Abstract

A number of factors, from soaring fuel prices to genetically modified agricultural products, have greatly refocused worldwide attention on the interrelationship between technology and society and the necessity for sustainable engineering and business practices. Technology, Humans, and Society focuses on building a model for business and engineering that will lead to a sustainable world. The challenge for engineering is to develop new technologies that enable economic growth and do not deplete irreplaceable resources and destroy ecological systems.

No longer solely the domain of environmentalists and ecologists, "sustainable" or "green" business practices and engineering designs are becoming a central part of the planning of many of the world's most influential companies, such as Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, Dow, and Agilent. Companies are overwhelmingly not only finding that sustainable business and engineering practices are good for environment, but also improve the image of the company and quite frequently the "bottom-line."

Dorf's 1975 publication, Technology and Society (ISBN: 0878350470), sold over 70,000 copies. The completely new Technology, Humans, and Society is created to meet the swelling demand for unified practices of both business people and technologists in the creation of a "greener" sustainable world.

• Readable discussion of key issues of sustainable engineering and business design and practice
• Covers how to plan and implement a business practice that leads to an environmental, social and economic balance that results in profitable growth

"... My compliments for your work in developing Technology, Humans, and Society. I am excited to know that some of us on the technology side are willing to help bridge the gap between the demands of business/technology and the vital long term issues of social and environmental responsibility. Hopefully, your text will find its way into undergraduate engineering and business curricula... the next generation is our best hope for establishing a balanced and sustainable world." --Ron Mascitelli, President of Technology Perspectives and author of the forthcoming book, Building a Project-Driven Enterprise

"Making all the information of this book available in one place is a significant service. One hopes that the issue of sustainability will be debated widely in the next few years. At the very least, Technology, Humans, and Society will give people the fundamental knowledge and the vocabulary to make that debate meaningful." --Barrett Hazeltine, Lehigh University's Science, Technology & Society Newsletter