Technology and the Environment Chapter 15 The Nature

Technology and the Environment Chapter 15

The Nature of Technology • Langdon Winner and defining technology • Three dimensions to technology: • 1. Technological tools or apparatuses - the physical devices of technical performance » Machines » Gadgets • 2. Technical skills - all activities or behaviors that employ a rational method of doing things

The Nature of Technology • Langdon Winner and defining technology • Three dimensions to technology: • 3. Organizational networks associated with activities and apparatus • Technological change refers to changes in any of the three areas: » Apparatus » Activities » Organization

Technological Dualism • Technological dualism refers to the fact that technological change often has both positive and negative impacts on people and society

Technology and Global Inequality • Technologies and the gap between the haves and have-nots • United Nations report and the: » Global Computing gap between rich and poor nations » Communications gap between rich and poor nations » On a global basis, only 18 percent of possible users currently have Internet access

The Digital Divide • The digital divide is the gap between those with access to computers and the Internet and those without » Poor families in the United States are less likely to be active on the Internet » Access to computers and the Internet at schools has decreased the gap

Controlling Technology • Some critics of technology are convinced that it has become an autonomous force in society • Autonomous technology: Winner and others have pointed out that technology has enmeshed us in a complex web of dependency • Most sociologists do not see technology as autonomous: They argue that we have been drawn into the momentum of technological change, but are not sure where it is taking us

Automation • Automation - the replacement of human workers with machines • Automation results in an increase in productivity in the economy with a decline in the number of workers to generate products » Automation has resulted in a loss in manufacturing jobs

Whistle-Blowers • Whistle-blowers are employees who call attention to the abuses of new technological systems • Whistle-blowers often run the risk of negative sanctions from their place of employment » Loss of job

Identity Theft - A Global Crime Wave in Cyberspace • Identity theft refers to the illegal possession of another person’s private account numbers and the use of those numbers for fraudulent purposes • Much of the effort to develop ways of fighting identity theft focuses on increasing security for critical databases in government and the corporate sector

Bureaucracy and Morality • Bureaucratic organizations, by the nature of the system of organization, may produce unintended negative results » Hierarchical authority structure » Division of labor and narrowly defined roles » Orientation to accomplishing specific goals • Workers in organizations may not feel personally responsible for their actions

Bureaucracy and Morality • Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience to authority and overcoming moral obligations • Should people be taught that disobedience to authority under some conditions is necessary?

Technology and Institutions • Technology has two major relationships to social institutions » The adaptation of social institutions to changing technology » The adaptation of technology to changing institutions • William Ogburn and cultural lag » Cultural lag happens when two parts of a culture change at uneven rates • Fusion research is still in its early stages

Technology and Institutions • Transhumanism is the very small but growing social movement that advocates the ethnical use of technologies to enhance human capabilities • Transhumanists are fascinated by the idea of the cyborg: a creature that is part human and part technological systems

Technology and the Natural Environment • There has been an increasing concern about the impact that technology has on the environment • Speed of change in human civilization has been occurring faster than changes in the natural cycle of the environment » Technology has accelerated the process of change

Technology and the Natural Environment • Two major factors have led to an increase in pollution and the depletion of natural resources • 1. Accelerated technological and scientific change • 2. Rapid population growth

Environmental Stress • Environmental stress refers to what society does to the environment • Environmental stress results from the relationship between three systems • 1. The natural environment which is the interrelationship between air, minerals and the like • 2. Technological system which includes farming, transportation and productive facilities • 3. Social system which consists of our attitudes, values, beliefs and social institutions

Origins of the Problem • Environmental pollution refers to agents added to the environment by society in quantities that are potentially dangerous to the ecosystem and human welfare • Four concepts are related to the understanding of the problem of environmental stress • 1. Interdependence – interrelatedness of everything

Origins of the Problem • Four concepts are related to the understanding of the problem of environmental stress • 2. Diversity - existence of different life and life support forms - the greater the diversity, the healthier the environment • 3. Limits - three limits » Limit to the growth of an organism » Limit to population size as it relates to the carrying capacity of the environment » Finite limit to the Earth’s resources

Origins of the Problem • Four concepts are related to the understanding of the problem of environmental stress • 4. Complexity refers to the intricacy of the relationships that constitute the ecological web • The major difficulty with dealing with environmental stress is: » The number of problems there are » How the problems are interrelated

Air Pollution • Primary types of air pollutants: » Organic compounds (hydrocarbons) » Oxides of carbon » Nitrogen and sulfur » Lead and other metals » Particulate matter • Major source of carbon monoxide pollution is exhaust emissions from automobiles

Air Pollution • Effects on Human Health • Air pollutants are related to the following health problems » Bronchitis » Emphysema » Lung cancer » Eye, nose, and throat irritation

Air Pollution • • • Economic Effects Accelerated property deterioration Crop loss Loss productivity due to worker illness Ecological Effects One ecological impact has been the effect that the use of fluorocarbon gases have had on the ozone layer in the atmosphere

Air Pollution • Ecological Effects • Depletion of the ozone could cause: » Increase in skin cancer » Crop failure » Change in the world’s climate • Acid rain is another problem - refers to rainfall with excessive concentrations of sulfuric dioxide

Air Pollution • Ecological Effects • Acid rain is largely the result of pollutants from utility and industrial plants • Acid rain is especially harmful to » Physical structures in cities » Forest and plant life » Aquatic life

Air Pollution • The Global Warming Controversy • The “greenhouse effect, ” or the increase in global temperatures • Greenhouse gases are due in part to an increase in the burning of fossil fuels • Radioactivity • Nuclear power plant accidents

Water Pollution • Water moves through a hydrologic cycle of continuous purification and use • Affecting the hydrologic cycle leads to two major problems » The amount of water available could be insufficient to meet demand » The water available could be polluted

Water Pollution • Sources of the problem • Increased demand for water by consumers and the dumping of pollutants into the water system » Urban dwellers » Industrial users » Farmers • Another form of water pollution is thermal pollution

Solid-Waste Disposal • • • Dumping of solid waste into the environment Two major sources Through the consumption process of goods Through the production process of goods In 2005 we disposed of over 410 million tons of waste » Landfills » Incinerators

Solid-Waste Disposal • Environmental Racism, Environmental Justice • Environmental racism refers to the concentration of minority group neighborhoods around landfills and toxic dump sites • Toxic Wastes » Plastics » Pesticides » And other chemical products

Solid-Waste Disposal • Radioactive Wastes • By-products from nuclear power plants and other sources

Other Hazards • Land Degradation • Deforestation of tropical rainforests » Clearing of rainforests for commercial use • Desertification » Overgrazing of land » Dependence on wood for fuel » Depletion of minerals from farming

Other Hazards • Noise pollution » Noise pollution from technological advances • Chemical Contamination and Globalization of the Food Supply » Plastics and synthetics » Vinyl chloride » Chemical contamination of the global food supply is a growing social problem • Large Scale Engineering Projects

The United States and the World Environment • The United States and consumption • Affluence and pollution • The U. S. has 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 25 percent of the world’s fossil fuel • The U. S. produces 72 percent of the world’s hazardous waste

Social Policy • Policy on Global Warming • United Nations and the Kyoto Protocol » Reduction in carbon emissions • United States under the Bush administration did not ratify the agreement

Social Policy • Pollution Credits – The creation of markets to buy and sell pollution credits is a more conservative antipollution policy favored by the Bush administration and by many experts on global pollution problems • Science and Policy Making – There has been a great deal of conflict between the nation’s scientists and the Bush administration

Social Policy • Appropriate technology is smaller-scale technology • Small scale technologies and reduction of environmental damage • The appropriate technologists are often accused of advocating an impractical retreat to a simpler way of life • Appropriate technologists reply that they do not oppose all technology, only large-scale technology that has unfavorable social consequences