It's hard to know where exactly to stand on the issues presented in the two gas pipeline articles. On the one hand, no one wants the environment they live in to be overdeveloped or commercialized, but at the same time, we all still depend heavily on fuel and would be just as angry to suddenly be short on it or to have to pay exorbitantly high energy rates. Consequently, I don't really think it's an engineers responsibility to make decisions for the public, but rather to help them truly understand all the options.
Scientists and engineers have an upper hand on both the public and the corporations in cases like this because they understand better than anyone what the implications of certain technologies actually are. To someone in the neighborhood, an oil pipeline seems corrupt and disruptive; to the head of a fuel company, it sounds like a big moneymaking prospect. An engineer, however, has the ability to actually examine the proposal from a scientific perspective, gleaning its pros and cons and determining whether it is in fact better than other options.
Thus, while engineers often get lost in the background of these projects with corporate PR people doing most of the dealings with the public, I think it is the ethical responsibility of all scientists to help people understand the technologies they specialize in so that they can make informed decisions. Maybe people would be okay with gas pipelines if it ended up saving them money on energy, or maybe they would rather pay the extra while seeking alternative forms of fuel; either way, the best way for the public to form their opinion is if they are equipped with all the facts. Corporations have an agenda and therefore can't always provide this unbiased information, but scientists and engineers can, and thus it is important for them to act as a go-between in these kinds of controversies.
NOTE TO DONNY: Black Panther appreciates the recognition of her bowling abilities, and is still reveling the aftermath of her very graceful strike.
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