The Harmful Impacts of Technology on Our Environment

Technological innovation is a key aspect of human growth. The human race is consistently looking to improve, grow, and learn more about our world. Improving technology has done a great deal of good things for humanity. Technology has cured diseases, connected individuals on opposite sides of the world, and explored previously unknown lands.

However, for all the benefits that technology has wrought, there are many harmful impacts too. A primary instance of these detrimental effects would be the destruction caused to our environment by the increasingly efficacious ways of producing and consuming material resources.

With all of this in mind, the following paper will explore two production and two consumption habits of material resources that have been impacted by technology before examining how these habits can be dealt with to help promote sustainability.

One very notable example of how technology has influenced production has to do with the production of oil. Oil production is a very complex and multi-stepped process, from its extraction to its treatment, to its containment, and its final sale.

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(Potter and Lewis, 2011) While technology of course first highlighted the need and for fossil fuels with its production of gas- consuming machines, technology has also been relied upon heavily to produce this oil. Oil drilling wells rely on several machinations to extract oil, from the very first ground breaking using a drill bit. As time goes on, oil drilling and extraction only becomes more efficient. (Potter and Lewis, 2011)

Another instance of technology aiding in the production of a material resource deals with the clearing of rainforests.

Rainforest destruction is an ever-present phenomenon occurring largely in South America. (Simon, 2010) These rainforests are cleared to produce timber as well as pulp for making paper, among other reasons. (Simon, 2010) Technological aids in the form of bulldozers, chainsaws, wood chippers and various other machinery are relied on to clear the rainforests at such an alarming rate. While these rainforests are being cleared more efficiently, the harm being done by the rainforests clearing is continuing to increase. (Simon, 2010)

While a great deal of technology has obviously impacted the production, it can often be more difficult to understand how consumption habits are involved with technology. (Potter and Lewis, 2011) The consumption of gasoline, a product of oil, however, is directly impacted by technology usage. Gas pumps and engines that store as well as use the gasoline are products of technology. Without the existence of vehicles, there would not be such a pressing demand for gasoline. Without the existence of gasoline stations and pumps, the gas would not be able to be delivered to these vehicles at such a fast rate to meet consumption demands.

Another consumption habit deals with the consumption of paper goods through the mail. The mail system, although arguably in decline, has certainly made use of technology. (Potter and Lewis, 2011) Through the delivery by car, the sorting by machine, and the printed letters on the page, technology is used in nearly every step of the process. The mail system puts a heavy demand on paper supply all over the world and has no doubt accounted for a great deal of trees being felled. (Potter and Lewis, 2011)

In order to sustain the global population, there must be efforts both at the individual level and the governmental level directed to making changes in production and consumption patterns. Individuals must do what they can to purchase more environmentally friendly products as well as doing their part in their individual lives by reducing their carbon footprint. (Potter and Lewis, 2011) The government can put more funding to finding alternative fuel sources as well as enacting legislation that actively protects the environment both in its use by corporations and the inhabiting people. It must be a concerted effort to sustain the population.