The ASCE Board met over the weekend. See, these dedicated members didn’t even miss work to attend the meeting! One of the highlights of our sessions was a presentation from our Sustainability Task Force. We will be publishing a more detailed description of their work, but I am excited to let you know of one major decision. ASCE is creating a certification process for civil works.

Most of you are familiar with the LEED certification program. They rate buildings on a number of criteria based on sustainable design and energy conservation. We believe that ASCE and civil engineers should be the ones who establish good practices related to civil works. Our Code of Ethics calls on each of us to engage in sustainable development. ASCE is issuing a definition of what sustainability means on civil works. We are promoting the use of new materials and techniques as we try to minimize impacts on the natural environment. Civil engineers have always been stewards of the environment. We went green long ago; we just did not take credit for it. Now we want to celebrate the ability of civil engineers to improve the world we live in. We want the public to have confidence that the infrastructure we build will improve their quality of life and the quality of the environment wherever possible.

Some of you may ask why this is so important. The answer is simple. If we fail to act, many other professions will be happy to do it for us and impose their ideas on our practice. We know better than others how to use our skills to benefit mankind by creating energy efficient and environmentally sensitive projects. Now, we will do just that. Civil engineers are the stewards of infrastructure. Certification of sustainable practice will go a long way in communicating that fact to the public.

Summertime is lazy time for many of us. The weather is hot. People are on vacation. We wish we were on vacation, too. Speaking of vacation, why is there always a big pile of paper on your desk when you get back from vacation? Can’t anybody handle those items while we are gone? Let me give you a suggestion for something else you can do during the summer. How about engaging in some life-long learning?

ASCE remains the largest provider of civil engineering material in the world. Much of that material is available in seminars online. No matter what your specialty, ASCE has educational materials for you. Think about it. If you are a PE, most states require some sort of continuing education. ASCE courses qualify, and you can take them at home or at work. If you are working towards a PE, you will benefit from expanding your knowledge or by taking an exam review class. If you are a practicing engineer, you really do need to stay abreast of developments in your chosen field. If you are a manager, we have seminars on a number of business, marketing, and HR topics. If you have been working alone, you can pay a single fee and invite your friends or clients to join you. Time is the one commodity where it is impossible to create a surplus. Enjoy your summer. Don’t get to the fall and wish you had spent your time more wisely. Do your career a favor this summer. Take an ASCE seminar. You will be glad you did. [Learn more about ASCE's Continuing Education offerings.]

Personal privilege. Today is my 35th wedding anniversary. The sideburns are gone. The cheesy styles went with them. My love for my wife, Karen, has grown. She remains the joy of my life.

When we published our 2009 Infrastructure Report Card, we received a high number of accolades. We also received the tired old criticism that we were being self-serving. Critics can be so predictable. Now, we have received independent confirmation of our warnings about poor, inadequate infrastructure.

A national transportation coalition has published a report that states that more than 50% of highway fatalities are caused by poor road conditions. That finding is an indictment for every DOT and elected body in this country. It is also an indictment to civil engineers who have sat silently while the deterioration accelerated. We have allowed our roadways to deteriorate to the point where people are at risk to travel on them. The challenge as always remains funding. We built these roads decades ago and adopted new spending priorities. Now that we need to rebuild, we cannot seem to get any money back from those new priorities. In the meantime, people are getting killed. Congress is now debating a transportation bill with no identified way to pay for it. The Administration wants to defer the discussion for at least six months. State legislatures are just as bad. In Texas, our legislature just voted down a means to get private funds to build toll roads. This decision comes in spite of evidence that 100% of current funding will go for maintenance by 2012.

Our elected officials have become more adept at telling us what they cannot support instead of finding methods that they can support. I think we should promote the new study as visibly as possible. Let the elected people explain why 50% casualties that could be avoided is good public policy. Read the study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Download and send a copy to your elected officials. Tell them that enough is enough.

Personal privilege. Happy birthday to my son David. He is 28 today.

ASCE continues to proclaim the need for improved infrastructure. Our 2009 Report Card gives national grades and impacts. An old cliché states that all politics is local. The same could be said for infrastructure. I think people in Texas have a hard time identifying with a collapsed bridge in Minneapolis. The same could likely be said for people in Utah understanding the tragedy that befell New Orleans.

As civil engineers, we need to bridge the “understanding gap.” What is the biggest infrastructure issue where you live? Do people endure flooding on a routine basis? Are you vulnerable to natural disasters? Is your water system held together with chewing gum and baling wire? Are your streets a collection of patches on patches? Does the wind bring a pungent reminder of the local WWTP? Do commuters leave earlier and earlier to accommodate an increase in traffic? Have you noticed more load-zoned bridges? Do you find industry moving out of town to newer areas? Did the CIP get reduced again? Has water rationing been imposed? Do you have building moratoriums? The likelihood is that your community, like almost every community, has major problems with some portion of infrastructure. Your neighbors may not know because the elected officials have no intention of telling them. Out of sight really is out of mind.

Civil engineers have a duty to inform both elected officials and the citizens of the condition of their infrastructure. People rely on infrastructure to provide basic needs and keep them safe. We have the most information and understanding of the true condition of those very systems. Stand up and be counted. Work with your ASCE Section or Branch to spread the word. We have a great opportunity to state our case.