Undoubtedly, the technology (more precisely, our ability to create and use technology) made us, as we are. It helped us overcome nature,...
Undoubtedly, the technology (more precisely, our ability to create and use technology) made us, as we are. It helped us overcome nature, helped us to have a longer and healthier life. Without technology, we could not have been able to transform ourselves, and our environment to live a continuously improving life. However, the technology created some disadvantageous situations, and dangerous pitfalls, too. Now the technology is so essential in our life, that we cannot live without it, but, at the same time, it can destroy our civilization too.
We use technology to improve our lives, and at the same time, because of our ignorance, incompetence or just because of our greediness, we seriously endanger the survival of our humankind. The ozone hole, global warming, non-degradable waste, insect-killing chemicals are just a few warnings that technology can help, and can destroy us too.
The technologies, which create pitfalls started as helpers. They made our life more comfortable. However, because we did not or do not understand their total impact on our lives and to our environment, it drove and drive us, our whole society, to the harder and harder solvable problems.
We are problem solvers. This ability helped us to survive, because we always found solutions for our problems, even for ourselves-created pitfalls. But what if we cannot find a solution, or not quickly enough? It can happen. We do not know what lies ahead, what awaits us.
We should, we must use methods in our technological development which able to minimize the unforeseen or unforeseeable pitfalls which this development could create. We still would have problems, which are independent of us, which are independent of our actions, which need to be solved. At least, we should not create problems for ourselves based on technological development. If we could use pitfall-avoiding methods in our technological progress, it would ease our societal problems as well.
What should be that method or methods that need to be utilized in our technological progress? We need to utilize, use, or tend towards zero-impact technology. The zero-impact technology means, our technology needs to be improved, developed in the direction which has no residual effect on the environment, at least no actually-known way. In this way, technology cycles, production processes would create no "waste," not reused products. All our technological advancements should follow this guideline.
There are two approaches to achieve this requirement.
Merging with nature
This approach means, the technology should recycle or use renewable and renew all the resources that are used in the processes. This method uses the available resources, but at the end of any production cycle, the resources are restored.
Separate from nature
This approach means, the technology itself creates all the necessary resources that are used in the process in a closed cycle. This method would not affect the environment at all and would create an environment independent of technology.
Our technology, our technological development should tend to these two types of methods. Neither one is easy, especially the second one, but both are possible, and we must learn them. With the first method, we could prolong our existence in our resource-limited Earth. With the second method, we could extend our existence anywhere.
Our societal governing systems should encourage, demand, allow only the usage or development of zero-impact technologies by the scientific society, and block, ban, and demand to change any other.
Our human's fate is to learn how to merge yourself with nature or leave it entirely. Or become extinct.
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