ABSTRACT
E. Area of Interest: The Environment Since it is impossible to design something wi th zero environmental impact, it is important for those involved in the design process to understand the issues that a concern for the environment brings to the process. There are several approaches to the environment that must be understood to really accomplish environmentallyfriendly design. Currently, most engineering codes o f ethics approach the envi ronment from an anthropocentric point o f view. In this approach, components o f the environment are given value because they are viewed as important to human kind. Thus, those who advocate establishing a national park because they enjoy camping and want to protect a beautiful site for camping are arguing from an an thropocentric point o f view. The converse to this approach is a nonanthropocentric approach. In this approach, the environment is believed to have intrinsic value. A nonanthropocentric approach to the national park scenario would consist o f the argument that certain parts o f nature should be set aside for its own sake. The IEEE ethics code is the first to code to include a nonanthropocentric-based clause that advocates the protection o f the environment. This is bound to change as sev eral other professional societies are considering similar clauses (e.g. the American Society o f Mechanical Engineers) (Texas A & M University [3]). Thus, it may soon become a professional moral obligation to hold the safety o f the environment to be as paramount as the safety o f the public.
