Although technology is regarded as the greatest environmental curse, it is also the greatest threat. Everybody’s life presently revolves mostly around technology, whether they are three years old or 80 years old. Today, when technology is present at all times and in all locations, it is tough to imagine a life where there is no technology. Humans have suffered significantly as a result of the sedentary lifestyle that the majority of people worldwide now practice, as well as serious environmental damage. Many academics and environmentalists have come to the conclusion that people’s improper use of technologies has resulted in irreversible harm to the natural environment. It is undeniable that technology has become an instrument of human exploitation that is destroying the natural environment.
Although many negative effects of technological advancement have been attributed to it, the degradation and perhaps even annihilation of the environment is its most glaring and pervasive adverse effect. For the vast majority of human history, people largely left their surroundings exactly as they had found them. However, the adoption of new technology has occasionally left behind a degraded environment as a legacy, starting with inactive agricultural production and intensifying with industrialization. People are currently arguing about the detrimental effects of technological advancement on human life and the ecosystem in light of the increasing worry over the gradually depleting natural resources and the swift degradation of the world.It is hard not to agree with them on that, technological advancement is the root of all problems related to the environment.
Negative Impact of Technology on The Environment
Although many people genuinely believe that technological advancement is a curse rather than a blessing, it is asserted and thought that technology itself is not detrimental; rather, what makes it so is people’s improper use of it. The major negative effects of technological advancement on the environment are pollution, global warming, and resource depletion (Volti, 2017). By adding toxic elements, the natural environment is harmed, leading to polluted skies, poisoned soil, acid rain, and tainted water. Unchecked technological application causes permanent resource depletion, desertification, and the extinction of species in plants and animals. Both pollution and resource depletion put the natural environment’s sustainability in jeopardy. Pollution, resource depletion, and global warming should be considered the greatest environmental threats facing the world today.
Pollution
Pollution is caused by the misuse and incorrect application of technology. A considerable rise in demand for automobiles and machinery has contributed to greater consumption. This in turn has prompted an increase in the supply of goods that play a big role in industrialization in terms of better technology. Constant technological advancements brought about the Industrial Revolution, which improved living standards. However, industrialization and technological progress used to cater to the demands have had a negative impact on the natural environment by causing a horrendous pollution level. Although the introduction of technology revolutionized every element of a human being’s life, the natural environment nevertheless had to bear the weight of it.
A significant increase in global warming is the primary indicator of environmental damage. Scientists have reported that since the turn of the century, the planet’s average surface temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius, reaching an all-time maximum (Bisong & Apologun, 2020). Nitrogen oxides and other gaseous pollutants emitted from automobiles and industries pollute rainwater. The increase in toxicity in watercourses is caused by nitrogen deposits that function as fertilizers in the water and encourage the growth of algae. The algae obstruct aquatic life’s oxygen supply, creating a eutrophic environment that gradually kills it over time.
Plantation runoff of farm chemicals, which pollutes waterways and makes aquatic life impossible to sustain, is another factor contributing to toxic waterbodies. Since people began traveling more frequently as a result of technological improvements, technology has been acknowledged as playing a direct role in the escalating rise in air pollution. These transportation vessels emit enormous amounts of pollutants into the air, which increases the risk to one’s health (Briffa et al., 2020). Carbon monoxide, lead, and nitrogen, which are produced when fossil fuels are burned, are the major air pollutants.
Natural Resource Depletion
Another detrimental effect of technological advancements on the natural environment is the depletion of natural resources. This happens when resources are used up more quickly than they can be replaced. Natural resources are those that occur without human interference; they exist both as renewable and nonrenewable resources. The modern world is becoming increasingly industrialized as a growing number of nations continue to achieve significant technological advancements. However, as technology develops, there also occurs a noticeable increase in the number of industrial setups that discharge pollutants, which are inevitably dumped on land, in the air, and in waterways like rivers.
Organic chemicals, metals, radioactive elements, and other damaging pollutants are a few examples of industrial waste products. When released into the environment, these waste products change the habits of the area they are released into. The depletion rate of natural resources increases as more resources are consumed to meet industrial demands. An increase in the production of industrial materials indicates an increase in the production of waste products. This means that more natural environments will be disrupted or destroyed, increasing the rate of natural resource depletion.
Large-scale mineral, natural gas, and oil explorations have increased ever since the beginning of the industrial revolution, leading to an increase in the depletion of these natural resources. As a result of advancements in technology and advances in research and development, it became simpler for people to exploit and access minerals. Therefore, people are digging further down to obtain more, and this has caused many natural resources to experience a drop in supply. The estimated global eco-footprint is one-and-a-half times greater than the earth’s ability to sustainably provide every person with sufficient resources to meet their consumption levels.
Global Warming
The term “global warming” has become increasingly popular in the past few years; it can be described as the gradual increase in the earth’s surface temperature over time. This phenomenon has accelerated dramatically over the last decade. This is because industrialization and technological advancements necessitated the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel combustion raises the atmosphere’s concentrations of greenhouse gases that trap heat, increasing the planet’s average temperature; this is known as the greenhouse effect (Al-Ghussain, 2018). This effect occurs when heat from the sun’s rays enters the earth’s atmosphere but is prevented from bouncing back by the greenhouse gases, thus becoming trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and increasing the temperature. The greenhouse gasses include methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.
The continued rise in the earth’s surface temperature presents another problem known as climate change. One cannot talk about global warming without mentioning climate change, which is described as a long-term change in temperature and weather patterns. Technological advancements contribute to global warming that results in climate change. Climate change may have an impact on people’s jobs, safety, housing, and ability to practice agriculture. People residing on small island states and in developing countries already feel more susceptible to the effects of climate change. Long-lasting drought conditions are putting individuals at risk of starvation, while climatic conditions like rising sea levels and saline water intrusion have progressed to the extent that entire communities have been forced to evacuate.
Despite all the uncertainty regarding the global warming phenomenon, it appears very probable that if current patterns continue, considerable changes will occur to the planet’s climatic conditions. Due to shifts in ocean and sea currents, there might never be a consistent increase in temperature; other areas might even experience cooler climates. Some places would benefit from changing rainfall patterns, while others would suffer. Global warming might potentially improve agricultural production in certain areas while decreasing it in others as a result of rising carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Volti, 2017). Most alarmingly, considerable global warming causes glaciers and the arctic ice sheets to partially melt. As the water temperature rises in the oceans, the water volume expands. This could cause sea levels to rise over time, which might cause severe flooding in low-lying regions. Scientists warn that within the next few decades, the concentration of greenhouse gases may reach a potentially disastrous tipping point.
Measures Required To Curb Environmental Threats
The concept of “environment management” arose as a result of an increase in calls to protect and conserve the environment. This concept calls for routine environmental assessments followed by prompt evaluation and interpretation of the data acquired during the assessment. To understand the pollution issue and other environmental threats, reliable monitoring data are required. Due to technological advancements, industrial pollution, hazardous chemicals, vehicle emissions, and the depletion of natural resources, the environment is getting worse every day. The amount of pollution in all its forms is drastically rising. There are various ways to help deal with the threats to the environment, such as;
Using renewable energy
Renewable energy originates from natural resources that replenish themselves more quickly than when they are used up. Examples of such sources that are continuously replenished are the sun and the wind. There are many different types of renewable energy everywhere. The potential energy that can be harnessed from the sun is astronomically enormous; in just 40 minutes, the energy from the sun striking the earth is equivalent to the energy consumed annually by the entire world (Volti, 2017). As opposed to burning fossil fuels, generating energy from renewable sources produces far fewer emissions. The key to solving the environmental problem is switching from using fossil fuels, which at the moment account for the majority of emissions, to using renewable energy to power cities and run industries.
Hydropower, which generates around 10% of the country’s electricity, is currently the most significant renewable energy source. However, in recent times, it has drawn a lot of criticism due to the fact that dams change the ecosystem of water sources, frequently to the harm of the wildlife and plants that inhabit there. While fossil fuel stocks are exhausted and their environmental effects grow intolerable, other renewable sources of energy may become increasingly important. Other renewable energy sources include biomass, geothermal, and ocean energy.
Using Nuclear Energy
At the peak of the anti-nuclear campaign three decades ago, the notion that we would require nuclear energy to rescue the planet may have seemed far-fetched. But it is currently a perspective that a growing number of scientists, energy industry professionals, and environmentalists are beginning to embrace. Nuclear energy had demonstrated its ability to be the engine for achieving sustainable energy transformations long before climate change became a concern.
Examining nuclear energy makes the drawbacks of technological solutions to shortages of energy abundantly clear. It was hailed as the next development in energy sources after fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is not yet a magic solution for energy, in any case. Even though it currently supplies 4.5% of all energy and roughly 10% of the electricity in the world, its sustainability is at best questionable (Volti, 2017). Nuclear energy is a practical means of reducing global warming and conserving the environment by replacing the use of coal or gas-fired industrial plants.
Challenges to Implementing Measures Required to Curb Environmental Threats
The previous few years have seen a rapid increase in the wide acceptance of renewable energy. It is a well-liked choice because it allows individuals the chance to light their houses while preserving the environment. Nonetheless, like everything else, it has certain drawbacks. The initial cost of utilizing renewable energy sources is often substantially greater. The tools needed to harness power are typically far more expensive than those used with conventional energy sources. The initial expense of establishing a renewable energy plant is a massive disadvantage.
The broad use of solar energy has been hampered by the financial and technological constraints of solar technologies. In some locations, the installation of wind turbines might be restricted or prohibited due to noise objections and environmental aesthetic deterioration. Along with solar panels, wind power has the issue of intermittent operation. This implies that there must be a technique to conserve energy for periods when neither the sun nor the wind is present. A basic mismatch exists between solar and wind energy as well; often, areas that receive the most wind or sunshine are located far from those with the highest energy use. To address this issue, electrical transmission cables with a century-old architecture will need to be significantly upgraded.
Nuclear energy production necessitates a significant energy investment for the mining and transportation of uranium, equipment manufacturing, plant building, maintenance and operation, and disposal of waste material. The public in general occasionally perceives industrial nuclear power as either a risky or unstable operation. This belief is frequently attributed to the three nuclear catastrophes that occurred worldwide and its incorrect relationship with nuclear-powered weapons. The waste products from nuclear power plants are radioactive and therefore toxic; if not properly disposed of, they can cause great damage to the environment and human health, and the effects are long-lasting.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the greatest threat to the environment is human beings and their technology. Environmental degradation started with technological advancements; the more advanced the technology became, the greater the effects on the environment. Unchecked technological application causes permanent resource depletion, desertification, and the extinction of species in plants and animals. Although technological advancements are responsible for the global warming crisis, it is also possible to get some cutting-edge innovations to help restore the natural environment. moving towards using renewable energy sources like wind, the sun, biomass, and geothermal to reduce over-reliance on fossil fuels as an energy source. Technology, as much as it is a problem, can also be a solution.
References
Al-Ghussain, L. (2018). Global warming: Review on Driving Forces and mitigation. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 38(1), 13–21. Web.
Bisong, P. B., & Apologun, S. (2020). Technology can save the environment. International Journal of Humanities, Management and Social Science, 3(1), 11–19. Web.
Briffa, J., Sinagra, E., & Blundell, R. (2020). Heavy metal pollution in the environment and their toxicological effects on humans. Heliyon, 6(9). Web.
Volti, R. (2017). Chapter: Technology, Energy, and the Environment. In Society and Technological Change (8 Ed, pp. 105–122)., Worth Pub.