Introduction
Technological advancement has revolutionized our life. Today, a vast range of services and communication is just a click away. With the evolution of technology, the need for various resources to support it has also increased. Our lives are greatly influenced by technological progress in various different ways such that it has become difficult to describe some of the highly impacted areas due to it. This article discusses the positive and negative influence of technologies on the environment.
Positive effects of technology on environment
Reduced consumption of paper
Technology has helped the environment by lowering the requirement for paper. With the growing use electronic and email communication, paperless offices have become a common culture in commercial sector. Lowering the requirement for paper also reduces deforestation and logging. This enables land to form a smaller footprint.
Reduced energy consumption
With the increase in the use of technology in the office, various ICT firms have designed “greener technology” to overcome the harmful impact caused by the computers and accompanying technology on the environment. Introduction of green technologies like multi-function devices and PC power management systems allow businesses that depends heavily on technology to lower the level of energy consumption.
One of the examples of multi-function devices is to replace laser printers with multiple-function devices. Such devices incorporate a fax machine, photocopier and a printer in a single system. This saves space and the usage of electronic hardware in office.
The long-term objective of the greener technology is to build a standard system that enables IT operatives and business managers to compare the energy consumption and necessary ways to reduce it. In this way, use of energy reducing devices and paper less transactions positively impacts the environment.
Low carbon technology
Low carbon technology is another significant impact of technology on the environment. It is a type of technology that was developed in China as this country has low carbon footprint than any other developed nation in the world. This low carbon technology offsets the extent of discharges that contaminates the air with the help of renewable fossil fuels.
Negative effects of technology on the environment
Global warming
The entire planet is witnessing drastic changes in climate due to Global Warming. This damage has led to an extinction of plants and birds and a greater possibility of spreading of diseases. The causes for global warming are increase in pollution, inactive life habits, heat generation, and excessive dependency on technological devices.
Due to global warming, summers are getting hotter whereas the winters are getting colder. This has made living tougher than usual. We have become reliant on using air condition system and other electronic device to deal with this problem. Global warming has proved to be detrimental to the plants, climate and animals.
Excess power consumption:
Due to use of technology in areas of education, workplace, and remote areas, the consumption of power is high. We are dependent on various technological devices in daily life such as smartphones, television, AC, washing machine, refrigerator, and other gadgets. This requires increased consumption of electricity. As it is produced by plenty of nuclear and fossil fuels, it has caused devastating impact on the entire environment.
More waste is generated:
Technological upgradation leads to generation of toxic waste in massive amounts. With the replacement of conventional large sized computers by tablets and laptops for its easy movability and compactness, a lot of toxic waste is released in the environment.
Replacement of tungsten bulbs by fluorescent bulbs that are again replaced by “incandescent bulbs” is harmful for the environment. This is because they have a lot of toxic elements in it such as lead and mercury. These heavy metals have the potential to result in severe life-threatening health issues.
Excess use of gadgets:
With increased use of mobiles, tablets and other gadgets, the need for Wi-Fi has increased. Due to which the level of exposure to radiation is also high. This has led to an occurrence of health issues in the long run. Not just humans, but birds are also affected by it. The reduction in the number of birds is also seen in Wi-Fi enabled zones.
Conclusion
With the increase in the different types of technology, there are several negative and positive environmental impacts of it on the planet. With the increase in modern technology and globalization, there has been an increase in the rate of energy consumption. This has led to devastating impact on the air quality and climate of the planet. However, without innovation and technology, we could not have developed enhanced energy management systems or build eco-friendly products like bio-fuels. It is required that people take progressive steps to reduce the extent of technological damage to the environment. It is also necessary to figure out means to effectively manage new technology so that it continues to have a favourable ecological influence.
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