I know the big general concept of sustainability. I’ve heard them repeated to me over and over again, whether it be at home, school, or on the news. I know how to go about making small changes to my daily life, and I know what causes the destruction we’re seeing. But I’m missing the bigger changes. Part of my essential question is “What does the future of engineering look like as our environment changes?”, and I figure that what that would look like is a greener, more incorporated, less wasteful, and smart city. But the details of that are hazy. Climate change is one of those topics. The ones with “impending doom” written all over them. It’s difficult, at least for me, to get into it without having dread constantly wash over me. For me, the dread comes strictly from uncertainty. Not knowing what steps are being taken on a larger scale than turning off the lights when you leave the room leaves me a bit uneasy. So I guess I’m looking for the details. The the bigger, concrete steps that are being taken, or could be taken to achieve this goal. At first I didn’t quite know how to go about finding those. As I tried to find articles related to the information I was trying to find, I realized I know some of the words, but certainly not all. The vocabulary I had to start searching was limited at best. As I read more, I get more that I can search. Finding articles, for now, has led to more questions. 

The second piece of my essential question deals with the actual design process. It states, “Can I get a better understanding of the design process?”. See, I know how things are created, but I’ve never tried it myself, at least not fully. I can have ideas, but actual designs that are plausible and work have always been a weak point for me. For this, it’s a bit easier to pinpoint what I don’t know or at the very least never attempted to find. The process of finding answers for this part of my question has been for the most part, direct solutions and attempts. 

I just want to be a good engineering student, and I feel like even trying to answer these questions can help me get a feel for what I need or will need to focus on.