Plugged In

I agree with Yumi's assertion that technology has, in fact, become an integral part of our lives and specifically Western society. As a strong force in daily life, technology is depended upon for interaction, creation and renovation (among other things, of course). I find this troubling because it seems that very soon technology is going to take the wheel to direct human life-- more than it does now-- which truly alters things. That is to say, though we currently rely on technology as an extension of our own abilities and a tool to "fix" essentially everything, we're eventually going to get in over our heads; the technologic-dependency we now see as a savior is going to turn on us, we're going to lose control. That said, no, I do not think technology will save us-- rather it will ruin us or at the very least potently change us. In the long run I think, socially and environmentally, we're going to be adversely affected by the wonders of technology. And per this widely-held belief that technology holds the key to environmental crisis resolution, it is a severely perverse concept which might just lead us to extreme detriment.

Thinking in strictly environmental terms, it seems to me that we've gotten too good and have therefore boosted our egos and swelled our minds into believing that every problem can and will be solved quickly and easily by the almighty power of human-controlled technology. However, the world is lashing out in a big way and we can't sincerely assert to ourselves or any audience that we have the power to stop environmental degradation in its tracks. We need to get over ourselves and come to the realization that we aren't actually "that good" and mother nature has the upper hand. Once we can realize this I think we'll be able to use existing and new green technologies appropriately to handle certain aspects of environmental crises and maybe slow some of the damage, but there is no universal solution this time (or ever). We can't turn the earth into a massive bio-dome and we can't put a thermostat on the planet without seriously terrible consequences. As far as I'm concerned, we're too plugged in to notice what damage we're doing to the environment and to ourselves by being so reliant on technology. We need to unplug, reanalyze and think twice before rushing in with "new, innovative, green" technologies to act as an almighty force to save us. In this crisis, we have no safety net.