Future directions of environmental engineering in Canada

Environmental engineering is one of the most complex and fastest-growing di sciplines in engineering. The scope of the field includes issues from publi c health protection to aesthetics, and from the impact on business developm ent to the development of legislation, standards, regulations, and guidelin es, to their enforcement and environmental protection. The issues include c ontaminants in gases, liquids, and solids and the phase transfers of the co ntaminants. The sub-specialties of environmental engineering address all th ese areas including the treatment of water, liquid waste, solid waste, and gaseous materials, protection of the environment through proactive measures , and the development of effective regulations. Environmental engineers hav e the necessary skills to address these issues and improve the quality of l ife of humans and other living things in an effective, sustainable, and eco nomical manner. This paper outlines the evolvement of environmental enginee ring and identifies many of the exciting new directions of environmental en gineering profession.