Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Engineering Earth
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Module Outline
Unit 1: What Is Environmental Engineering?
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Section 1: What Does a Synthesis of Engineering and the
Environment Look Like?
Section 2: Sustainability—What Is It, and Why Is It
Important?
Unit 2: Water and the Environment
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
Section 1: Water and Watersheds
Section 2: Water Quality and Water Monitoring
Unit 3: Engineering for Sustainability
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
Section 1: Technological Solutions
Section 2: Ecological Solutions
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Unit 1:
What Is Environmental
Engineering?
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Unit 1: Objectives



Students will learn about the discipline of
environmental engineering and its unique
aspects.
Students will learn about sustainability and its
relationship to the physical sciences.
Students will discover how an ecological footprint
is determined.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Section 1:
What Does a Synthesis of
Engineering and the
Environment Look Like?
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Environmental Engineering Is…
What Is Engineering?
Application of scientific principles to create
tools, objects, and systems that accomplish
specified objectives
What Is Environmental
Engineering?
Application of scientific principles to:
 Improve the environment
 Support human needs
 Address human-induced effects on
ecosystems
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Environmental Engineering Is
Also…
An Opportunity to Partner with Nature
Solutions benefit humans as well as nature.
Connected to Other Disciplines

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Environmental engineers require knowledge of physical sciences
as well as applied sciences.
Solutions have to take into account:

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Local history and customs
The availability of resources
Previous scientific studies and research
The decision-making process
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Environmental Engineers Do...

Pollution Control
Prevention, reduction, and cleanup

Impact Assessment
Determining the impact of human activities on the environment

Watershed Management
Balancing nature’s requirements with human water needs

Waste Treatment & Storage
Treatment of waste returning to the environment; storage if not
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Activity 1.1
Environmental Engineering Inventory
Activity 1.1
List common examples of environmental engineering that you have
encountered in your everyday life. What scientific principles are behind
them? Can you think of a better means to accomplish the same goals?
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Section 2:
Sustainability—What Is It,
and Why Is It Important?
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Introduction to Sustainability
Sustainability is based on physical laws.

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
Conservation of mass
Conservation of energy
Resource availability
Working definition: “the ability of a process or activity
to continue indefinitely without outside intervention”
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Example: an ecosystem in balance with its local environment
Ecosystem is altered by environmental changes
Becomes unsustainable if changes are too dramatic
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Activity 1.2
StarLogo TNG Food Web Simulation
Activity 1.2
Because of the sheer scale and number of organisms in most
ecosystems, gaining a direct appreciation of the interrelationships can be
difficult. Using this food web simulation for StarLogo TNG, investigate the
relationships between solar energy, biomass, and the population sizes of
primary producers, herbivores, and carnivores.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Nutrient Cycles
Critical Elements for Living Systems
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Most critical: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus
Can you think of elements not on this list?
Nutrient Cycles Recycle Limited Resources
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Reliant on the balance of organisms in a given ecosystem
Subject to change in the relative abundances of the forms of each
element, although the total amount remains constant
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Water Cycle
Most Visible and Familiar
Cycle
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

Involves all three forms
of water
Subterranean
component is as critical
to human water use as
the visible portion.
Extreme disruption or
absence of surface
water manifests as
desertification.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Carbon Cycle
One of the Most Discussed
and Human-Influenced
Cycles
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
Essential element in
biological molecules
Both land- and sea-based
ecosystems contribute to
the cycle.
Significant amounts are
sequestered below the
surface as fossil fuels.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Nitrogen Cycle
Reliant on Bacterial and
Plant Activity
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Atmospheric nitrogen, N2, is
not accessible to most
organisms.
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
convert N2 to nitrates and
ammonia.
Nitrogen is a component of
proteins, and low availability
can limit plant growth.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Combined Cycles
Cycles Interact and Influence
One Another

Water

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Part of its own cycle
Part of the oxygen cycle
Acts to weather rocks, which
helps drive the phosphorus
cycle
Carbon
Changes in CO2 levels can affect
surface water availability.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Ecological Footprint
What Is an Ecological Footprint?


A method of estimating the impacts of human
activity on the biosphere
Measures environmental resources required
for creating and distributing a specific product
or service
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Land area
Carbon sequestration ratio
Energy to produce and transport the product or
service
Waste
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
World Ecological Footprint


Ecological footprint calculation includes transportation costs, which are higher in countries importing
large quantities of goods.
The per capita income level also serves as a strong indicator of consumption.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Activity 1.3
What’s Your Ecological Footprint?
Activity 1.3
Use the ecological footprint calculator on the Global Footprint
Network Web site to determine the ecological impact of the class.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
How Do We Achieve
Sustainability?
Two Examples

Recycling
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Acquiring and processing raw materials uses more
energy than recycling existing products.
Recycling reduces waste.
Ecosystem Services


Many of the tasks we perform using technology
can instead be performed using natural systems.
Examples: water filtration, erosion control, and
chemical cleanup
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Waste Disposal Sustainability
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Exercise 1.1
Sustainability Inventory
Exercise 1.1
All communities have resources that can be used to address the
sustainability challenges that lie ahead. Make a thematic map of the
environmental assets in your community and the problems they could help
address.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Unit 1: Wrap-up



Environmental engineering employs a wide
variety of skills and addresses a diverse set of
problems.
Sustainability requires energy and resource use
to be in balance with energy and resource
availability.
An ecological footprint calculates the
environmental costs associated with human
activities.
The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org