ABSTRACT
Engineers can be major players in the environmental negotiation game because they alone have the scientific and technical training necessary to solve the problems. Engineers, for the most part, don't know anything about politics or human nature. Not surprisingly, people come to believe that engineers and other cool, dispassionate, scientific types look down on regular folks. This aloofness and air of superiority create a huge wall between engineers and the rest of the world. The language of engineers also limits their ability to shape environmental policies. If engineers and other cool, dispassionate, scientific types can achieve these three things, they can become powerful, successful environmental negotiators. Engineers really do have a great deal to contribute to environmental negotiations. But the jargon leaves the politicians, the businesspeople, the media, and the other major players of the game cracking jokes about the engineers and shaking their heads in confusion.
