Technology Will Destroy Our Planet

Technology Will Destroy Our Planet

Brianna van Niekerk

Tiffany Bayes

Technology Defined

• “The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science”

Technology in Today’s Society

• used more commonly than any generation prior

• has the ability to make peoples lives easier, but has consequences

• constantly surrounded by it

• technology is constantly changing and evolving

• society always needs and depends on the latest evolving technology

Transportation Through Automobiles

• motorized vehicles are one of the largest sources of air pollution

• this can be the cause of negative health effects

• scientific studies show children living in areas highly populated with cars have more respiratory-related illnesses, such as asthma

• has also been linked to heart attacks, coronary artery disease and increased risk of death from respiratory and cardiac conditions

• 1/5 of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is caused from automobiles

• the number of cars on the road is continuing to increase rapidly

Transportation Through Automobiles

• cars emit chemicals such as fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide/dioxide and volatile organic compounds (organic chemicals that have a high vapour pressure at room temp)• a single car emits 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide

(this would require 240 trees to offset this amount)• oil is required to keep cars moving• drilling for oil interferes with the world’s ecosystem• roads created in order to travel on; this requires the

removal of trees and animal habitats, reducing the amount of trees available to create oxygen and interfering with animal reproduction

Raw Resources

• Coal Mining• the largest source of electricity in the world• requires large areas of land to be disturbed• causes climate change• releases methane; a green house gas that is twenty times more

powerful than carbon dioxide• there has been the rise in mountaintop removal mining where tops

of whole mountains are blasted away to get to the coal seams underneath. Several open-pit mine craters are so large that they are visible from outer space

• bad mining practices can ignite coal fires, which can burn for decades, release fly ash and smoke laden with greenhouse gasses and toxic chemicals

Raw Resources

• Oil Mining• Wintershall states that Crude oil is seen as the most

important raw material it is used to produce almost everything such as: fuel, plastic, detergent, paint, and clothing. Living without this oil is almost impossible • modern life is inconceivable without Crude oil. The world

consumes almost 14 billion liters of oil each day• oil produces large amounts of CO2 into the air and oil

spills also pollute bodies of water and wildlife

Nuclear Energy

• according to the U.S department of Energy 2012, Energy does not produce any carbon dioxide into the air while operating but does require a lot of energy

• nuclear energy does in fact impact the environment by producing large amounts radioactive waste such as: uranium mill tailings, and reactor fuel these reactive materials can be harmful to human health for thousands of years

Nuclear Energy- The Funkushima Nuclear Disaster in Japan

• Michael Snyder states that: The tsunami in Japan hit the Funkushima Nuclear power plant in 2011 causing a radioactive fallout for hundreds square miles in Tokyo

• officials in Japan admit that 300 tons of radioactive water from Fukushima is entering the Pacific Ocean every 24 hours

• a total of somewhere between 20 trillion and 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium have gotten into the Pacific Ocean since the Fukushima disaster first began

Farmers and Agriculture

• farmers use a variety of pesticides on the crops in their fields

• the result of this is the dangerous chemical leaks into streams and bodies of water

• this then results in digestion of the pesticides into the human body

• also results in a disruption in ecological imbalances

Global Warming

• the result of the mentioned technologies is resulting in global warming

• polar ice caps are shrinking at a rate of 9% per decade

• the earth’s temperature is rising consistently

• Causes disturbances in the ocean’s flow which can result in storms

How can we use Technology to help?

• Technology is undoubtably destroying the planet as we are consuming more resources (trees, oil) much faster than they are being produced

• there is too much Co2 and greenhouse gases in the air and not enough tress to off set the amount. Ultimately, this is destroying our ozone layer

• our planet cannot fix its self and will need major changes in the areas that have been destroyed in order to be repaired

• changes do not mean society needs to change their lives a whole lot but simply means using other resources for energy such as renewable energy

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy that comes from the earths natural resources; this includes but is not limited to:

Solar

Solar energy uses the suns UV rays and converts it to energy. Solar power provides enough energy to supply an entire home

Wind

Wind turbines use the wind to turn the turbines that are hooked up to a generator and together make energy

Ocean Energy

Ocean energy uses a dam to convert tidal energy by forcing the water through turbines and activating a generator

Conclusion• technology is undoubtedly destroying the planet.

• technology such as: cars, nuclear power plants, and pesticides are all contributing to the amount of green houses gases emitted into the air as well as global warming

• the planet cannot fix itself when society is using more resources than it can produce

• we cannot blame technology for destroying our planet as it is society that has created the technology and is at fault for its overuse and overdevelopment

• society needs to start thinking of ways to help save the planet from technology

• Using renewable energy is a resource that could help make this happen

References

• Dictionary.com. (2014). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/technology?s=t

• Schwarzfeld, M. (n.d.). Top 10 ways man is destroying the environment. Retrieved from http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-ways-man-destroying-environment.htm

• Road traffic and air pollution. (2012, 12 10). Retrieved from http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/environment-environnement/outdoor-air-exterieur/traf-eng.php

• M.Snyder (2013). Facts about the ongoing Fukushima nuclear holocaust too horrifying to believe. Retrieved from http://www.trueactivist.com/11-facts-about-the-ongoing-fukushima-nuclear-holocaust

• U.S department of Energy (2012). Nuclear power and the environment. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=nuclear_environment

• Mining impacts. (2010, 04 15). Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/coal/Mining-impacts/

• Wintershall. (2014). oil can do more . Retrieved from http://www.wintershall.com/en/company/oil-and-gas/oil-can-do-more.html