We have the technology

[Igor Vovchanchyn]

How does everyone here feel about technology and the enviroment in general?

 

Should a vegan also avoid technology (he types into his laptop)?

 

I personally don't own a car and cant drive, partly for enviromental reasons. But the more I think about my personal future the more I think I'll be moving out of london and will have to drive. So perhaps I should take lessons now?

 

What would actually be required to halt the enviromental degredation? As far as I can see, reducing the population and its growth is the first priority, but how can someone work toward that?

[michaelhobson]

How does everyone here feel about technology and the enviroment in general?

 

Should a vegan also avoid technology (he types into his laptop)?

 

I personally don't own a car and cant drive, partly for enviromental reasons. But the more I think about my personal future the more I think I'll be moving out of london and will have to drive. So perhaps I should take lessons now?

 

What would actually be required to halt the enviromental degredation? As far as I can see, reducing the population and its growth is the first priority, but how can someone work toward that?

 

I like the Amish view of technology, although I think some of their conclusions are a little extreme. Many think the Amish are just anti-technology, they are not. They thoughtfully examine each piece of new technology that comes out. Does it bring people closer together? What is the economic and environmental cost? In what ways will it improve their life and in what ways will it diminish their lives. As long as we are a society of "consumers", gobbling up every new thing that comes along, there is little hope for "appropriate" technology or environmental integrity.

 

There are more cars than people in the U.S.! Tiffaney and I get by with only one car, which is pretty unusual here. Still, unless we start investing heavily in public transportation, cars will remain a necessity. We spend hundreds of billions every year constructing new highways and only in the millions for our rail system.

 

But, even with all of our problems, I don't think the U.S. and Europe are the biggest environmental concern right now. China and India have massive and growing populations and few environmental controls. China especially is an environmental disaster in progress. I think Mexico and South America could be headed in that direction too in the next few decades. As these areas are industrialized and the money starts to flow, the population problem will likely get even worse.

 

The U.S. controls such a huge portion of the world's economic resources. A good start to solving some of the world's environmental problems could come with pushing those resources toward solving population and environmental problems. It will of course take an effort from the rest of the world too. But, with hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars behind such fantastic projects as blowing up Iraq and Afghanistan and likely Iran soon, it will be hard for the rest of the world to even keep up with cleaning up the U.S.'s mess!!! Much less focusing on anything positive. Unfortunately, I think things will get intensely worse before there is any progress.

[offense74]

How does everyone here feel about technology and the enviroment in general?

 

Should a vegan also avoid technology (he types into his laptop)?

 

I personally don't own a car and cant drive, partly for enviromental reasons. But the more I think about my personal future the more I think I'll be moving out of london and will have to drive. So perhaps I should take lessons now?

 

What would actually be required to halt the enviromental degredation? As far as I can see, reducing the population and its growth is the first priority, but how can someone work toward that?

I don't think you will need a car in London since the subway system is awesome.

Also I would go for greener technology to give that a boost.

The environmental challanges are fixable if people started to realize that they are the ones to change, not everybody else. Today people are pointing fingers at the government and the corporations. The corporations, as you know, already have higher goals (and tougher laws) than do regular people.

The population will go down as poor people don't need to use their children as work horses and pension security, i.e. they need to get richer which meens we need to buy their stuff, which is more often than not technology and produce.

[pelicanAndrew]

I like computers too much.

 

But greener is better. I plan on never buying a car.

[xChrisZx]

My wife and I have only one car and it works out pretty well. I drive most of the time going to work and visiting my parents and she rides her bike to work and uses the car for photo jobs.

 

My only concern is that we need to find some cheapo car before the winter because I don't want her riding a bike in the snow.

[Kathryn]

I think we're actually pretty primitive technologically speaking vs. where we could be. If computers could run on one small solar battery, that would be advanced technology. If all cars ran on waste material and converted it to clean air and water, that would be advanced!

 

I have to use a computer for my work (and for getting on the internet!) as well as a car, but I do have a Prius, which gets much better gas mileage than most cars, and has the best 'non-polluting" rating. I have to laugh when car commercials come on and they are bragging about the car getting 30 mpg on the highway! (Mine gets 51-52).

[Guest]

Those Prius' are great...my Dad's friend at work has two of them in his family and the milage readings are inconsistant in a good way...he averages a little over 60mpg...sometimes 64

[pelicanAndrew]

If i ever buy a car it will be some sort of hybrid or biodiesel car.

[Cristian]

I think we're actually pretty primitive technologically speaking vs. where we could be. If computers could run on one small solar battery, that would be advanced technology. If all cars ran on waste material and converted it to clean air and water, that would be advanced!

 

I have to use a computer for my work (and for getting on the internet!) as well as a car, but I do have a Prius, which gets much better gas mileage than most cars, and has the best 'non-polluting" rating. I have to laugh when car commercials come on and they are bragging about the car getting 30 mpg on the highway! (Mine gets 51-52).

 

I agree, we should benefit from even better technology when it comes to transport. Prius is a great example, we have the technology to build enviromentaly friendly cars and that should be the way forward. I suspect that the oil industry is slowing down this process, I don't think we will be seeing any major changes in car technology until there's oil to be sold.