Today I learnt a new word. The word itself was a little tricky to pronounce but actually getting my head around how it worked proved to be a little more challenging.
When someone asks you to run an energy simulation program on a simple house design, you don't expect them to ask you for the azimuth of the wall. It appears that it is an alternative to using the points of the compass to explain which way the wall is actually facing. Still confused?
I'll leave it to the good astronomers to explain as they managed to make it clearer than our tutor.
http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/A/Azimuth
Enjoy your word of the week. Goes without saying you should have a go at putting it randomly somewhere in a sentence in the not too distant future!
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
All costs are relative..
From the eclectic subject which has covered engineering ethics, mentioned in passing Alfred Nobel's less than peaceful origins, subjected its students to the mind bending concepts of acoustics and is currently revealing to me the issues to consider when designing a waste water treatment plant, comes this gem "The irony is that it costs about the same to put someone through an Ivy League University in the United States as it does to incarcerate them".
Beyond the flippant reaction, "Well education does come in any manner of guises" or Stephen Fry's observation that the time he spent in English Public Schools was an excellent preparation for the time he would later spend in goal, I thought that was one comment which warranted further investigation.
Which lead me to the quoted source, Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L.Hunter Lovins. The excerpt makes for some thought provoking reading and firmly ties in economic concepts with lofty environmental ideals. Have a read and see what you think.
There is a long way to go though - this crazy subject is apparently compulsory subject for all third year mechanical engineering students. One was overheard at the start of the last lecture making the comment "I suppose they are going to tell us about even more things that will get in the way of doing our job".
I resisted the urge to turn around and say, "And you haven't even been introduced to the OHS regulations yet". After all, he has a lifetime for them to ruin his designs and get in the way of doing his job and who wants to spoil that surprise...
Beyond the flippant reaction, "Well education does come in any manner of guises" or Stephen Fry's observation that the time he spent in English Public Schools was an excellent preparation for the time he would later spend in goal, I thought that was one comment which warranted further investigation.
Which lead me to the quoted source, Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L.Hunter Lovins. The excerpt makes for some thought provoking reading and firmly ties in economic concepts with lofty environmental ideals. Have a read and see what you think.
There is a long way to go though - this crazy subject is apparently compulsory subject for all third year mechanical engineering students. One was overheard at the start of the last lecture making the comment "I suppose they are going to tell us about even more things that will get in the way of doing our job".
I resisted the urge to turn around and say, "And you haven't even been introduced to the OHS regulations yet". After all, he has a lifetime for them to ruin his designs and get in the way of doing his job and who wants to spoil that surprise...
Friday, 25 March 2011
How noise affects sustainability
I survived acoustics. The disturbing flashbacks to Year 12 maths were not enough, so thankfully having a maths teacher extraordinaire type sibling who took time out from educating the next generation to help the current one (putting into practice another of the ESD principles - intragenerational equity!) meant I eventually, and successfully, completed the assessments.
The question has been asked on more than one occasion, usually by disturbed loved ones as I attempted to pull my hair out, what on earth does acoustics have to do with sustainability?
As it turns out, the study of acoustics in this subject was for the benefit of mechanical engineers who in the future will be designing stuff operating in an environment near you - anything from the car you drive, the air-conditioner you switch on, the processing plant next to your hobby farm, to your next state-of-the art sound system.
You see, we now take well-designed, quietly operating equipment for granted but, the designers of tomorrow still have to learn the principles of noise (and its reduction) today.
Reading around the subject of noise is revelatory. The World Health Organisation considers occupational noise as a burden of disease. Unsurprisingly their data shows there are no recorded cases of death caused directly by noise. However it is the third highest risk affecting Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). This measure combines the burden due to death and disability in a single index. Each year represents the loss of the equivalent one year of full health. So while occupational noise won't kill you, it appears it will not make you stronger either.
Occupational noise is not the only form of noise which is bad for your health. Environmental noise has been the focus of the WHO Europe who suggest that excess noise "can disturb sleep, cause cardiovascular and psychophysiological effects, reduce performance and provoke annoyance responses and changes in social behaviour". In reality, this is when noise may lead to death - indirectly that is...
So, in a nutshell, sustainable societies are those where the inhabitants can communicate effectively so being able to listen to each other helps. It is also beneficial if the inhabitants are not being made ill or being driven to acts of violence because of undesirable noise in their environment. Noise levels can and do affect sustainability!
The question has been asked on more than one occasion, usually by disturbed loved ones as I attempted to pull my hair out, what on earth does acoustics have to do with sustainability?
As it turns out, the study of acoustics in this subject was for the benefit of mechanical engineers who in the future will be designing stuff operating in an environment near you - anything from the car you drive, the air-conditioner you switch on, the processing plant next to your hobby farm, to your next state-of-the art sound system.
You see, we now take well-designed, quietly operating equipment for granted but, the designers of tomorrow still have to learn the principles of noise (and its reduction) today.
Reading around the subject of noise is revelatory. The World Health Organisation considers occupational noise as a burden of disease. Unsurprisingly their data shows there are no recorded cases of death caused directly by noise. However it is the third highest risk affecting Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). This measure combines the burden due to death and disability in a single index. Each year represents the loss of the equivalent one year of full health. So while occupational noise won't kill you, it appears it will not make you stronger either.
Occupational noise is not the only form of noise which is bad for your health. Environmental noise has been the focus of the WHO Europe who suggest that excess noise "can disturb sleep, cause cardiovascular and psychophysiological effects, reduce performance and provoke annoyance responses and changes in social behaviour". In reality, this is when noise may lead to death - indirectly that is...
So, in a nutshell, sustainable societies are those where the inhabitants can communicate effectively so being able to listen to each other helps. It is also beneficial if the inhabitants are not being made ill or being driven to acts of violence because of undesirable noise in their environment. Noise levels can and do affect sustainability!
Monday, 21 March 2011
ESD - that's not a hybrid party drug...
Ecological sustainable development is more commonly referred to as ESD and I suspect in some fairly high quarters, considered the oxymoron lurking in the office of progress.
Whether you are old enough to remember The Stockholm Declaration circa 1972, or just a diligent reader of lecture notes, you'll soon learn it was heady stuff for the day. When the UN got involved in 1983 and commissioned The Brundtland Report which was released in 1987, the world began its slippery slide into considering more than just economics but also environmental protection and social equity. Roll on 1992 and the Rio Declaration - suddenly the international community were agreeing on 27 principles to guide sustainable development. Back at the Earth Summit that same year, the newly released Agenda 21 provided a 500 page action plan (because apparently in saving the world, trees will be collateral damage) with the objective to alleviate poverty, hunger, sickness and illiteracy worldwide and, no less, halt the deterioration of ecosystems which sustain life, all at the same time. As a matter of interest, Australia signed up to Agenda 21 so we now report annually on our progress to the UN Commission for Sustainable Development.
Drilling down into the detail, ESD can be summarised as being guided by the following key principles;
Whether you are old enough to remember The Stockholm Declaration circa 1972, or just a diligent reader of lecture notes, you'll soon learn it was heady stuff for the day. When the UN got involved in 1983 and commissioned The Brundtland Report which was released in 1987, the world began its slippery slide into considering more than just economics but also environmental protection and social equity. Roll on 1992 and the Rio Declaration - suddenly the international community were agreeing on 27 principles to guide sustainable development. Back at the Earth Summit that same year, the newly released Agenda 21 provided a 500 page action plan (because apparently in saving the world, trees will be collateral damage) with the objective to alleviate poverty, hunger, sickness and illiteracy worldwide and, no less, halt the deterioration of ecosystems which sustain life, all at the same time. As a matter of interest, Australia signed up to Agenda 21 so we now report annually on our progress to the UN Commission for Sustainable Development.
Drilling down into the detail, ESD can be summarised as being guided by the following key principles;
- including short and long term environmental, social and economic considerations in decisions
- the precautionary principle
- conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity
- intergenerational equity (the people of the future will be no worse off)
- intragenerational equity (no group in current society will be worse off)
- development of mechanisms which better reflect true costs including the polluter pays principle and the user pays system
- broad based community involvement (consultation of the masses).
So why is this little summary of history important? Well while you actively debate the merits of the proposed Carbon Tax around your dinner table, it is worth considering that it is an example of the principle 16 of Agenda 21 - the user pays. There is actually some method in the current government's garbled message..
Friday, 18 March 2011
Week 3 and all is busy...
It's the end of Week 3 and I have handed in my Ethics in Engineering essay, completed and submitted my sustainability assessment of my house and discovered enough about phytoremediation to be able to submit an abstract for a research project which will investigate opportunities for bio-fuels generated by the plants being used to clean up contamination on petroleum sites. Huge thanks to my environmental colleagues at work who know really interesting stuff about cleaning up pollution and shared that with the safety chick!
Further to my post about biofuels, the idea behind the research project is growing bio-fuels on land which is not putting either food production, forests or native flora/fauna at risk.
Battling my way through an acoustics assignment for next week....
Further to my post about biofuels, the idea behind the research project is growing bio-fuels on land which is not putting either food production, forests or native flora/fauna at risk.
Battling my way through an acoustics assignment for next week....
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
To eat or to drive? - could be the future question
After a spot of reading for my Biofuels assignment, it is becoming clearer to me at least (for those more enlightened bear with me), that being alternative is not as simple as it looks.
In a week where the ongoing unrest in Libya sent the oil price up, only to be (literally) shaken down again by the devastation wrought by Mother Nature in Japan, we have been reminded that cheap fuel is at the whim of a jittery market.
On the face of it, being the good economic rationalists most of us find ourselves being, alternative fuels are there and at the moment, are competitive. Really? The following is worth considering, given that the the time of writing, oil was trading just under $US 100/barrel;
Brazilian ethanol from sugarcane is competitive at $US25-30/barrel
US ethanol (from corn) is competitive at $US 50-60/barrel and even
EU ethanol (born of cereals, sugar beet and/or agricultural subsidies) is competitive at $US 70/barrel.
Brazil is one of the few countries where pure petroleum is no longer sold and the flex-fuel vehicles in that market run on 10-100% ethanol and/or petroleum blends.
However there is that small burning question, with an insatiable thirst for fuel, how will we grow enough to eat and drive? That's even before we consider the forests and the bio-diversity we are all rather used to.... Oh, if only it was that simple!
In a week where the ongoing unrest in Libya sent the oil price up, only to be (literally) shaken down again by the devastation wrought by Mother Nature in Japan, we have been reminded that cheap fuel is at the whim of a jittery market.
On the face of it, being the good economic rationalists most of us find ourselves being, alternative fuels are there and at the moment, are competitive. Really? The following is worth considering, given that the the time of writing, oil was trading just under $US 100/barrel;
Brazilian ethanol from sugarcane is competitive at $US25-30/barrel
US ethanol (from corn) is competitive at $US 50-60/barrel and even
EU ethanol (born of cereals, sugar beet and/or agricultural subsidies) is competitive at $US 70/barrel.
Brazil is one of the few countries where pure petroleum is no longer sold and the flex-fuel vehicles in that market run on 10-100% ethanol and/or petroleum blends.
However there is that small burning question, with an insatiable thirst for fuel, how will we grow enough to eat and drive? That's even before we consider the forests and the bio-diversity we are all rather used to.... Oh, if only it was that simple!
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Vote 1 - Thermal Comfort
It's fair to say Australians really didn't seem to know what they wanted at the last federal Australia election yet we voted like the good little citizens that we are and now we can marvel on a daily basis at what democracy has produced...
Makes you want to withdraw back into the comfort of your own home and ignore the madness. However, what makes your home comfortable? Not surprising our perceptions of comfort, including "thermal comfort" differ from person to person. But don't panic, like all good reality shows, you can vote and the researchers will happily listen. As far as I am aware though, no-one get evicted however in the UK, the government is currently worrying about it in their Fuel Poverty Strategy. It appears the Brits don't want anyone living in a home where the occupants cannot afford to heat the rooms to at least 18 degrees in winter.
Once upon a time we didn't have that wang-fangled air-conditioning thing (blowing cold or hot air for that matter). However, with its advent came a need to define thermal comfort - it's hard to sell a product which creates a condition you cannot define! Enter the ASHRAE Scale and the Bedford Comfort Scale (the Yanks v the Brits) which essential provide alternative tools to vote for your level of comfort in the space in which you occupy (hot, warm, slightly warm, neutral, slightly cool, cool, cold or variations on that theme) and someone can measure and quantify it. Effectively using all the votes, they can calculate a mean comfort vote (something to do with average, rather than being malicious).
Here's where it gets more complicated than just voting (unless you like to vote below the line in the Senate). There are six basic elements which will affect your perception of thermal comfort - ambient air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air movement, clothing level, humidity and metabolic activity.
It's not an exact science but an interesting one, illustrated best by those working in the field. While running a workshop for a paper, the heating in the building had failed and each workshop participant (each a recognised expert) was asked to estimate the internal temperature of the building. Their guesses ranged from 9 to 20 degrees. The thermometer read 15.5 degrees.
Makes you want to withdraw back into the comfort of your own home and ignore the madness. However, what makes your home comfortable? Not surprising our perceptions of comfort, including "thermal comfort" differ from person to person. But don't panic, like all good reality shows, you can vote and the researchers will happily listen. As far as I am aware though, no-one get evicted however in the UK, the government is currently worrying about it in their Fuel Poverty Strategy. It appears the Brits don't want anyone living in a home where the occupants cannot afford to heat the rooms to at least 18 degrees in winter.
Once upon a time we didn't have that wang-fangled air-conditioning thing (blowing cold or hot air for that matter). However, with its advent came a need to define thermal comfort - it's hard to sell a product which creates a condition you cannot define! Enter the ASHRAE Scale and the Bedford Comfort Scale (the Yanks v the Brits) which essential provide alternative tools to vote for your level of comfort in the space in which you occupy (hot, warm, slightly warm, neutral, slightly cool, cool, cold or variations on that theme) and someone can measure and quantify it. Effectively using all the votes, they can calculate a mean comfort vote (something to do with average, rather than being malicious).
Here's where it gets more complicated than just voting (unless you like to vote below the line in the Senate). There are six basic elements which will affect your perception of thermal comfort - ambient air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air movement, clothing level, humidity and metabolic activity.
It's not an exact science but an interesting one, illustrated best by those working in the field. While running a workshop for a paper, the heating in the building had failed and each workshop participant (each a recognised expert) was asked to estimate the internal temperature of the building. Their guesses ranged from 9 to 20 degrees. The thermometer read 15.5 degrees.
Monday, 7 March 2011
The explosive truth about peace...
Why did it take this long (and a random series of lectures in Engineering Ethics) for me to discover that without dynamite, there would not have been a Nobel Peace Prize? There probably would have been a "Someone else Peace Prize" eventually, but not a Nobel one.
Son of a man who made naval mines from gunpowder and dabbled in arms manufacture (of the ordinance, not limb, variety), Alfred Nobel developed commercial production of nitrogylcerine, subsequently involved a brother (and several others in the wrong place at the right time) in a fatal explosion, improved the formulation and created dynamite. A pretty auspicious start for a man who would die bitter and wealthy but be inspired to leave all his money to establish the various Nobel prizes, including that for peace.
I love the fact that the Swedes select each of the winners except the Peace Prize - which has been outsourced to those neutral Norwegians since its inception in 1901.
It's probably not the most sustainable way to encourage philanthropy but it's an interesting thing to know...
Son of a man who made naval mines from gunpowder and dabbled in arms manufacture (of the ordinance, not limb, variety), Alfred Nobel developed commercial production of nitrogylcerine, subsequently involved a brother (and several others in the wrong place at the right time) in a fatal explosion, improved the formulation and created dynamite. A pretty auspicious start for a man who would die bitter and wealthy but be inspired to leave all his money to establish the various Nobel prizes, including that for peace.
I love the fact that the Swedes select each of the winners except the Peace Prize - which has been outsourced to those neutral Norwegians since its inception in 1901.
It's probably not the most sustainable way to encourage philanthropy but it's an interesting thing to know...
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Affluence, sustainability and happiness - an unholy trinity?
I expect to revisit this philosophical question in many guises so here's hoping I can keep up with engaging titles....
Riding my bike yesterday, I recalled a couple of discussions in the last week which made for some interesting thinking.
The week kicked off with a benign lecture on energy sources. It was all a bit Year 12 physics re-visited however my attention was piqued when mentioned that the resting human only requires 80W of energy (a reasonably bright old school light globe) and most sedentary work requires 100W (a bright light globe). Walking is about 350W and those active things, who like to run, use about 1000W. The simple message - energy for "being" (even with bursts of activity) is very low. The lecturer then asked - why do we need so much more energy for "living"?
Fast forward to the tutorial discussion about the sustainability of the design of each of our houses. There was much discussion about northernly aspects (or lack thereof), building materials, water tanks, solar panels, 24/7 appliance usage and utility bills. One fellow student quipped that his share-house couldn't afford to run up high electricity bills ergo student poverty appears to be quite sustainable! Which elucidated the following gems from the tutor
(i) studies have shown that homes in more affluent areas often have lower "sustainability scores" simply because the occupants can afford to use more energy even though they may also live "better designed" homes
(ii) occupant use of a building ultimately enhances or degrades sustainability performance of a building - a five-star green star built building will only deliver on its promise (the design and construction) if it is used well.
So that's why the "five star living" concept is quite relevant - everyone can improve what they have even if it wasn't all that great in the first place. How do you use your level of affluence to influence your sustainability?
After we had all dissected the "environmental sustainability" of our houses, we were surprised to be asked "Does your house make you happy"? In the multiple tools measuring "sustainability" they have yet to develop an index of happiness associated with a building. Perhaps the next study trip will be to Bhutan?
Riding my bike yesterday, I recalled a couple of discussions in the last week which made for some interesting thinking.
The week kicked off with a benign lecture on energy sources. It was all a bit Year 12 physics re-visited however my attention was piqued when mentioned that the resting human only requires 80W of energy (a reasonably bright old school light globe) and most sedentary work requires 100W (a bright light globe). Walking is about 350W and those active things, who like to run, use about 1000W. The simple message - energy for "being" (even with bursts of activity) is very low. The lecturer then asked - why do we need so much more energy for "living"?
Fast forward to the tutorial discussion about the sustainability of the design of each of our houses. There was much discussion about northernly aspects (or lack thereof), building materials, water tanks, solar panels, 24/7 appliance usage and utility bills. One fellow student quipped that his share-house couldn't afford to run up high electricity bills ergo student poverty appears to be quite sustainable! Which elucidated the following gems from the tutor
(i) studies have shown that homes in more affluent areas often have lower "sustainability scores" simply because the occupants can afford to use more energy even though they may also live "better designed" homes
(ii) occupant use of a building ultimately enhances or degrades sustainability performance of a building - a five-star green star built building will only deliver on its promise (the design and construction) if it is used well.
So that's why the "five star living" concept is quite relevant - everyone can improve what they have even if it wasn't all that great in the first place. How do you use your level of affluence to influence your sustainability?
After we had all dissected the "environmental sustainability" of our houses, we were surprised to be asked "Does your house make you happy"? In the multiple tools measuring "sustainability" they have yet to develop an index of happiness associated with a building. Perhaps the next study trip will be to Bhutan?
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Don't be misled by the green background...
I probably should have made this the first post and not the third one, but it was Day 5's key learning and I do like a logical sequence of events...
In keeping with the guidance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on green claims please be aware that the background colour of this blog should not be construed to infer anything other than I thought it looked good.
This blog has no known environmental benefit and none is claimed by its author. There is no recycled material anywhere in this blog - the text is original and hopefully in pristine condition when you read it. There is no certification applicable to this blog and none is claimed. No frogs, wombats or other beloved fauna were targeted,or tested in the making of this blog.
I do subscribe to GreenPower (R) and as a result pay a premium to offset 100% the carbon dioxide emissions created as part of electricity generation process. I am not fooled, and neither should you be, that as a result there is less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It just means that some more alternative energy sources get a boost in funding so one day, when the black and brown stuff runs out, we have some alternatives which are tried, tested and most importantly installed!
In keeping with the guidance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on green claims please be aware that the background colour of this blog should not be construed to infer anything other than I thought it looked good.
This blog has no known environmental benefit and none is claimed by its author. There is no recycled material anywhere in this blog - the text is original and hopefully in pristine condition when you read it. There is no certification applicable to this blog and none is claimed. No frogs, wombats or other beloved fauna were targeted,or tested in the making of this blog.
I do subscribe to GreenPower (R) and as a result pay a premium to offset 100% the carbon dioxide emissions created as part of electricity generation process. I am not fooled, and neither should you be, that as a result there is less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It just means that some more alternative energy sources get a boost in funding so one day, when the black and brown stuff runs out, we have some alternatives which are tried, tested and most importantly installed!
Friday, 4 March 2011
Five star living....
Don't panic, by the end of week one, it hasn't all been irrelevant lectures and strange encounters with building sites, although there are quite a few to avoid, which I guess bodes well for facilities for future generations which some of you are happily producing at a rapid rate.
On Day 3, the tiny little part of me that always wished I'd changed my first UAC preference to Architecture at UNSW when I had the chance (and miraculously the marks as it turned out) all those years ago finally got to say "I told you so".
Amongst the sea of engineering subjects I have found myself floating in, there is a small Architectural island, promising the basics of sustainable residential design. So far, so fun. I think my fellow students (all third years methinks) wonder from which time-machine I stepped and I can remember the disdain which my fellow undergrads directed at our batch of mature-agers the first time round.
I discovered that despite everything about my current place that defies sustainable housing (including its three ancient a/c units!) and even on a student budget, it is possible to enjoy five star living, NABERS-style. Apparently, if you don't use much electricity, gas or water, you will have a higher rating! Take the challenge and if you dare, find those utility bills and enter the numbers in www.nabers.com.au.
Are you enjoying 5 star living?
On Day 3, the tiny little part of me that always wished I'd changed my first UAC preference to Architecture at UNSW when I had the chance (and miraculously the marks as it turned out) all those years ago finally got to say "I told you so".
Amongst the sea of engineering subjects I have found myself floating in, there is a small Architectural island, promising the basics of sustainable residential design. So far, so fun. I think my fellow students (all third years methinks) wonder from which time-machine I stepped and I can remember the disdain which my fellow undergrads directed at our batch of mature-agers the first time round.
I discovered that despite everything about my current place that defies sustainable housing (including its three ancient a/c units!) and even on a student budget, it is possible to enjoy five star living, NABERS-style. Apparently, if you don't use much electricity, gas or water, you will have a higher rating! Take the challenge and if you dare, find those utility bills and enter the numbers in www.nabers.com.au.
Are you enjoying 5 star living?
The ethics of engineering....
The strangest place I ended up on day 1 was not
(a) a 6 star green star spaceship which doubles as an Engineering building
(b) buying a text book in the middle of a large space that used to be a refectory
(c) gazing at piling rig in the middle of what used to be a lovely lawn to sit on in my youth
but rather
(d) in the first two of six lectures in a series on Engineering Australia's Code of Ethics.
The lecturer acknowledged audibly that the subject matter applied to the vast number of fourth year engies of all persuasions in the subject who run a distinct chance of graduating sometime soonish. He seemed unsure as to what to do with those post-grad blow-ins from Sustainability lowering the tone. In turn, I acknowledged silently to myself that as the lectures just happened to be in a Masonic Lodge, that apparently exclusive societies beget other exclusive societies.
As a hardened campaigner against the innumerable acts of stupidity possible while wearing a hat, and still casual employee of a professional consulting engineering company which must remain nameless, it was an eye-opening experience. Hopefully my two page essay on the matter demonstrates I learnt something...
If you are curious, concerned or just having trouble sleeping, feel free to check out the link www.engineeringaustralia.org.au/ethics.
(a) a 6 star green star spaceship which doubles as an Engineering building
(b) buying a text book in the middle of a large space that used to be a refectory
(c) gazing at piling rig in the middle of what used to be a lovely lawn to sit on in my youth
but rather
(d) in the first two of six lectures in a series on Engineering Australia's Code of Ethics.
The lecturer acknowledged audibly that the subject matter applied to the vast number of fourth year engies of all persuasions in the subject who run a distinct chance of graduating sometime soonish. He seemed unsure as to what to do with those post-grad blow-ins from Sustainability lowering the tone. In turn, I acknowledged silently to myself that as the lectures just happened to be in a Masonic Lodge, that apparently exclusive societies beget other exclusive societies.
As a hardened campaigner against the innumerable acts of stupidity possible while wearing a hat, and still casual employee of a professional consulting engineering company which must remain nameless, it was an eye-opening experience. Hopefully my two page essay on the matter demonstrates I learnt something...
If you are curious, concerned or just having trouble sleeping, feel free to check out the link www.engineeringaustralia.org.au/ethics.
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