Technology, Society and Environment: Emerging Issues and Challenges

Technology, application of the knowledge, the scientific study of the practical and industrial arts is not the art itself, but the principles, which underlies it. It can be defined, from the very specific to broad and general and all of them confine the term technology in a sense of “how things are commonly done or made” and “what things are done or made.”
Thus, technology is a study of the universal means, which involves the systematic application of organized knowledge, tools and materials for the extension of the human faculties that are restricted as a result of evolutionary process. It is evident in all culture regardless of their stage of development which is knowledge base and involves the application of knowledge to solve problems. It seeks a harmonious relationship between human life and nature. It is future oriented and is accumulative and observable.
Technological development is a fluid, continuous process that can not be divided into distinct stages. The current technology or so called, modern technology is a part of the universal evolutionary process which has influenced to almost all the fields and areas in such fashion, that people are completely dependent on these new, modern complicated and sophisticated technologies. The gradual development in technology has such broad stages that we are always willing to desire easier, faster and simpler not knowing the result could be more adverse.
Society or human society is the manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. It is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, possibly comprising characteristics such as national or cultural identity, social solidarity, language or hierarchical organization. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals sharing a distinctive culture and institutions. Like other communities or groups, a society allows its members to achieve needs or wishes they could not fulfill alone.
The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans.
From the ancient times, ma has been able to create new technology to make certain change in their society and the environment. The requisites at the present status on that time had made men to create such new technology. Previously, men used to move from one place to another, they used to enter the forest and kill the animal for the food and for that they used wood, stone etc. Later on they started to fashion those into useful shapes and start making tire with which they could cook foods. In this way, new and new technology started creating on.
The world of technique is a world of material things subjected to quantitative analysis but the essence of human life is quality not quantity. Technological thinking produces great human achievement but also threatens annihilation of humanity. Technology appears to create freedom for humanity, it actually doesn’t and can’t. It makes human lame. These are the contradictions exist between the promise and the actuality of human life in relation to the fact of technology.
There are various sectors or we can say aspects that can be changed with technology. Technology has also created such problems as technological unemployment and environmental pollution. Mainly, social institutions such as family, politics, economics and religion are considered as the remarkable aspects.
People are changing their family system along with the improvement of the technology they have known and availability of physical facilities. Due to advancement of technology there are major changes in the economic situation. The productive power of society increases, increased technology has also altered the nature of consuming matter and also the consumption rate in the society, the use of computers and telecommunication system increased the multinational banks and corporation. Thus the money moves rapidly from one hand to another. Rules and regulations made by the government also play an important role in the economic situation of the society.
The impact of technology on employment is both beneficial and adverse. The works previously accomplished by clerks or machinist are nowadays accomplished by computers in office information process or for numerical control of machine tools. So, they become unemployed unless they are restrained for new responsibility. On the other hand, the use of computers has created new jobs too. There is also significant impact of technology in the field of education system. Economic system and technology for a nation are mutually interrelated parameters. If a nation has good economic system, it can improve its technical environment easily and quickly. On the other hand, if a nation has an advanced technological system, it can quickly improve its economic condition.
Technology affects politics both directly and indirectly. The effect can be seen on political organization. The technical capacity to organize the state is sharply increased. The power of the politics directly increases with increase in skill efficiency and speed with which the information processed.
As we are living in the age of advanced science and technology, the effect of technology can be felt in each and every part of our daily life. Obviously, religion is also no longer left unaffected by it. That’s why, with the facts mentioned above, it is clear that, and technology is both the curse and the blessing according to its application. The technology is taken as the blessing if it is controlled by us or we can use it as our desire for good purpose only and is taken as the great achievement. If technology controls us and is used for our harm, then it is curse. If it is used as self hood it is curse and makes us slave.
Emerging environmental issues are issues that may someday be of concern but that have not yet been generally recognized. A review of such issues that have occurred over the last 50 years reveals that many of them have erupted rather suddenly (e.g., stratospheric ozone depletion, acid rain). However, some issues were recognized long ago by the scientific community (e.g., land degradation, over consumption of freshwater), but for economic or other reasons governments have refused to act.
Bountiful resources are the gift of nature. They play a very important role in the development of nations. Population explosion, industrialization, urbanization and globalization have altogether intensified the use of earth’s resources and also threaten the quality of the environment. In order to achieve the good quality of life, resources have to be harnessed which will ultimately pollute the atmosphere, water and land. Although costs of remedial measures are high, the future habitability of a crowded planet requires that these measures be taken.
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The world needs healing of the inflicted damages on environment and it needs helping hand in this direction. The challenge we face is to create sustainable, fruitful and peaceful life on earth, a society that exists in harmony with nature. Our challenge is to begin to erect the structure that preserves the earth we inherited to secure the global future. A new scientific and technological regime is needed to meet these challenges. Indeed, the underlying principles of the sustainable development paradigm, which underpins development goals and strategies, command policies that are, among other things, pro-environment, pro-poor and pro-innovation. Progressing simultaneously in many areas of science and technology policy in order to achieve sustainability and competitiveness appears to be the most viable strategy. Limited ‘technological learning’, absence of appropriate technology policies, inability to fully grasp the challenges of globalization and appreciate the key issues that continue to shape world development today compound the problems.