I was just looking at your website. I don't have much time, but I want to know whether you can clarify the buzzword “sustainability”.
I served nine years on local government and have been around for a little more than seven years federally, and in many cases this word is overused. On your website you refer to a lecture that talks about sustainability and says:
And therein lies both the challenge and the opportunity for society: to reframe sustainability as shorthand for innovation that can grow bottom lines while shrinking environmental footprints; that can solve real-world environmental concerns while protecting the economy; that can make business more efficient, not less, thereby improving our quality of life.
I know it's international poetry day, but maybe you could clarify this statement a little. It's a lot of nice words, but what were you meaning by it? I know you show that engineers have a responsibility, but how do you implement it, focusing on protecting the economy and the environment?