QUESTION
Communications Exercise Number 6: Final essay (summative, 50% of mark for communications)
Write an essay of 1,000 words based on the following
Engineers create artefacts and processes that sustain civilised life, yet technology is often perceived as destroying the natural environment. Discuss the conflict between the aspirations for a civilised life and the maintenance of the natural environment.
Consideration will be given in the marking to the criteria described below. The essay will need to be submitted through Turnitin, the plagiarism software.
Coherence
Your essay needs to be logically structured with an introduction where appropriate describing the scope and purpose of the essay. There should be some form of conclusion. Your essay must be relevant to the discussion topic posed above making sure that all aspects asked for are covered but irrelevant material is excluded. You will need to ensure there is a logical progression through from the introduction, through the main body and to the conclusion.
Evidence
You will need to make reference in your essay either to evidence of an empirical nature (e.g. case studies), your own experience or from published sources (using the Harvard referencing system, see Helpsheet 30). Assertions, in order not to be judged merely as opinion, must be supported by logic arguments based on sound premises.
Analysis
Balance description with analysis and justification. Make sure you go beyond description, and this will be evidenced by your depth of inquiry, your insights and critical appraisal.
Presentation
You will need to express yourself clearly and succinctly. Poor punctuation, structure at sentence, paragraph and document level, and poor style will be heavily penalised.
Referencing
Each essay must contain reference to at least four publications which should be included in the text and listed at the end of the essay in Harvard format.
SOLUTION
Engineers create artefacts and processes that sustain civilised life, yet technology is often perceived as destroying the natural environment. Discuss the conflict between the aspirations for a civilised life and the maintenance of the natural environment.
They say our own actions often affect us in the way, which are out of control. The unbridled development of technology has inflicted the humanity and natural environment in the same way. Technology evolution, which began with the motive of sustaining civilised life, has grown to become a Frankenstein’s monster now. While enlargement of technology is equally essential as environment conservation, why is there no middle way to alleviate the conflict between the two phenomena?
About fifty years ago, the anticipation of ‘automation’ was more than welcome, because it would have led to reduction in working week. However, by 1980s, the ‘post-industrial society’ resulted in two-tier labor market. One set of people is still trapped by poor education, inner city housing and long term unemployment. The other set, which comprises of hi-tech occupations, is busy making money out of tasks of less meaning and more destruction (Smith, C, 1998).
With ever-accelerating natural-scientific and technological progress, humankind has torn the world apart and has turned its productive powers against itself. Where modern means should have processed and informed to knit various aspects of the world, they have instead led to brutal conflicts between the nations. The unfortunate situation is such that even without wars, the use of modern technology is enough to destroy the natural environment (Smith, c, 1998, chapter Twentieth Century Paradox).
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had clearly noted that civilization and social evolution, which are the result of technology, in its each stage contains seeds of its own destruction. However, we cannot blame technology alone for destructions, as the inevitable social complexities involved in the process of evolution have the equal bearing (Richter, Jr, M.N., 1982).
Only during the primitive technology and society, there was no substantial impact on natural environment. The primitive society lived comparatively under stable conditions, which then gradually transformed into an unruly craving for technological advancement and economic development with modern civilization. The fact here to understand is that natural environment imposes certain limitations on the range of variation in subsistence technology. Besides, the attitude of people using technology plays more crucial role in defining the future of environment,(Richter, Jr, M.N., 1982, chapter Technology and Social Complexities).
Almost everyone recognizes the severity of environment-related problems and the need to take re-corrective measures. However, do we really know what could really be effective? We cannot bring any radical change in social complexities, nor can we continue without technological advancement. Then, what are the nearest solutions to balance technology with environment? Many experts place the blame on increasing pollution and expanding population for environment deterioration. Let us analyze the global condition using the index of the most developed nation to gauge the impact of technology on environment as compared to other major factors, which are responsible to have affected it. As per the statistics, while environmental pollution has risen in the order of 200-2000 percent in United States post World War II, yet population has increased only 49 percent between 1946 and 1968. Yet, these figures seem far off the mark when we look at the changes in technology and production. For instance, production of plastics increased up to 1,960 percent, mercury used in chlorine and sodium hydroxide products plunged to 3,930 percent and synthetic fibres have went up to 5,980 percent. The figures clearly show that technology has highly failed to recognize the biology of environment while inventing and engineering sustainable products to comfort the humankind. Thus it is apparent that these technologies with high biological impact are chief causes for environmental destruction (Popular Science, May, 1972).
We do not need more evidences to conclude that local environmental deterioration has endangered the habitability of the planet. We also do not need any further confirmation that how technology has majorly contributed to weaken the environment. However, we cannot even deny the implication only technology and engineering can provide solutions to most of the environment problems. The urgent need to balance the economic growth and environmental practices has raised the need to design environmental-friendly technology all the more. Only if the environmentally-responsive engineering is promoted on priority and on large scale, the world can effectively work towards correcting the environmental hazards. There is also a real-time need to develop intellectual frameworks for analyzing the interactions of technology and environment (Ausubel, J.H., and Sladovich, H.E, Oct, 1989).
Unfortunately, the trends in environmental policies are not very progressive. Each policy seems to surface with its own institutional defenders and there are rarely any rational solutions designed. The environment science must be stretched beyond of just supporting what a handful of activists or groups urge on particular issues. We need a sense of realism, and just speaking globally of “saving the planet” will not be enough. The current human activities are constantly threatening life on the planet, but all that we have done so far is nearly nothing. The reason behind such laxity is the attitude of the people. We tend to care more about our mental ideologies and models, than the planet. It is always the culture, localized motives, economic state and philosophies which see intense activism, but not the environment. Although all these localized issues are inevitable in any civilization, but we have to understand that while these agendas are only increasing complexities, environmental-activism can actually give you a real desired sustainable world and life.
Most of the current technologies need to be replaced with the new ones in order to take any corrective measure. Development of capability to manage global systems – all ranging from energy, transportation, information technology to nitrogen and carbon emission – is the most radical and rational approach.
We must take a close look at the world we live in. It is very important that we understand that the human civilization and environment have evolved together equally. Therefore they will also repress together and regress towards the doom (Allenby, B., 2005).
References
Ausubel, J.H. and Sladovich, H.E., 1989. Technology And Environment. National Academy Of Engineering. Washington.D.C.
Popular Science, May, 1970. 100th Anniversary Issue.
Richter, M.N.Jr., 1982. Technology And Social Complexities. Albany.
Smith, C., 1996. Marx At The Millennium. Chicago .USA.
KC50
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