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CAN SYSTEM ENGINEERING SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT?
Author(s) -
Martin Frederick
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
incose international symposium
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-5837
DOI - 10.1002/j.2334-5837.1991.tb01487.x
Subject(s) - process (computing) , environmental impact assessment , environmental impact statement , municipal solid waste , risk analysis (engineering) , engineering , environmental economics , business , environmental planning , computer science , waste management , environmental science , economics , ecology , biology , operating system
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are the lawyer's version of system engineering. But System engineering is a disciplined methodology for managing the risks and decisions involved in designing and implementing systems of optimum capability within the constraints of resources and time. Although it has come into widespread use in the defense industry and in some segments of the commercial industry this methodology has not been widely adopted by municipal governments as a tool for making decisions and managing complex projects. In this article I present a framework in which local governments can use the methods of system engineering to evaluate the environmental consequences of their projects. I shall illustrate this process by analyzing the tradeoffs in solid waste disposal. This analysis will show that by incorporating into the decision making process the environmental consequences of either landfilling or the conversion of solid waste to energy the public interest is best served with conversion to energy.