Bill Wallace isn’t one to mince words.
And more often than not, those words during the last 30 years have involved shouting from the rooftops about sustainability and climate change, civil engineering adapting its best practices, and getting ahead of a changing world.
Some have listened. Some have not.
Wallace keeps shouting.
Now, his megaphone has taken the form of a new book published by ASCE Press: The Great Civil Engineering Overhaul.
Wallace is a recognized leader in the field of sustainability. He was the inventor of the Envision rating system, receiving Engineering News-Record’s 2013 Award of Excellence for this work and the ASCE President’s Medal in 2014. An ASCE Fellow and longtime member of the ASCE Committee on Sustainability, he chaired the first International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure in 2014. And he’s been teaching a distance learning course in sustainable infrastructure design at the University of Florida for over a decade.
Wallace recently spoke with Civil Engineering Source about his new book and why he believes civil engineering needs an extensive overhaul.
Civil Engineering Source: What prompted you to write this book? Was it feeling like you had insights to share, a passion for these topics, or frustration with these topics? Maybe a combination?
Bill Wallace: I think it’s a combination. Scientists have been saying for years that we as a society are operating in unsustainable ways, using the Earth’s resources and natural systems as if we had 1.7 planets to work with instead of just one. Most of this is due to how we design, build, and operate our infrastructure. Accordingly, we in the Committee on Sustainability have pushed for better, more sustainable, and money-saving approaches: using less material, conserving energy, employing life-cycle costing, preserving and protecting natural resources and systems, and more. But we weren’t getting much traction.
The response from project owners was sustainability costs too much despite proof to the contrary. Also, civil engineers found it difficult to do anything beyond what was prescribed by accepted engineering standards.
As it turns out, some of our unsustainable practices have pushed one of the Earth’s key natural systems beyond its breaking point. Excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly from burning fossil fuels for heat, power, and mobility, have overwhelmed the Earth’s climate–regulating system. The result: record temperatures, extended heat waves and droughts, intense storms, devastating floods, and massive wildfires. The cumulative cost to the U.S.: $2.7 trillion since 1980. Moreover, conditions get markedly worse if we don't hold warming to 1.5℃ by 2050.
So, I’m thinking, “Wow, this is it.” If the climate is changing, then a fundamental assumption in civil engineering is out the window. Past climate conditions are no longer good predictors of future conditions. That assumption is what we rely on to design and build infrastructure projects that are safe and long-lived. Now, these climate-based engineering standards are no longer reliable. We have to revise our codes, standards, and practices. Civil infrastructure must be designed or refurbished to be adaptive and use renewable energy. This has to be the greatest challenge and opportunity civil engineers will have in their careers. OK, let’s do it!
Here’s the frustrating part. The civil engineering community's response has been sluggish at best. Despite this chance to change the game, get away from prescriptive standards, and be valued for their knowledge and experience, civil engineers seem to be just doing what they’ve always done: waiting for their clients or bosses to tell them what to do, follow the standards, and get ready for the next project.
For my 30-plus years in the engineering industry, I’ve been listening to engineers whine, “Boo-hoo. We’re not getting paid for our value.” Well, if you’re mostly following prescriptive standards, maybe your value isn’t so great.
Interestingly, there was a survey done of architecture and engineering professionals in 2022 by the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership and global design firm HGA. They asked why climate action isn't happening. The answer was that the clients weren't asking for it, and the civil engineers wouldn't have the resources or expertise to deal with it if they did.
Source: So you wrote a book. You wanted to bring forth an overhaul.
Wallace: I felt I needed to write a book and do it on my own. Despite our engineering community’s apparent interest in sustainability, I found that their understanding of what it means to society and the civil engineering profession is limited, much less than what I teach my first-year grad students. I also believe that if we expect to instigate a civil engineering overhaul, project owners, engineers, students, and others need to fully understand the basics: what being a sustainable society means, why it's essential, what happens if we’re not sustainable, and what we have to do be become more sustainable in our work and lives.
For the book, I went back to basics, explaining sustainability in simple terms and how it relates to the work of civil engineers. I loaded the book with pictures, graphics, and even cartoons – visual explanations of what I was talking about. I showed what it means to be a sustainable nation, noting that the United States is operating at the five-planet level.
Then, I got into the details about climate: why it’s changing, the causes, and what needs to be done. I offer some tools that engineers are using today for infrastructure project adaptation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. I also included case examples of what other project owners and engineers are doing to reduce emissions and adapt to new and changing conditions.
I lead the readers to federal guidance on mitigation and adaptation offered by agencies like FHWA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, clients that civil engineers work for. They, too, are lamenting that it's hard to get the engineering profession to pick up on what they are asking them to do.
Source: If you could point to an ideal outcome from the writing and release of this book, what would it be?
Wallace: Well, I want civil engineers to read it, number one. But not just civil engineers – it needs to be read by the project owners and the people we work for.
At the beginning of the book, I state my B.H.A.G.: my big, hairy, audacious goal – to instigate a major overhaul of civil engineering standards and practices to deal with the consequences of climate change. Ideally, project owners and engineers would come away with a sound understanding of climate change, the importance of mitigation and adaptation, and confidence in applying the book's tools to their civil infrastructure projects.
The best outcome? Owners and engineers understand that reducing emissions and adapting to changing climate conditions isn’t that big of a stretch from what they are doing now. Yes, these problems are complex, but others are figuring it out. And, in case you haven’t noticed, the federal government is investing $1.25 trillion in carbon emissions reduction and resilient, adaptive infrastructure. Reading the book might actually give you a head start in competing for this work.
Learn more about The Great Civil Engineering Overhaul.
