Conference Session

Teaching Engineering and Public Policy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Dunn, University of Maine; Kenneth Nichols, University of Maine

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

resulting in laws and regulations. Thebureaucracy administers these regulations through programs created to benefit the constituents.Political influences often affect the programs and priorities can be changed to reflect theinfluences. As priorities shift, stakeholders make the process more fluid sometimes moreflexible and sometimes more unstable. Depending upon the level of bureaucracy, thebureaucratic process can be multi-layered. A complex bureaucracy may require several stages inthe decision process, often involving extended formal and informal public input, and oftenextending the decision process far longer than desirable.5 Engineers tend to be lineal thinkers and follow systematic processes in developingsolutions to problems. They use

Conference Session

Teaching Engineering and Public Policy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Boerger, Engineering Economic Associates, LLC

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

between those problems lies, asociety must make such divisions. The mere fact that we have a field called “public policy”implies that there are matters that lie outside of the public sphere, and making that distinction,while not always easy, is necessary and is in fact done. Figure 2. Level 3 of the taxonomy: public vs. private technologically related problems. Page 13.123.47. The fourth level: two kinds of public problemsSome might think that all “public” problems having an engineering component are the domain ofengineering. But upon reflection, it should be evident that not all public problems are candidatesfor inclusion in the class of EPP

Conference Session

Teaching Engineering and Public Policy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cindy Orndoff, Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

roofsalso eliminate excess air temperatures outside the building which normal, reflective roofs create(called the albedo effect). So called “Urban Heat Islands” are created in big cities, where excessthermal energy increases the air temperature above and creates both ideal conditions for smogand abnormal weather patterns. In large cities, the temperature difference from the center of thecity to the rural areas can be as large as 5° C. Green roofs reduce this excess energy radiationand promote better air quality. Thus, the excellent energy conservation properties of green roofsare one major reason for considering and promoting them by the construction industry,engineering community, and global governments.Green roofs are also very desirable in that