Discussion Question #4

I think technology is an essential part of dealing with environmental problems. Although the industrial revolution was responsible for environmental destruction on a large scale, we can use technology today to devise cleaner sources of energy, methods of production, and waste disposal. Emphasis on "green" technology is an important way that we can reduce our environmental impact.

In response to the question, "Will technology save us?" I would say that alone, technology probably won't be able to. Our collective effect on the environment is so great that we can't continue to consume extravagantly and assume that people in lab coats are going to make everything better. For technology to save us, we would have to invent techniques so efficient that we could continue our current consumption trends indefinitely without ruining the planet. Altering our consumption behavior is most likely going to be at least as important as green technology in warding off disastrous environmental change.

It's also important that we actively fund green technology initiatives. Green technology can be costly, and may not be able to compete in a market economy against dirtier alternatives initially, or ever. We should invest resources into these technologies to make them viable and at the same time find a way to factor the costs of externalities into products that damage the environment.