Since the earliest days of human civilization, people have shaped or altered their environment, from building dams and sewers to clear-cutting forests for farming and planting new trees to combat carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Though environmental engineering first began largely as a response to public health concerns, it also "involves waste water management and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation protection, industrial hygiene, [and] environmental sustainability.” Andre and Richard casually discuss the history of this phenomenon, and look to what may come in the near-future.