Today, the greatest opportunities and challenges for the engineering profession are in the support of development that is economically and environmentally sustainable. Sustainable development will require a process of change in which the use of natural resources, the direction of investments, and the orientation of technological development are in harmony and enhance meeting both current and future human needs. Sustainable development will be the dominant economic, environmental, political, and social issue of the 21st century. Major engineering tasks for sustainable development are discussed. A program of action is outlined for civil engineers to make sustainable development possible. For better or for worse, our profession will create the built environment of the future, and will consume natural resources in the process. Our enduring handiwork will bear witness for decades as to whether we have respected the needs of future generations and have served society in ways that are relevant to the demands of a growing population.

Civil engineering allows and sustains development in a way that no other profession does. To work effectively on successfully engineered projects in developing nations, engineers must be trained adequately in environmental problems and be capable of understanding the environmental consequences of development. They must be able to resolve the conflict between development pressures and the world's environment. Engineers must speak out on the political and social consequences of their work and they must become involved in issues beyond technology. In developing projects a better understanding of environmental concerns is required, as well as an understanding of the public's perception of the values involved. In this context an objective measure of environmental factors is required. For the developing world the adoption of Western practices of competitive procurement requires education in relationships, standards, contractual conditions, and payment methods.

In order to ensure sustainable development this paper urges new thinking by engineers, outlines how engineers can help to serve the private sector, discusses how engineers can influence the public sector, and recommends funding methods for the proposed programs. It is pointed out that a new approach to both training and to the attitude of engineers is necessary so that they may be able to apply a broader view of projects, both at the outset and during the project, if environmental considerations are to be fully considered. The paper emphasizes that civil engineers must cooperate with engineers of other specialties, contractors, scientists, and the general public to secure the legislation necessary for sustainable development. Equally, engineers have a duty to speak out and to have their views included in the public debate. The writer also concludes that for the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development to be successful, it will need the support of all the many organizations with whom it must collaborate.

My experience enables me to address the issues as they are related to the construction industry. I have spent my life as a contractor, primarily in the United Kingdom's domestic market. I have however been privileged to serve on a number of national and international bodies and have been exposed to many debates relevant to deliberations in Bermuda. Work of the European Commission is discussed. A proposed future program is outlined for the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development.

Bermuda is a microcosm of the world and reflects the world's environmental problems. In fact, the very size of Bermuda emphasizes the importance of responsible management if the quality and beauty of the surroundings we inherited are to be properly protected and, in turn, handed down to future generations. Programs to protect the environment have been varied and were begun in 1620 when laws were passed to protect wildlife. Special methods have been used to provide an adequate water supply. Design and construction procedures require structures to withstand hurricanes. Other regulations are aimed at conservation of open space and land resources. Two important concepts of sustainable development are described.

Sustainable development is the major challenge that engineers face in the years ahead. Most nations are caught up in the critical interaction of their development with its effect on their environmental well‐being and that of neighboring countries. In the present paper, details are provided on the formation of the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development (WEPSD). The new organization is focusing on the following five main issues: (1) Redirect engineering ethics and education for sustainability; (2) develop sustainable planning processes; (3) develop and apply technologies suitable for the capacity of a country; (4) advance industrial ecology and sustainable productive systems; and (5) develop and make use of information that will enable the user to consider the long‐term environmental consequences of each alternative. Preliminary planning to meet these goals is explained.

The geometric expansion of the global population and increasing interdependence of the international community has created a mandate for sustainable development—development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To safeguard the earth's future, nations must assume responsibility for their own environmental policies and work within the international community to promote positive norms. Development must proceed with a recognition of the connection between economics and ecology, and the impact national legislation can have on the survival and prosperity of the globe. Individual nations need to enact laws that promote their own environmentally sound and socially viable development, realizing that national policies can have repercussions across national borders. This paper reviews the environmental legislation enacted by the United States as an example of one nation's approach, and reports on the 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a conference addressing the issue of sustainable development and creating international norms for nations to follow.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the first trade agreement and the first major government initiative to undergo an environmental review, as required by Canada's Green Plan. The environmental review analyzed the potential environmental effects of Canada's participation in NAFTA, setting precedents that will influence how environmental concerns are addressed in future international trade negotiations. Canada's review is composed of four broad elements: a study of the implications of the NAFTA's trade‐related environmental provisions, a screening of the potential environmental impact of increased trade on Canada, an appraisal of the possibility that investment might migrate to areas characterized by different environmental practices, and an examination of mechanisms to ensure that the relationship between trade and the environment will continue to be addressed during the implementation of the agreement. The review committee concluded that NAFTA should not have a significant effect on Canada's environment.

This paper outlines and discusses the international program of ASCE since its formal inception in 1986 when the ASCE International Activities Committee (IAC) was established. The international program has been pursued along two distinct, but related, lines of operation: (1) Activities related to ASCE members abroad; and (2) activities related to ASCE's relationships with engineering societies abroad. This paper also highlights some history and statistics of ASCE's international movement and activities of IAC. Finally, this paper discusses future opportunities—the areas that must be addressed for ASCE to become a truly global organization.

This paper summarizes a panel‐session presentation on professional issues in coastal engineering conducted during the ASCE‐sponsored conference, Coastal Engineering Practice '92, held in Long Beach, Calif., on March 8–11, 1992. Topics presented at the session included risk and innovation, insurance, public perception, contractor perspectives, and professional registration. The panel session was composed of representatives of their respective industry who have to address these professional issues frequently. The panel presentation and audience discussion were directed toward issues related to coastal engineering specifically, although the issues share a commonality with other fields of engineering. A key goal of the panel session (and of this summary paper) was to stimulate thought and discussion about professional issues facing coastal engineering, rather than to establish a unified position on a particular issue.

The Principles and Practice of Engineering examination is the final challenge in earning registration as a licensed professional engineer (P.E.). Many practicing engineers satisfy the education and work experience eligibility requirements, but do not take the exam for fear of failing. This paper presents a no‐nonsense strategy for passing the exam. The paper answers the essential questions: “How do I qualify to take the exam?”; “what is on the exam?”; “how is the exam scored?”; and “what do I need to do to pass?” The goal of the examinee should be to achieve the minimum passing score in the easiest way possible. Many candidates approach their studying and the exam itself with the idea that they should be able to respond to any conceivable problem. The present paper strongly recommends that candidates concentrate on only a few subjects in which they already have some experience or knowledge, and forget the rest.

In California, an attorney must file a certificate of merit with the court prior to naming a design professional as a defendant in a complaint. To file a certificate of merit with the court, the attorney who sues a design professional engineer must: (1) Review the facts and main issues of the case; (2) consult with a registered engineer who is not a party to the lawsuit; and (3) conclude on the basis of the review of the case and the consultation with the registered engineer that there is reasonable and meritorious cause for filing of the action. The attorney must consult with an engineer who is licensed to practice and practices in the state in the same discipline as the defendant. The engineer must be knowledgeable of the issues involved in the action. When providing an attorney with consultation concerning the negligence of a design professional or a certificate of merit, the engineer should stay within the boundaries of reasonable competency, avoid biases and conflicts of interest, have knowledge of the legal process, become familiar with the project, and perform an objective and timely analysis.

A Federal Reserve Bank report suggests that infrastructure spending and productivity move in tandem. In fact, the data indicate that infrastructure spending appears to be more effective than tax cuts for stimulating the economy. The study suggests that expenditures for infrastructure systems that aid in the production and distribution of goods and services tend to have a direct impact on the profitability of industry, which in turn spurs private‐sector investment. Complicating the infrastructure problem, however, is the effect of social, environmental, and governmental regulations, such as Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules. The approximate costs and benefits to the construction industry of these regulations are summarized in the paper. Specifically, the increase in Engineering News‐Record 400 (ENR 400) construction cost (unweighted) is estimated to vary between roughly 0.24% and 3.4% for various regulations. It is apparent, therefore, that the regulations may directly or indirectly effect the ability of communities to solve the infrastructure problem.

Graduate students use collaborative design and review teams to simulate situations they will encounter in their professional employment. This paper discusses how the graduate students work as teams on a bridge‐design project. The student teams also review and critique the completed written designs of other teams and lead the class discussion when the project results are presented orally in class.

A timely fable to encourage civil engineers to do what they are supposed to do best—think. The law of supply and demand was in full effect long before Adam Smith wrote so eloquently about the invisible hand of the market. The law is still with us, undiminished by the profession's denial. Civil engineering's continuing and compulsive predictions of engineering shortages and fervent recruiting have contributed to an oversupply of engineers, depressed salaries, and extremely destructive price competition. These conditions make high standards of creativity, excellence in design, and fully ethical and professional conduct impractical for many who want to stay in business, or stay employed. Recruiting students partly on the basis of shortages that never happen raises additional and unaddressed ethnical considerations. Recruiting should be stopped. Public relations efforts are simply embarrassing and irrelevant. This simple fable is offered in the hope that it will help the profession take a fresh look at the question of supply and demand for civil engineers.

Community projects often offer exceptional opportunities for civil engineering students to develop their design skills. The University of Delaware had such an opportunity when a local nature center needed a pedestrian bridge to an island in a river. A special bridge‐design course was organized at the University of Delaware and students sited, designed, and prepared construction documents and permits for a cable‐stayed pedestrian bridge. The class organization simulated a design office. The project organization design components and each design group developed their own design component. The organization, design development, student interaction, professional support, and class evaluation for this project are described in detail. Perhaps the most significant part of the project was the interaction between the local professional community and permitting agencies as the students developed their designs and made presentations to the owner and the permitting agencies.

In higher education we give much thought to what we teach, and curricula reviews are regular parts of course development activity. We seem to give less thought to how we teach our material, and we seldom ask ourselves why we teach what we do. There appears to be an implicit assumption about what the important subject‐based and skill‐based objectives are for a particular discipline and how they should be met. In this paper we present data that challenge the assumption of agreement about objectives among staff, students, and employers involved in a particular education program—the baccalaureate building course at the National University of Singapore. The course aims to provide a broad education for managers in the construction industry, so we asked students, teaching staff, and prospective employers to rank a list of educational objectives in terms of importance. The differences we found between the rankings of the three groups are discussed, and the wider implications these may have for course design in higher education are considered.