In this re-post from thegreencivilengineer.com, Bob Faulhaber confronts a tough question: “Am I a green hypocrite?” What answer do you get when you ask yourself this question?

Am I a green hypocrite? I might be... This is something that I struggle with quite regularly. I consider myself an environmentally responsible individual, and sustainability is a core tenet of the business that I founded. With just about every decision that I make, or at least the major ones, I try to consider the environmental consequences of that decision and action. However, I'd be lying if I said that I always made the environmental choice. Most of the time there is probably a good reason for that, but sometimes it’s really just a matter of preference. Does that make me a green hypocrite? I hope not, but I will leave that for someone else to decide. Here are some of my green and not-so-green decisions.

Civil engineers design them, landscape architects loath them, developers wonder why we need them and municipal engineers often require them - I hate them. Retention and Detention ponds have become the standard for stormwater management on commercial and residential projects throughout most of the US. They were originally intended for flood control and were later incorporated into water quality requirements as well. They serve in their capacity to attenuate peak flows from new development reasonably well, but their usefulness stops there. Here are a few of the reasons that I'm not a fan of detention/retention ponds:

Civil engineers design them, landscape architects loath them, developers wonder why we need them and municipal engineers often require them - I hate them. Retention and Detention ponds have become the standard for stormwater management on commercial and residential projects throughout most of the US. They were originally intended for flood control and were later incorporated into water quality requirements as well. They serve in their capacity to attenuate peak flows from new development reasonably well, but their usefulness stops there. Here are a few of the reasons that I'm not a fan of detention/retention ponds:

I have been advocating for and designing green infrastructure and LID solutions for a number of years now. In those years one of the most common things I hear is "So what's it going to cost me?". The assumption is always that it's going to cost more, and often they expect it to cost a lot more. Fortunately, its often less expensive rather than more expensive. This is especially the case with civil engineering (stormwater infrastructure, grading, parking lots, landscape design, etc.). Clients are naturally incredulous when I tell them that it's going to cost less, so their next statement is usually " Really!?, how much less?". In answering that question I have found that "well, that depends", doesn't always fly, so I have put together some general cost comparisons for several green vs traditional design elements.

My latest bit of unsolicited advice for civil engineers and other land development professionals is simple: go play in the rain. Alternatively, if you feel you have gotten too old (never!) to play in the rain, at least get out and watch it. The typical human tendency is to stay inside when it rains, and going out to check on the site of your proposed, ongoing, or completed construction project is probably one of the last things that you want to do, but it can be a tremendous learning experience.

One of the most important and effective ways to create sustainable designs is by taking a collaborative approach. Ideally all of the project stakeholders (owner, architect, engineers, contractors, etc.) are brought together before the design process begins, and the design process can be completely collaborative, with all parties providing valuable input based on their expertise. The reality, however, is that this collaboration rarely happens, especially on smaller-scale projects.