This post might have relevance to the workforce group as well, depending on how you wish to approach it.
Without burdening you too much with the experience that lead to this reflection--it is sufficient to say 'I was playing a game that challenges you to think about logistics'--I had a small, full-circle moment. I suspect it is not profound when viewed next to the collective experience of engineers and scientists, but it was sufficiently profound for me that it triggered a sense of joy that I think I can channel into motivation.
As I may have already said in past posts, I'm a newcomer to the hydro power industry. I started with Kleinschmidt Associates last September, transitioning from a several-year-stint providing technical support in an academic lab. While my education was rooted in an electrical engineering technology program tailored towards power, my laboratory work was centered around instrumentation and measurement systems. These systems, though, were directly connected to renewable power--I played a small role in putting together the data acquisition system for the University of Maine's VolturnUS+ demonstrator.
Renewables are a fascinating technology. Although there's much marketing and fuss about solar and wind, during the last year I've developed a deep appreciation for the complexity of hydro power: perhaps the first proof of how renewable energy can be harnessed and what is possible when environmental stewardship is prioritized.
I'm certain there are people within the hydro industry--certainly plenty outside of it--that resent the environmental requirements. Imagine the profits that could be realized if we didn't need to consider a dam's impact on the ecosystem. The economics could make a Wall St. exec blush.
If only we didn't have to do hard things, we could expedite our journey towards the natural inclination of slothfulness.
I visited a nearby fish passage for a local dam. I was afforded a fairly detailed inspection of the facility, though as we were past 'peak season' there was little to witness in the way of actual fish being moved. Compared to a fish ladder, the facility was an alien installation: an automated lift for hoisting fish into a channel that lead beneath the powerhouse where they could continue their journey up the river or be loaded into trucks to be used in conservation efforts elsewhere in the state.
A machine with no purpose beyond trying to offer Nature a deal: please let us harness some of the energy flowing through this river and in return we will do our best to mitigate its interference with the complex ecosystem that exists in it.
I'm not an idiot; everything has a trade-off. The reality is that we can never--at least with our current resource allocation--build something that is entirely benign to the environment in which it is placed. However, we can still engineer great things. We can still choose to pursue the most advanced, sustainable concepts that show our intention to remain connected to the world that we reshape daily. Rather than silo ourselves off from it, we can choose to measure our progress by the feats we achieve while choosing not to approach them as archaic conquerors ignorant to the swath left behind.
Although I think there's plenty of evidence to suggest such intention has not been adopted by many we traditionally consider to be movers and shakers, it's comforting to know people have proven these things in the past and that can serve as a springboard for others.