Citizen Engineer: A Handbook for Socially Responsible Engineering Book

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

About the Authors xxi

Introduction: While You Were Busy Debugging… xxiii

Part I: Advent of the Citizen Engineer 1

Chapter 1: “Citizen Engineer” Defined 5

Responsibilities of the Citizen Engineer 7

Knowledge Base of the Citizen Engineer 8

Chapter 2: How Engineering Got Its Paradigm Shifted 13

Changes in the Nature of Engineering 13

Engineering on a Whole New Scale 13

Externally Driven Changes in Engineering 19

Perspectives on an Engineering Transformation 24

Part I Summary, and What’s Next 25

Part II: Environmental Responsibility 27

Chapter 3: Environmental Impact: The Big Picture 31

Eco-Responsible Engineering: An Enormous

Opportunity 32

Core Challenges of Eco-Engineering 34

Chapter 4: Beyond the Black Cloud: Looking at Lifecycles 37

The “Cradle to Cradle” Vision 40

Chapter 5: A Pragmatic Approach to Lifecycle Analysis 45

A Basic Lifecycle Model 45

Additional Lifecycle Considerations 46

Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon 52

Starting a Top-Level Assessment 56

Chapter 6: Setting Priorities, Requirements, and Goals 61

Knowing the Law 62

Business Requirements and Opportunities 64

Areas of Greatest Impact 65

Quick Wins and Low-Hanging Fruit 66

Chapter 7: Energy and Emissions 69

Common Sources of Energy 70

Calculating Energy and Power 73

Energy Impacts: Finding the Cleanest Source of Power 75

Energy and GHG Emissions 76

Putting a Value on Carbon (Dioxide!) 80

Heat, Noise, Light, and Radio Emissions 81

Process-Related GHG Emissions 82

Energy Efficiency in Product Design 83

An Example: Energy Efficiency in Data Centers 86

Chapter 8: Chemicals, Materials, and Waste 93

Chemistry and the Law 93

Packaging and Documentation 96

Waste and Renewal 98

Chapter 9: Water and Other Natural Resources 105

Social Considerations 105

Business Considerations 106

Calculating the Water Footprint 106

Trading Virtual Water 107

Other Natural Resources 108

Chapter 10: An Example of Eco-Engineering: Interface, Inc. 111

An Aggressive Initiative with Very Specific Goals 111

Chapter 11 Eco-Engineering: The Grass Is Always Greener 117

Carbon Neutrality: Good Start but Not Enough 117

Greenwashing and Green Noise 120

Measuring and Sharing with OpenEco 123

Part II Summary, and What’s Next 125

Part III: Intellectual Responsibility 127

Chapter 12 Intellectual Property Law Fundamentals 131

IP 101: Core Concepts 131

Patents 134

Copyright 141

Trademarks 147

Trade Secrets 148

Nondisclosure Agreements 150

Employment Contracts and IP Ownership 151

Tip Sheet: Inbound and Outbound IP 157

How to Protect Your IP in Emerging Markets 159

Back to Patent Protection: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 161

Chapter 13: Open Source Software: Licenses and Leverage 165

“Free” Software Licenses 166

Nonfree but Free-Sounding Software Licenses 169

A Closer Look at the GPL 169

Contributor Agreements 171

Software Indemnity 175

Chapter 14: Creativity and Control 179

Maximizing the Cycle of Innovation 179

How We Got Here 181

Control over Interfaces 184

Innovation Commons 186

The Economics of Open Source 187

Beyond Software 189

Building an Open Source Community: Practical

Advice from a Pro 194

Chapter 15: Protecting Digital Rights 199

Digital Rights Management 199

Is “Open DRM” an Oxymoron? 201

Fair Use and Other Concepts for Reducing

Restrictions 202

Part III Summary, and What’s Next 204

Part IV: Bringing It to Life 205

Chapter 16: Education of the Citizen Engineer 207

Updating Engineering Curricula 208

Advice for Engineering Students 211

Advice for Engineering New Hires 212

Chapter 17: Citizen Engineers in Action 215

Appendix 219

Lifecycle Phase Checklists 219

Required Reading for Citizen Engineers 223

Notes 225

Photo Credits 233

Index 235