The Environment and Technology

Are the environmental problems we face today new?

Environmental problems have been around as long as there have been people inhabiting the earth. The relationship that we have with the environment has always been important because it is the way that we sustain ourselves and our ability to live. There is a necessary balance between the amount of resources people consume and the amount of resources that are available to us. For example, in the case of Easter Island, the inhabitants lacked the ability to live off of their resources because there was not a correct balance between the resources that were available to them and the resources that they were using. Eventually, they used up their resources which led to chaos and eventually their demise. This case occurred before the 18th century, and continued throughout many societies who attempted to live outside of their means on the same meagre island. Although it is true that the population has increased, the amount of consumption has definitely increased in more recent years, the problems occur in the lack of balance and the unnecessary amounts of consumption that have become a part of our society today. The professionals involved in the Eco Millenium Assessment emphasize the effect that our population has had on the environment in the past 50 years. It is overall an astounding difference from populations of the past. This proves that their is definitely a different type and a more extreme problem with our environment today, however it is still not true that the environmental problems have not been around forever.

In recent years, the environmental concerns and problems that we deal with have become more popular and more discussed than ever. This largely has to do with the amount of technology and excessive amount of information that can be found on the internet. In the centuries before us it was not possible to go online and discuss the issues that we are having with the environment on blogs, social medias, and news sites. In addition to being able to discuss more openly these issues, it is also the advancement of technology that lets us see these issues. In an article called Global Warming Bombshell by Richard Mueller, Mueller discusses the effects of technology on the argument of Global Warming. It is the use of computers and computer programs that experts have been able to argue the effects of global warming. Though we must understand that technology can also be wrong and that things that take off on the internet may not always be true.

In conclusion, the environmental problems that we face are not real and have been in existence since the beginning of time. However, with the advancement of technology and the use of the internet, these issues are more widely known and discussed which has made these issues become more popular in recent times.


Source: Meuller, Richard. "Global Warming Bombshell." Technology Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. <http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/13830/>.