Aside from the obvious benefits from using cars, lightbulbs, heaters, etc. would it have been better had we not invented them? Are we really just backtracking across centuries of human technology or is a progression really necessary in technology? Are we really "going green" or are we just trying to turn the clocks back?
I'm not sure there's really a true answer here and even I rest on the fence on this one. On one hand, I think our world would be a lot better off had we not invented such technology. But, because we now have these gadgets, etc. and people are not really willing to give up their new found technology, I think progression is necessary. However, such a thing would not be necessary if we had not created the monster ourselves.
9 comments:
The argument makes sense. However, I believe the term "going green" means that we are trying to find ways for technology to be environment friendly. It is really difficult for every item that we use not to damage the environment. But, I like the strides that we are making. We have started to find other forms of fuel for our vehicles. It has been difficult, but I still think it is possible to find other sources. I don't believe that we are going back. I think it is necessary for progress and we have reached the stage where we want to progress past our polluting phase.
No. We all benefit from the use of technology. It makes our lives easier. In a way we are just kind of turning back the clocks because we are limiting the ways we can use technology, but not completely. It’s not as if we are completely cutting ourselves off from technology when we go green.
the way that you put it it seems like we are indeed backtracking and that we need to do that in order to advance foward to think of more advanced and think more economical and efficent in the yway that we act and work.
I agree with Jesse. You make a good point and i sat here and thought about it but what would we all do if we didn't have phones? or cars to drive around? we are all so use to all this technology around us and so dependent on it that it would be hard to back track and take things that we see as necessities away from us. Going green is trying to take all of these technological advances that were so use to and trying to make it environmentally friendly so that we can both enjoy our technology and save the environment. I don't thing going green is necessarily back tracking since we are trying to move forward with out "technology of going green" does that make sense?
I've never liked the whole "go green" thing. Its annoying and intrusive. Ok, so we might actually be using the resources that we have at our disposable and (OMG!!!!) we're actually having an affect on the environment we've lived on for a very long time. Are we going to hurt the Earth's feelings??
I would never be willing to give up the amazing inventions I use everyday now because someone put a color after the word "go". Yes, I think its backtracking from the great progress we've made and I completely disagree with trying to erase the majority of our culture.
I totally agree with everything you said. I think that technology has definitely improved our society in many different ways, but also has hurt the environment. I sometimes wonder if it was worth having these factories or cars or anything that has caused so much pollution and damage to our environment. The people obviously were able to live without such advanced and harmful inventions and ways of living. We are now trying to undo what we've done by "Going Green" and I'm sure not everyone supports the idea of helping the environment, and instead just want more ways to make life easier. In our debate, someone made a point about medicine and advancements in technology and how that's helped people live longer, and although I am all for helping people when they are sick, it also seems unnatural. One day the average death age could be over 100 for all we know, which is unnatural and almost escaping death. We all have to die at one point, and I dont know about anyone else, but I'd rather die naturally when I'm supposed to than live off of a machine.
So those are a few points on how I feel about technology and the environment and our way of living. Don't get me wrong, I still text and use the computer and watch TV all the time, but sometimes I wonder if all of this is really necessary.
Megan M.
I sometimes thing that our society loses about as much as it gains from technological advances. Before cars, electricty, etc. things were slower and people didnt take as many things for granted as they do today. I really believe that the more advanced our society gets the lazier we get as well.
I have noticed the comments responding to this post and it is profoundly surprising that no one has pointed out the obvious contradiction in this logic, which might be the result of an inability to debunk the either or reasoning (a logical fallacy) presented by the original author and exacerbated by the comment posters, or a strong opposition to environmentalism. The author offers that we either advance technology and destroy the environment or reverse technology to save it, effectively eliminating complexity and critical analysis of the issue proposed, and as evident from the comments, the intentions have been effective in doing so. In the future, technology will bring about numerous benefits to environment. The notion that going green emphasizes a backtracking of technology is almost completely unfounded and absurd.
In order to modify practices such that it does not harm the environment requires an advancement of technology. If we reversed our technology on cars enough, we would be using cars getting less than 10 mpg. If we reversed our technology on homes, we would have little insulation and poor quality materials that would allow more heat loss. If we reversed electrical systems we would lose far more energy than we do now in power lines. If we reversed power plants they would produce far less electricity for the same resources than they would now.
More fuel efficient vehicles that save energy and thus money as well as benefit the environment are being developed as a result of technology, not back tracking. In advancing technology we have developed compact fluorescent bulbs that greatly exceeded the efficiency of the older technology (incandescent). Even more efficient LED lights are also just entering the mainstream. Decades ago, power came inefficiently and produced colossal amounts pollutants that severely harmed our health. Today, technologies are reducing the energy lost while being generated in power plants and opening the path for sustainable energy sources that will not run out or pollute the environment, as a direct result of the advancement of technology.
The advancement of existing renewable energy sources and the development of new ones would eventually replace the out-dated power-producing technologies of fossil fuels. Cars would no longer run on harmful fuels but on renewable energy sources (i.e. plug-in hybrids). Houses would retain much more heat energy and could easily go off the grid with its own sources of renewable energy as many have today already. We would find ways to recycle almost everything, greatly reducing the need for landfills and increasing the availability of resources. In years to come, the progression of technology will improve our quality of life and reduce our impact on the environment with remarkable simultaneity. An opposition to environmentalism is clearly, in many ways, an opposition to the advancement of technology. In response to Jeff R, would you be willing to give up your current technologies for far better technologies? Would it be intrusive to develop extremely efficient maglev trains able to travel at a theoretical maximum of 4,000mph allowing you to travel from NJ to Europe or Asia in 2 hours for a few dollars at most; would that be "backtracking from the great progress we've made" and/or "erase the majority of our culture"?
Please take no offense from my comments but rather approach it with open-mindedness and logical analysis.
-Michael Ch**ng
I also agree that going green is a big challenge that would benefit the world. However, today we really benefit from all of these new technologies and would be very tough without them. Ofcourse it would be nearly impossible to find a way to go green for every object it deffinitely helps to try.
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