Will technology save us? The correct question is can it save us? The first question is assuming we can be saved or that we want to be saved. Technology has potential to save us, if that is what we are looking for. It has the ability to open new doors and create new pathways to help our lifestyles, but also the environment. Technology can create alternatives to fossil fuels, more efficient cars, and make everyday life more sustainable,; but are we willing to let technology save us?
Technology is “the total knowledge and skills available to any human society for industry, art, science etc.” according to Webster’s dictionary. If technology is the total knowledge in an industry we are lagging behind. We do not have the total knowledge of the state of the environment nor is enough being done to get the total knowledge. In environmental terms, technology is research into the problem and potential solutions. That is not being done enough. While research is being conducted to learn more about the problem, and the implications it will have on the future, solutions are lagging behind. Scientists and environmentalists have recognized a problem and have made the public aware, but the people that can help development have taken a step back. Some developers do not see immediate danger and therefore are not making the appropriate effort to find solutions.
Will technology save us? Not now and not soon. Technology has the potential to save us, but before that can happen something major needs to go wrong. Environmental degradation has a passing effect on some people. The increase in temperature is coincidental, Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster that couldn’t be avoided, and COz emissions are necessary for economic growth. For technology that can save us to be found and implemented, the problem needs to come full circle, something life changing needs to happen. As of now, we could live our normal life and continue to ruin the environment because the effects are not widely seen. Something needs to open everyone’s eyes, and then technology can help us.
Technology as our savior cannot happen and should not happen. If we understand that technology can help solve our problems, we will not anything on our own to prevent the problem. If technology is always there to dig us out of a hole, nothing will change. While technology can help us fix a problem and be part of a solution, it cannot be the solution because than nothing will change.
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