Budny 4:00
L13
Isaiah Spencer-Williams ( ims17@pitt.edu
)
As an engineer, one of the biggest components of my job is to continually develop what is currently present and buildings and newly designed commercial buildings in urban and suburban areas. To this date we have implemented over 100 green roofs and other green infrastructure techniques across the Pittsburgh area and have projects starting to spread further west into areas such make it even more useful to society. With that said, I will have to make major decisions that could and will potentially change the way we live as a society. And while as Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.
This new exposure to the company allowed for my professional growth relatively quickly, as I am currently this is a huge responsibility for me, I am fortunate enough to have an ethical code of conduct to guide my decisions.
Within engineering as a whole, this ethical code of conduct one of the managers on a project out in Illinois. The project consists of demolishing an abandoned factory building and serve as a compass that helps us navigate our career in an honest and integrity filled way. Taking that point further, each engineering field has its own ethical code of conduct that specifies in more detail what our moral responsibilities are as engineers. This is important for us, since our then rebuilding a new community center on top of the same spot. According to the mayor of the town, this community center will become the trademark of the town, thus proving to the other industrial towns and cities that green architecture is one of the best innovations for the future of storm water management. profession is more so innovation driven than it is morally.
Within the civil engineering field, it is pertinent for me to always keep a moral thought in the fore front of my mind. This area of engineering is one of the most public safety related engineering areas out of all of them, thus
We are currently a year and a half into the project and our collaborating partner who is overseeing the majority of the construction is just about finishing up the construction work. This progression will allow my team to step in and analyze the best way to implement the green roof and other putting the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people in my hands on any given project. With that said, it is important that one of my biggest concerns is that I “hold paramount the safety and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable beneficial green architectures that will provide this building, and therefore the town with economic, environmental, and social benefits, thus establishing a triple bottom line [2]. However, before we are to begin our analysis and implementation, we are required to have a development in the performance of [my] professional duties” [1]. If I were to ever be faced with a situation such as the one I am going to describe, I would definitely take meeting with our partner and discuss any inhibiting factors that may have come up during the construction. During this meeting, the project manager from our partnering the previously stated canon from the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) into account, regardless of the company, IHC Construction Companies LLC, relays to us that the construction of the building has been successfully affects it may have on my career stability.
accomplished, but the only concern was the roofing. He informs us that because of the structure of the building, they had to construct the roof at a slope of approximately
I have recently received my degree in civil engineering and I have just received a job offer from a small engineering firm outside of Pittsburgh named Green Civil
Works, Inc. Currently, I am a civil/environmental engineer, who specializes in the implementation and analysis of grey and green infrastructure with respect to storm water runoff
20%. Based off of research from DeNardo et al,
“decreasing the slope and increasing the depth of the growth layers is highly promising for storm water runoff reduction” [3]. With this news and my researched knowledge, I quickly come to the conclusion that the green roof will not be nearly as effective as if the roof had a smaller slope angle or if the roof was completely flat. management. The majority of the company’s success has come from our developing relationships with our clients and our collaboration with other civil/environmental engineering firms. Our area of specialization is the
Taking this into account, I begin to explain why the green roof will no longer work efficiently on this project. Hearing my explanation, the project manager from IHC agrees but implementation of beneficial green architecture, specifically green roofs, on high energy consumption also informs me that the mayor still wants the roof implemented on the center. Hearing this information causes me to take a step back and look at this from a future
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
Date of Submission: 2015-11-03

Isaiah Spencer-Williams perspective, in which the storm water treatment facilities begin to fail from the sheer volume of the contaminated storm water runoff since cities and towns in Illinois suffer from the same contamination by infiltration that Pittsburgh does. Therefore it would not only be ethically and morally wrong to implement the green roof, but it would also be hypocritical of my companies work in the Pittsburgh area.
On the other hand, if I don’t follow through with the project, my team and company suffers the loss of a client, and other potential contracts out in the Illinois area.
To start off the discussion of ethics, we first must take a step back and evaluate the overall problem and then dive in to discover the underlying ethical problems. As it currently stands, our society is plagued by contamination by infiltration. Contamination by infiltration means that for the amount of rainfall we receive, our water supply is contaminated by that amount as the rain water “runs off” of the impervious pavements such as sidewalks, roads, and buildings. This storm water runoff, flows right down into our storm drains and makes its journey to places such as
ALCOSAN (Allegheny County Sanitary Authority) and
PWSA (Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority) where it is then cleaned and purified. That system is very suitable when it comes to regulatory amounts of rainfall, but when the rainfall becomes too massive, these systems fail and the runoff overflows directly into our rivers. One of the best solutions to utilize to combat this threat is the green roof, due to its ability to establish an effective triple bottom line
[2]. While this is important, it is more so important to consider the limitations of the green roof and how ethical the green roof really is in my scenario above.
SLOPE AND RUNOFF REDUCTION
As mentioned before, research from DeNardo et al shows that roof slope has a direct correlation with the effectiveness of the green roof [3]. Another study by
Villarreal & Bengtsson confirmed this and proved that total retention of the storm water decreases as the slope of the roof increases [4]. They go further on to prove this by experimenting with a simulated 2.4 cm precipitation. In this experiment, it was proved that a roof with a slope of
2% retained 62% of the precipitation while a roof of 14% slope retained 39% of the precipitation [4]. In terms of storm water management, if I were to have made the decision to install the roof, I would not be abiding by the ethical codes of “[acting] in a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession,” or “[holding] paramount the safety and welfare of the public and [striving] to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of [my] professional duties” [1]. Implementing a green roof in an area in which it would not be beneficial to reduce runoff defeats the purpose of trying to reduce the runoff in general. Tangentially, with knowledge from DeNardo et al and Villarreal & Bengtsson I would be breaking my professional obligation of avoiding all conduct that deceives the public [5].
PHOSPHATE, NITRATE, AND OTHER ION
LEAKAGE
While on the note of deceiving the public, another ethical problem with the hurried implementation of a green roof is the ion leakage that it provides to the water system.
Studies show that concentrations of phosphate and nitrate from green roof collections can be high [6]. Berardi et al tells us, “Research done at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
(MA, USA) has investigated the quality of water runoff.
Comparisons of grab samples of storm water from a green and a non-green roof within the first few seasons following installation confirmed that phosphorus was leaching into the runoff of the green roof” [7]. And while after the first few years the phenomenon seems to dissipate, it would still be deceiving the public and breaking the third canon of the code of ethics from the ASCE which states, “Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner” [1]. This is applicable in this case since issue public statements as an engineer requires one to be 1) an expert witness who can express an engineering opinion founded upon adequate knowledge of facts, 2) dignified and modest in explaining their work or merit, and 3) objective and truthful in all professional testimonies [1].
It is important for not only myself, but the rest of the engineering communities everywhere to consider the role that ethics plays in the engineering field. In an article published by Erik Fisher & Clark Miller, they suggest that engineering is, “always and inevitably, social engineering,” based on the definition from Miller &
Pfatteicher in 2008 [8]. Thinking about it, as engineers, everything we innovate serves some major function in general society. But we cannot always rely on the experts to tell us the rules and guidelines relating to society. It is up to us to develop specific skills, dispositions, and habits that enable us to function in society so that we are always conscious of how our innovations affect the general public.
2

Isaiah Spencer-Williams
It is also up to us to continue to develop dynamic guidelines such as the Codes of Ethics that already exist in order to make sure that we are responsible and accountable for our own actions.
In another article by Kaag and Bhatia, we again are given a similar message, but in terms of a different perspective. They look at engineering from the perspective of the great philosopher and author Ralph Waldo Emerson
[9]. Emerson had realized early on that the increasing urbanization of the nation would one day become a problem for humanity. He even said in a lecture, “The machine unmakes the man, now that the machine is so perfect, the engineer is nobody" [9]. As we continue to create innovations and advance ourselves technologically, we need to be aware of the fact that our technologies should not become closed off to the idea of open criticism. While it is our goal to design objects that are near perfect in the technical sense, we should never forget that as engineers we are bound to our ethical codes, thus making us servants of humanity and making us open to criticisms. Renowned chemical engineer John M. Prausnitz has noted, "If engineering is the application of science for human benefit, then the engineer must be a student not only of the application of science, but of human benefit as well" [9].
An engineer’s response to criticism on any work is a critical component to truly abiding by the NSPE’s code of ethics. As the sixth canon states, “[Engineers] are to conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession” [5]. Handling criticism in the most professional way possible is paramount to the successful implementation and guaranteed future of society as we continue to advance technologically.
Based on my knowledge, I would not finish the job in
Illinois. In this situation I would first go back through all the necessary procedures to check the soundness of the partnering company’s work. If I were to find some error on their part, I would point it out while still maintaining the integrity and dignity of the profession. If not, I would then approach the mayor of the town and tell him explicitly my reasons for not building the green roof. According to the
National Society of Professional Engineers Code of conduct, it is my job to “advise [my] clients or employers when a project will not be successful” [5]. From here I would withdraw myself and my team from the project and take the loss of a client. No project is worth jeopardizing my integrity as an engineer, nor is any project worth risking peoples’ lives and the future stability of society. As an aspiring civil/environmental engineer, it is my duty to always keep the interest of the public in the fore front of my mind while making crucial decisions. I do not want to see the world as I know it go to ruin because of human neglect. If we as a society are to survive, then it is time for us to help out those water treatment companies such as
ALCOSAN and PWSA, by giving their systems a break and becoming responsible for our water as well. We all live on this planet, therefore it shouldn’t have to come down to a relatively group of people to take care of us. It is time for us as a society to step up and take action against storm water runoff. Moreover, it’s time for us as engineers to live up to our name as students of human benefit by thinking more ethically than technically. It is our duty to “provide services that display honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, while being totally dedicated to the protection of public health, safety, and welfare” [5].
[1] (2006). “American Society of Civil Engineers Code of
Ethics.” American Society of Civil Engineers.
(website). http://www.asce.org/code-of-ethics/
[2] R. Dolesh (2012). “Parks Are Green Infrastructure.”
Parks & Recreation.
(Online Article). http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=82&si d=9388ae0c-0296-4760-be59-
65857da17792%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4212&bdata=Jn
NpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=76147552&d b=aph
[3] J.C. DeNardo, A.R. Jarrett, H.B. Manbeck, D.J. Beattie,
R.D. Berghage (2005). “Stormwater mitigation and surface temperature reduction by green roofs.”
Trans ASAE, 48 (4) .
(Online Article). http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=93
88ae0c-0296-4760-be59-
65857da17792%40sessionmgr4002&vid=29&hid=4212
[4] Yanling, L., & Babcock, J. W. (2014). “Green roof hydrologic performance and modeling: a review.” Water
Science & Technology, 69(4), 727-738 .
(Online article) http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=e0
3699b3-bf9f-40fa-ab0e-
387249236a7a%40sessionmgr120&vid=26&hid=124
[5] (2007). “NSPE Code of Ethics Engineers.” National
Society of Professional Engineers.
(website). http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics
[6] K.U. Vijayaraghavan, M. Joshi, R. Balasubramanian.
(2012). “A field study to evaluate runoff quality from green roofs.” Water Res, 46, pp. 1337–1345
3

Isaiah Spencer-Williams http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=93
88ae0c-0296-4760-be59-
65857da17792%40sessionmgr4002&vid=29&hid=4212
[7] U. Berardi, A. GhaffarianHoseini, A.
GhaffarianHoseini (2014). “State-of-the-art analysis of the environmental benefits of green roofs.” Applied Energy:
Vol 115.
(Online Article). http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/detail?sid=93
88ae0c-0296-4760-be59-
65857da17792%40sessionmgr4002&vid=29&hid=4212
[8] E. Fisher, C. Miller. (2009). “Collaborative Practices for Contextualizing the Engineering Laboratory.”
Engineering in Context.
(Online article) http://www.onlineethics.org/File.aspx?id=26127
[9] J. Kaag, S. K. Bhatia. (2014). “Fools For Tools.”
Chronicle of Higher Education, 61(13), B13-B15.
(Online article) http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=b4486 c8f-d402-40de-96c7-
4eee046bc581%40sessionmgr4004&vid=6&hid=4107&b data=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVpZCZzY29wZT1zaXRl#
AN=99689292&db=aph
“Cases and Scenarios.” Online Ethics Center from the
National Academy of Engineering. (case study). http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases.aspx
“Ethics Cases.” Texas Tech University. (case study) http://www.depts.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/cases.
php
“Ethics Case Studies.” National Science Foundation. (case study). http://www.webguru.neu.edu/professionalism/researchintegrity/ethics-case-studies
I’d like to take this space to once again thank my family for their continual support in all of my academic endeavors.
I’d also like to thank my peers and all of the upperclassmen who motivated me during the process of writing this paper, especially my friends Ashley Dacosta and Sadhana
Tadepalli. I’d again like to thank the Energy Net program for getting me interested in green architecture. Finally, thanks to Dr. Budny for creating this project, as it helped me grow as an aspiring engineer and made me more aware of the ethical problems in engineering.
4