifically, the agency's web site shows.
At a conference held in Florida in 2003, a group of engineers and scientists developed principles of green engineering, according to the EPA web site. They include conserving and improving natural ecosystems while protecting human health and well being; striving to prevent waste; minimizing depletion of natural resources; and improving and inventing technologies that can create sustainable solutions. Entry to engineering careers generally requires a bachelor's degree, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes. Starting salaries for engineering degree holders, depending upon area of specialty, are among four of the top five for graduates and extend to nearly $75,000 a year, a 2010 Salary Survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows.
