Don’t politicize science, engineering

Re: “Engineers face ethical dilemma over pipelines,” comment, July 6. As a retired engineer, I found the commentary by Chris Kennedy disturbing.

It’s a dangerous leap to suggest that because a profession “recognizes” certain ancillary and exogenous factors, it should have an ethical and liability stake in their outcomes and therefore cease and desist from engineering in certain fields.

The thesis here is nothing short of the politicization of science and engineering. In a democratic, marketbased society, individuals make production decisions within a reasonable regulatory framework.

The entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses are free to hire trades and technology workers, such as engineers, to commercialize, design and build the products and services they want to produce to meet the demands of society. We would not have the unparalleled quality of life of today without such free markets and consequent technologies.

To propose that engineers stop working on pipelines is an attempt to co-opt the profession into supporting a progressive political agenda. It is simply wrong to restrict the trade of thousands of professionals that create enormous value for society based on a political interpretation of professional guidelines. Fred Kardel Nanaimo