Recent political developments imply a much larger part of our economy will be devoted to civilian enterprises and a much smaller part to military work than in the recent past. This book examines the impact on the technical community, particularly engineers, of the conversion of defense-related industries to civilian-oriented activities. Currently about one third of all engineers work on military projects, and four fifths of all federal research and development is defense-related. The essays in this volume are by academic researchers (in disciplines ranging from psychology and philosophy to economics and engineering), engineers and managers from companies that work on military projects, and representatives of some of the professional societies of engineers. They address the questions: What will be the impact on the technical community of the economic conversion? What effect will the technical community have on the conversion? What actions can one take to minimize the destructive and maximize the constructive effects of the conversion? What are the implications for engineering education, professional work, and public policy?

As the state of the natural world declines, environmentally related health problems will increasingly shape the landscape of human health and disease. The confluence of several global trends - rapid population growth combined with an even more dramatic increase in natural resource consumption - drives ecological deterioration, and this in turn poses serious challenges to health. U.S. medicine and bioethics have too long ignored the relevance of these global trends to health care. This groundbreaking work is a call to attention. It brings bioethics and health care squarely into the 21st century.

The book shows how environmental decline relates to human health and to health care practices in the U.S. and other industrialized countries. It outlines the environmental trends that will strongly affect health, and challenges us to see the connections between ways of practicing medicine and the very envrionmental problems that damage ecosystems and make people sick. In addition to philosophical analysis of the converging values of bioethics and environmental ethics, the book offers case studies as well as a number of practical suggestions for moving health care toward sustainability. The exploration of a hypothetical Green Health Center, in particular, offers an intellectual and moral framework for talking about environmental values in health care. Engaging and challenging, this book will appeal not only to health professionals and philosophers, but to anyone concerned about how to preserve and promote both human health and the health of the natural world.