Technology/biodiversity and Ecosystem Loss

How is technology not helping us to improve environmental issues?

Over the last years technology has been through an extreme evolution, each day we introduce new technologies and engines to our world, thanks to industrialization and urbanization, and until today human race has enjoyed every single benefit it brings with it, but not to help on the essential problem we have right now, taking care of the planet and the environment, Technology is not helping to improve because us, humans don´t know how to use it right and now it is causing more damage than benefit for what should be the most important for us all: earth.Technology is an important tool we have got used to in our daily life, but as if it has good consequences for us, some bad consequences for our environment are: Excess of power consumption this causes an increase in carbon footprint as it increases the burning of coal to produce energy, polluting the air with chemicals and toxins that lead to drastic climate changesIncrease of travelling use of means of transport the increase in the usage of these just leads to more production of them, using materials that can’t be recycled, getting more garbage to earth and in the production and use of these polluting the air.

Deforestation and biodiversity loss because of the need of resources for the production of it and the waste and pollution this leads to the environment is being damaged. The causes of this are mainly the need of humans to improve technology, the money gain it brings to them, find easier ways to develop activities and generally industrialization and urbanization. According to the information just explained, we can see that the most harmful of them all is the excess of power consumption as it is the one that involves the other issues it is the main cause of other problems, is the core of contamination nowadays because it is one of the main resources for the world to function; Because of this, is the main problem that needs to be solved and we can help with something as simple as unplugging our phone chargers and turning off lights during the day, but the impact it may have can if we all as a community contribute can be huge.What is technology being up to in Colombia?

Colombia is a fascinating and biodiverse country, it is very rich in life forms, is even considered among the world’s four richest countries in biological diversity and it produces one of the best coffee beans in the world. However, just as every other developing country it has entered into the trend of urbanization and industrialization, with this, the economy of Colombia has obviously increased and for people who live in the cities has given jobs, aside from that let´s think about the people who live in rural areas, which are the 23% of the population, and for a country that almost survives from agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing which are also the jobs that these people can execute it is not going to be convenient that the industry gets stucked in only factory and processed products, and by focusing on that future what they are doing is sacrificing the biodiversity the country has for the industry; The government of Colombia is blinded for the money gain it is giving to them, and even though Colombia is involved in distinct protocols and campaigns in order to help this issue, it is clear to see that it hasn’t been enough to mitigate this problem or even improve, but when the time comes and the country gets stucked because of lack of resources the environment is going to be the only way to help it and there won´t be the possibility anymore. Colombia´s main problems are soil erosion, deforestation and the preservation of its wildlife, which as it was said before are one of the main incomes of the country, so it is time for the government to start to take action, to preserve the so needed resources of the country and use the technology they have been acquiring and improving for the main purpose of Colombia’s population the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem. This is a very important issue as It is important to manage a balance between technological evolution and the environment, so that the country is able to continue to develop while its biodiversity is safe and with it, Colombian´s lives. Colombia, as a highly vulnerated country by the climate change is vinculated to a lot of committees, protocols and campaigns such as:

Consequences of Automation in China

As almost every corner of the world is looking to get the last technologies and engines but as always forgetting about the environmental consequences it may have in a near future; One high end technology that is becoming very popular nowadays is “Automation” this is, according to Isa “the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services.” More specifically, the usage of robots to perform activities that humans can and cannot do, increasing the quality and quantity of different productions, this process is bad for the environment as it consumes a lot of time, energy and money to produce and leaves more waste and pollution than factories. And, humans now do nevertheless, this process is leaving almost an 85% of jobs for humans at risk, specially in developed countries who are able to afford this technology, how is it possible that ourselves as humans are playing with the development, opportunities and life of other people in order to pursue the one thing that seems to be the only important thing nowadays: money and power, without seeing that what we are doing is extinguishing our own specie. According to Oxford Martin school, China is one of the biggest producer countries in the world, because of this, the demand of workers is each time bigger and they have to produce more products using less time that is why industries have started to use this new technology called automation. “Automation has already had a substantial impact on Chinese factory employment: Between 1995 and 2002 about 16 million factory jobs disappeared, roughly 15 percent of total Chinese manufacturing employment. This trend is poised to accelerate.” (The New York Times, 2010), if the impact of automation between 1995 and 2002 was that big it is unimaginable the impact that this is going to have throughout the years in Chinese workers, and as it might increase the productivity and economy of China right now, in a near future the country is going to be in a crisis as no one is going to have a job or money to eat, people are going to be poor and unemployed leading to other social problems in the country such as burglary, vandalism, etc.; And, what is the point of producing a lot when no one is going to be able to pay for it?.

How could all these issues affect me and close family and friends?

These issues are becoming really important all around the world, and together are worse, this is something that is obviously going to affect me some day in a way or another and also my family and friends, first as we all live in Colombia, we need to preserve the resources of our country, if not what´s going to be left is a poor country and we are going to get affected by the economic and social state of the country, also if automation continues to grow and evolve human beings are going to be unemployed, and right now we are studying and spending money on education for our future but it’s going to be worthless when workers become robots and not humans, it is very important to start to take action to diminish this issues and not only these but in general al issues frightened technology evolution is bringing to us and the environment because we are not going to be able to survive in the future world we are giving up to artificial intelligence and technology.

What can be done

The only ones that can change this situation is us, humans; But is very difficult, especially when our leaders are so blinded by the effects of these, but if a majority start to make changes people are going to follow them and a small action can lead to big effects, some good courses of action are, making peaceful protests specially about industries and automation, people are losing their jobs, and with it human rights they need to survive, if people reveal themselves from companies and the government they would need to make changes in order to please the majority and the community.

Make campaigns to save the environment as it was aid before, it is enough that one person starts for a whole community to follow, make a campaign with your neighborhood to clean streets, feed animals, water plants it´s a small change but for our planet is an important one.Start using more renewable energy alternatives there are a lot of alternative ways to do everyday activities and not damaging our environment and this is also a way in which we can use technology to help our environment it is as easy as buying some solar panels for your house, or recycling the rain water to wash your car later, there are small things that can help the world a lot.

Donate your old technology if you buy a new phone or a new car donate your old one or give it to a family member or friend that needs it, in this way you can help someone out and at the same time stop producing waste and junk for the environment with the materials these devices are made of. Incorporating this actions to your daily life are easy ways to contribute to the environment and prevent the chaos that could be our earth in a future.How much does this project change my perspective?This project has been a real challenge for me as I am a technology lover, I always like to have the last phone or computer and to be updated with this kind of information, but I am a nature lover as well, I love nature and animals with my life and I thought these to extremes of my life that were in constant fight needed to be somehow explained and balanced, so with all the information I gathered with this project I could get to a conclusion and the moral of this project for me is that we need to open our eyes and as much as we love technology, start to see what is doing to our world, the one who gives us everything we need to survive, and help it now that we still can, and in a balance with technology there are a lot of ways explained in this project to use it to improve the health of our earth, with this mind changing project I also hope to spread what I learnt with my close friends and family members and begin with a small change In our life.