Being Responsible about Technology

The revolution brought about by mankind is really quite a funny thing; impressive yet not without much contradiction. Yes, with it came some great discoveries that ‘improved’ and made our lives more convenient; such as (it’s a non-exhaustive list  so I can only list a few here)

• electricity that lit up our world,
• cars, planes and other motor vehicles that bring people and places together
• computers and the internet that takes globalisation to a whole new level
• medical breakthroughs that not just save lives but renew them with a second chance (artificial limbs, transplants etc); and
• textiles that allow for the most amazing pieces of clothing

But cheers aside all these benefits are somehow matched with equally significantly destructive/detrimental effect and they all present themselves (most obviously) through the environment and our health – which is in all honesty what sparked the call for our present day’s ‘green revolution’.

What is even more ironic is how you find that in answer to our unsustainable situation, we are turning to going all natural or organic – which is really where we all started from in the first place. Our ancestors/forefathers never had the luxury of multi coloured/multi flavoured toothpaste/gel or super smart air conditioners but they also didn’t have the issue of chemicals disrupting the natural balance of nature nor did they have global warming.

Life back then may not have been as easy as it is now but it sure didn’t hurt the environment as much as now it does now.

In my opinion, man’s ideals move in a cycle similar to that of fashion- just as what was in fashionable in the 60s, that soon gave way to ‘newer’ designs of the following decades but soon after comes back to being the ‘in’ thing again; going for natural and green options are the same. The only difference is we can’t exactly just switch our lifestyles overnight and walk away from it. The effects of pollution and modernization are very real and they are permanent.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against modernization and comforts from technological advances. I’m grateful for many of them, but what I am saying is we shouldn’t blindly celebrate the discovery of every new invention. There is no sense in wildly indulging in them only to turn around after two years time to ‘the olden ways’ because we just found out it’s got more bad then good when put into use.

When it comes to the Earth, prevention is really better than cure – simply because there is no cure. Nature is called nature because it’s natural –that means we can’t reinvent it or reconstruct it without some side-effect. Deforestation, pollution, global warming – the damage is done and it’s not reversible. Just being responsible with technology can save the world from lots of distress. I really dread the day where the only thing technology can do for nature is to ‘photoshop‘ it -not back to perfection but into deceitful existence.