Daniel A. Vallero, P. Aarne Vesilind, Socially Responsible Engineering: Justice in Risk Management

Society depends on engineers to produce sound structures and innovative technologies. Engineering education adequately prepares them to do this by focusing on technical design considerations. However, this is only part of what should be required of the profession. Indeed, as the authors of this book, Daniel Vallero and P. Aarne Vesilind, note, ‘‘no project is complete unless matters of justice are incorporated’’ (p. 38). They state further that ‘‘the major premise of this book is that [engineers] must be active in ensuring socially responsible designs and projects’’ (p. 334). Socially responsible engineering requires ‘‘the engineer [to] help that segment of the public least able to look out for themselves’’ (p. 57) by asking questions familiar to the environmental justice community. Who lives near the structure? Who benefits and who absorbs the costs? How does this change over time? How can we ensure that public health and environmental quality are equally protected across society? This is therefore an ambitious work, requiring the incorporation of knowledge and insights from the social sciences and humanities into engineering practice. Oftentimes, such attempts are met with disdain from other engineers. Even in the university, the rigid separation of engineering from other departments is generally accepted. Thankfully, the authors are two veteran professors of environmental engineering and engineering ethics with substantial intellectual capital who are in a position to challenge traditional ideas about what should be included in an engineering text. The publication of this book should help those engineers just beginning their careers and hoping to practice engineering that looks beyond technical issues. This book’s readability makes it appropriate for an undergraduate engineering class in professional ethics attempting to tackle issues of environmental justice. The main text is interspersed with real world case studies of engineering projects that