Artificial Photosynthesis: an Ethical Dilemma

Dr. Bursic 2:00 R10 ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS: AN ETHICAL DILEMMA

Andrew Campbell ([email protected])

BACKGROUND new catalyst for the oxidization of carbon dioxide. We intended to use it in our company’s design for an artificial Photosynthesis is the manufacturing of chemical photosynthesis energy generator. Every member of the team compounds via the use of light energy [1]. Green plants, has devoted an extraordinary amount of time to this project, Cyanobacteria and algae utilize this process in the sometimes working 70 hours a week in order to meet manufacturing of glucose, in which they store energy via the deadlines. chemical bonds to be used later for life processes [2]. The Recently, the team has made a breakthrough. We concept of artificial photosynthesis is much the same as its discovered that layers of gold-copper alloys, when arranged natural counterpart; light energy is used to convert certain in a certain configuration, work extremely well as catalysts chemical compounds into new ones that are suitable sources for the oxidation process. Excited by the exceptional of energy for human consumption [3]. progress, the design manager informs the company’s CEO, Over the past few decades, alternative sources of energy, Hank, of the good news. He told Hank that all of the team’s such as artificial photosynthesis, have been gaining work has been finalized and that the catalyst is ready to be popularity among energy researchers and producers [4]. For integrated into the overall design. Hank, believing the design the most part, this is due to the hope that sources like to be complete now that the catalyst issue has been resolved, artificial photosynthesis will be viable replacements for begins marketing the artificial photosynthesis energy fossil fuels, which are the dominant sources of energy in the generator to potential customers. Within a month, many big world [4]. companies, such as Walmart and Exxon Mobil, have shown There are a few reasons why fossil fuels need to be great interest in Sol Power Inc.’s design. replaced as the dominant source of energy. When fossil fuels Despite what the design manager told Hank, the new are consumed, they produce greenhouse gases like carbon catalyst for the process is not yet perfected. Over the course dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, which cause irreparable of our experiments, the team discovered that over long damage to the environment [4]. Also, the supply of fossil periods of use, the exterior Cu atoms in a sample of the gold- fuels is limited and dwindling, which means it will become copper alloy become oxidized. Once this occurs, the sample increasingly more expensive for society to use them in mass becomes much less useful as a catalyst and must be replaced. [5]. When I confronted the project manager about this flaw, Even though artificial photosynthesis is a strong which he was well aware of at the time when he told Hank, contender as an alternative to fossil fuels, it still has he said not to worry and urged me to omit the flaw. He technical issues that need to be addressed. Chief among reasoned that the sale of this invention would be ultimately them is finding a suitable replacement for chlorophyll as a beneficial to all involved; Sol power Inc. would have an catalyst for the photosynthetic process [6]. The pigment increase in profits, the environment would be helped because chlorophyll is unique in its ability to capture light energy the invention would replace energy sources which are from the sun and use it in the oxidization of carbon dioxide harmful, and everyone in the design team would gain molecules [1]. Although finding a suitable replacement has professional recognition and monetary compensation. He proven to be a difficult obstacle to overcome, some also said that eventually the team could correct this flaw and researchers have had promising results with gold-copper be faithful to the company’s customers and to Hank. alloys [6]. The gold-copper alloys have shown in laboratory Even though I understand the design manager’s points, I tests to be comparable to chlorophyll in their ability to also realize that there are conflicting moral issues to such oxidize [6]. In addition, gold-copper alloys seem even more deception. So, the question comes down to if I should tell attractive as a potential replacement for chlorophyll due to Hank the truth about the flaw, or allow the deals to go the relatively cheap cost of copper [6]. through as planned.

THE DILEMMA ANALYTICAL PROCESS

I am a chemical engineer working for Sol Power Inc., an When anyone is faced with an ethical dilemma, whether alternative energy company that specializes in solar energy. they are an engineer or not, it is important for them to weigh The company is a fledgling company, having only been in the pros and cons of their action before executing their plan. existence for 2 years. Since my employment 8 months ago, I In addition, it is important that they look at the situation have been in a team of 3 other engineers and a design from multiple different viewpoints in order to see how their manager who is also an engineer. Over the course of these 8 action could help or hurt themselves as well as others. The months, my team and I have been attempting to discover a person in the situation must also decide what moral codes University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering Date of Submission 2014-10-28 1 Andrew Campbell are the most important to them so they can decide which to ethically and legally bound to these codes of ethics and must follow. These codes may be professional, like the NSPE follow them to the best of their ability. code of ethics. They also may be more general codes for living life as a good person, such as social norms, family values, or religious tenets. NSPE CODE OF ETHICS ANALYSIS OF MY SITUATION The NSPE code of ethics explicitly states that, In my situation, I have two main courses of action. Either “engineers shall acknowledge their errors and shall not I could tell Hank about the defect or I say nothing and allow distort or alter the facts” [7]. It also says that every engineer the deal to go through. will, “Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or On the one hand, I could tell Hank about the defect. This trustees” [7]. Both of these statements are directly applicable would lead to Hank being very upset with the project to my current situation. They support the fact that not telling manager, and may lead to the project manager losing his job. our customers about the defect in the gold-copper alloy Since he worked on this project for so long, the project component is deceitful and ethically unacceptable. However, manager would be devastated. It would also mean that the the NSPE code of ethics also states that engineers will, “hold research team would have to work more long hours in order paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” [7]. to resolve the issue. The potential buyers, who have already By allowing these devices to go to market, the company is foregone other opportunities to pursue our invention, would helping to rid society of its dependence on fossil fuels, become distrusting of our company and may cease which is helpful to everyone on earth. Despite this, I believe conducting business with us altogether. This would result in that the code of ethics would still support being honest, Sol Power Inc. losing a large sum of potential revenue, mostly because of the more implicit reasoning associated which would be devastating to the fledgling company. with the section about the welfare of the public. The code On the other hand, I could stay silent about the defect also says that engineers should accept responsibility for their and allow the deal to go through. This could lead to a huge actions. This would be appropriate if I decided to do nothing come up for Sol Power Inc. and all its employees. The and were caught; I would face harsher punishment if I company would have a new source of income, stock prices decided to hide my deception any further. Much of the rest would increase, and everyone who worked on the project of the NSPE code of ethics is either redundant in the fact would gain professional recognition and monetary that it is against lying, or inapplicable to this situation. An compensation for such a ground breaking achievement in example of an inapplicable guideline would be that, energy production. Also, the new invention would begin to “engineers shall perform services only in areas of their accelerate society’s conversion to cleaner energy, which is competence” [7], since I am a chemical engineer being faced beneficial to everyone. In addition, the defect also assures with a chemical engineering ethical dilemma. that the customers will have to keep replacing the gold-alloy component, assuring a continued source of revenue for the AICHE CODE OF ETHICS company. However, deceiving the customers could result in severe blowback. If they discover that we were aware of this The AIChE code of ethics is very similar the NSPE code defect, the young company could be sued, which would of ethics. It too imparts that being honest and impartial to result in the company’s collapse and the loss of everyone’s clients, employers, and the public is crucial to being a good jobs. In addition, everyone who was aware of the defect, engineer [8]. It also states that engineers should “issue namely my research team and I, could be barred from statements or present information only in an objective and engineering for our deceitful behavior. truthful manner” [8]. Due to these statements, I believe that the best way to follow this code of ethics is to be honest at ETHICAL RESOURCES all times. This would also be the best way to strive for “competence and prestige [in] the engineering profession” ENGINEERING CODES OF ETHICS [8], since being dishonest would decrease the overall prestige of the profession. However, the AIChE code of The first thing any engineer should do when faced with ethics also states that engineers should “protect the an ethical dilemma is to consult the engineering codes of environment in performance of their professional duties” [8]. ethics which are applicable to the situation. For my situation, I believe that the best way to protect the environment would the two most relevant codes are the NSPE code of ethics, be to not say anything to Hank, and allow the device to which is the guiding code for any engineering discipline, and replace fossil fuels in the energy production of society. Thus, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Code of there is a conflict in this code of ethics. Even so, I believe Ethics, which is specific to my discipline. Engineers are both being honest would still be the best way to follow this code. The only part of this code that is not pertinent in my situation is the section stating that engineers should never

2 Andrew Campbell tolerate harassment [8]. The project manager never did It is also related in that there is a conflict between anything to directly threaten or offend me individually, confidentiality and doing what is best for the public interest. otherwise it would be pertinent. I can apply this to my situation because I have to choose between keeping confidentiality with my team and doing what creates the best product for my customers. Just as the CASE STUDIES fire protection engineer should violate the confidentiality he has with the landowner so that the tenants of the building are Another resource that an engineer can consult when safe, I should violate my confidentiality with my design faced with an ethical dilemma are case studies. These are manager to assure that the public gets the product they exploratory analyses of some concept or event, where moral believe they are purchasing. implications of some action are discussed. Some case studies may be directly related to an engineer’s current situation, THE CONTRIBUTION CONUNDRUM while others may be in a completely different field of study. However, in either situation the case can still give insight on The third case study I consulted was one involving what an engineer should do when faced with an ethical campaign contributions. An engineer who has been working dilemma. for a construction company for a relatively short time notices an extra $1000 dollars in his paycheck [11]. At a staff A NEW DIALYSIS MACHINE meeting, the boss explains that the company owes a certain government official for endorsing the company for certain The first case study I consulted in this situation was one construction projects [11]. He says that he has already involving a new type of dialysis machine [9]. In the contributed to the official’s re-election campaign, and that he scenario, someone working for a health technology company expects the same type of “loyalty” from the rest of the has a choice between designs for a dialysis machine: one company [11]. that will use disposable filters, or one that will use 100 times The main issue in this situation is allowing money to more costly reusable filters [9]. Although the disposable influence your actions. The company is essentially telling its filters are cheaper to produce, they are very difficult to employees to bribe the government official so that they can provide to third world countries where they are needed since continue getting contracts. This is much the same dilemma humanitarian organizations are rarely willing to pay for them as mine; I have to choose between doing what is fair, which [9]. would be to not lie to the customers, and what allows my Although this scenario is not directly related to my company to be profitable. Just as the civil engineer in this situation, it can still give insight into handling mine. The situation should not allow himself to be persuaded by money overall gist of this scenario is that paying the extra money into doing something immoral, I should not let the chance of will assure that the product will do the most good for monetary gains stop me from informing Hank of the defect. society. This is like my situation since putting the extra time and money into correcting the flaw with the gold-copper ARTICLES ON ETHICS catalyst will mean a better product for the consumer. It is different to my situation in the fact that the disposable Articles on ethics can also be quite useful in deciding version of the dialysis filter is better for humanity since it what the best course of action is for your situation. These saves lives in third world countries, while the disposable articles usually look into ethics on a deeper level can be version of the gold-copper catalyst is less helpful since it useful in more complex ethical situations. creates more waste and does not directly help save lives. One article I read quoted a man by the name of Aldo Leopold. He once said that promoting sustainable FIRE CODE VIOLATION development was, “a job not of building roads into lovely country, but of building receptivity into the still unlovely The second case I consulted was one involving fire human mind” [12]. This seems to pertain to my situation safety codes. The situation is that a fire protection engineer because it outlines one of the goals for the device that Sol is employed by a land lord to inspect an old apartment Power Inc. is building. The quote implies that the first step building [10]. Upon completing his inspection, he discovers toward sustainable energy is to make it accepted in the that the fire alarms cannot be heard in all rooms of the minds of the public. If the artificial photosynthesis energy building [10]. The engineer tells the client that this is a generator was to fail upon its first release due to a faulty safety code violation, and the client responds by saying that catalyst, it may damage the reputation of sustainable energy he does not have the money at the moment to fix this code and make it harder to implement on a large scale in the violation [10]. future. This situation is related to my dilemma in that a The second article I read outlined the concept of technological deficiency is overlooked due to money issues. corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR is the idea that corporations can self-regulate their actions in a way that

3 Andrew Campbell maximizes productivity and in the end results in the best REFERENCES situation for society [13]. This seems applicable to my situation because if I allowed the product to go to market [1] R. Razeghifard. (2013). Natural and Artificial while I am aware of a defect, I would be going against the Photosynthesis: Solar Power as an Energy Source. idea that business can regulate its own actions. If the Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. (Online book). company were to get caught, the deception could trigger new http://site.ebrary.com/lib/pitt/reader.action?docID=10768953 regulations by the government and distrust amongst the pp. 13-15 public which would hinder business as a whole. [2] E. O'Toole. (2013). The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York City, NY: Columbia University Press. (Online encyclopedia). PERSONAL RESOURCES http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/p hotosynthesis/0 Personal resources for ethical analysis are some of the [3] L. Yarris. (2014). “On the Road to Artificial most important. For most people, ethical actions are not Photosynthesis.” Berkeley Lab. (online article). taught through books but instilled by role models http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2014/09/25/key-catalytic-factors- encountered through life. in-carbon-dioxide-reduction/ One personal resource I would turn to in this situation [4] Y. Wei, G. Wu, H. Liao, H. Wang (2011). Energy would be what my parents had taught me. Growing up, my Economics: CO2 Emissions in China. Beijing, China: parents always told me to be honest and up front in whatever Science Press Beijing. (Online book). I do [14]. They have also said that if I lie or make a mistake, http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/552/bok%253A978- I should confess as soon as possible or it will come back to 3-642-13847-8.pdf? haunt me [14]. auth66=1412013918_cde944e27ee0ac458ebbaf89b764aa6e Another personal resource I would consult would be my &ext=.pdf pp. 6-12 faith. The ninth commandment specifically condemns lying [5] D. E. Newton. (2012). Contemporary World Issues: of any sort by saying, “You shall not bear false witness World Energy Crisis: A Reference Handbook. Santa against your neighbor” [15]. Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. (Online book). Both of these sources support the fact that I should tell http://site.ebrary.com/lib/pitt/reader.action?docID=10649968 Hank the truth about the defect, instead of staying silent and pp. 54-58 hoping things work out for the best. [6] Y. Sugano, Y. Shiraishi, D. Tsukamoto, S. Ichikawa, S. Tanaka, T. Hirai. (2013). “Supported Au–Cu Bimetallic MY DECISION Alloy Nanoparticles: An Aerobic Oxidation Catalyst with Regenerable Activity by Visible-Light Irradiation.” Based on all the resources I have consulted and discussed Angewandte Chemie International Edition, vol. 52, Wiley in the previous paragraphs, I believe I would have to tell Online Library (Online Article). Hank about the defect. This decision may get my design http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201301669/f team manager in trouble, but it will avoid any potential ull pp. 5295-5299 ethical or legal issues that may arise from putting a faulty [7] (2007). “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers.” NSPE product on the market. It also may give my team and myself website. (Online article). more work, but not cheating the consumers will mean a http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics more stable future for the company, for sustainable energy, [8] (2013). “Code of Ethics.” AIChE website. (Online and for myself professionally. article). http://www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics [9] S. E. Wilson, Ph.D (2010). “A New Dialysis Machine.” DECISION MAKING PROCESS National Academy of Engineering website. (Online article). http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases/DialysisMachi Anyone, especially engineers, faced with an ethical ne.aspx dilemma should do as I have outline before making a [10] NSPE Board of Ethical Review (2014). “Public Health decision. They should consult many different sources and and Safety-Delay in Addressing Fire Code Violations.” look at the situation from multiple viewpoints in order to see NSPE website. (Online article). the total effect of their actions. They should weight out what http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/BER%20Case%20No is most important to them and what decision will result in %2013-11-FINAL.pdf Case No. 13-11 the best outcome. For the most part, however, many [11] National Institute for Engineering Ethics (2014). “The dilemmas can be solved by just following the basic morals Coercive Contribution Conundrum.” Texas Tech University of humanity: be kind, be fair, and always put in your best Website. (Online article). effort. http://www.depts.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/cases.ph p Case No. 1006

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[12] B. K. Sovacool (2013). Energy, Climate and the Environment: Energy and Ethics: Justice and the Global ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Energy Challenge. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. (Online book). http://site.ebrary.com/lib/pitt/reader.action? I would like to acknowledge my parents for instilling docID=10740304 pp. 1 into me a set of good moral values. I would also like to [13] R. J. Hanlon (2011). Contemporary Politics. acknowledge Aaron Johnson for proofreading my paper. Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge (online book). Lastly, I would like to thank Janine Carlock for promptly http://rt4rf9qn2y.search.serialssolutions.com/ pp. 71-72 answering my questions via email. [14] K. Campbell (2014). Phone Conversation. [15] The Bible (New King James Version, Exodus 20:16).

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