Technology

I believe that technology cannot be categorized as a positive or negative force in our lives, but it has become a part of our lives. In this day and age, technology is inevitable, although there are still many places out in the world that does not have access to technology. So in a sense, arguing that technology is a part of our lives may sound too absurd. However, just as we are completing this assignment, we are using technology—computers and laptops—and technology is expected in our everyday lives.

Will technology save us? There are so many dimensions to consider when approaching this question. Short answer is yes, but with certain assumptions and understanding. First of all, in this week’s reading in the Green Planet Blues, it argued that many of the donations (for environmental issues) tend to go to places that need minimal support. In other words, places where the donors can see a change happen. Therefore, countries that really need help do not receive enough funds because the donors are impatient and demand the result right away. I think this is a similar concept when discussing technology. Where technology is accessible and already have its foundations, technology seemed to progress rigorously rather than introducing new technology in the developing areas where people must explain, teach, and start from scratch. This process takes too much time so rather than giving equal technology access to people all over the world, technology improvement tend to focus in places that already have the necessary understanding. So, I argue that technology can save us in these places where technology keeps innovating with new devices and programs. But in areas that technology is uncommon, will technology save us…hard question.

What does this mean in environmental terms? Well again, this is a complicated issue. Technology is included in the I=PAT equation that we have discussed in the past. Clearly, it is a huge sector of the environmental impact. What can we do with technology, how can we make use of this huge chunk of sector has infinitive hope, and of course the downside as well. In the Environmental Politics and Sacrifice panel discussion I attended, the panel speakers have repeatedly brought up, “where do you end up in the future?” I feel that this fits into the discussion of technology and the environmental terms. The question will then be, where do we end up in the future with technology? A mode of economical improvement and profits? Or a technique for environmental sustainability? As also brought up in the discussion, in terms of the climate change issues, the United States cannot move out and work for it due to the economy. The priority focus is economic improvement and people give less attention to one of the most essential aspect of our lives. There must be a change in this notion itself, especially in the United States.