Follow up to “The Ethics of Opposition” Columns

Extract

In recent issues, I had prepared two columns on the ethics surrounding how we as professionals need to hold on to our ethics when we are hired to oppose a project proposed by others [“The Ethics of Opposition,” Environmental Practice 4(4):184; “The Ethics of Opposition, Part Two,” Environmental Practice 5(2):92]. In response, I received a letter from a professional engineer who said, “I don't see the conflict with working for either side or even both sides.” He went on to tell me that he and a colleague at his firm have proposed to work for both sides simultaneously: “Both sides benefit from the professional opinion we render, so why not charge both sides and eliminate the dual sets of professionals?”