Page 525 - Essencials of Sociology

498 CHAPTER 15 Social Change and the Environment

Technology and the Environment:
The Goal of Harmony

It is inevitable that humans will develop new technologies. But the abuse of our environ-
ment by those technologies is not inevitable. To understate the matter, the destruction
of our planet is an unwise choice.
If we are to live in a world worth passing on to coming generations, we must seek
harmony between technology and the natural environment. This will not be easy. At one
extreme are people who claim that to protect the environment, we must eliminate indus-
trialization and go back to a tribal way of life. At the other extreme are people who are
blind to the harm being done to the natural environment, who want the entire world
to industrialize at full speed. Somewhere, there must be a middle ground, one that
recognizes not only that industrialization is here to stay but also that we can control it.
After all, it is our creation. Controlled, industrialization can enhance our quality of life;
uncontrolled, it will destroy us.
The social movement that centers on It is essential, then, that we develop ways to reduce or eliminate the harm that tech-
the environment has become global. nology does to the environment. This includes mechanisms to monitor the production
In all nations, people are concerned
about the destruction of the earth’s and use of technology and the disposal of its wastes. The question, of course, is whether
resources. This photo is a sign of we have the resolve to take the steps necessary to preserve the environment for future
changing times. Instead of jumping generations. What is at stake is nothing less than the welfare of planet Earth. Surely this
on this beached whale and carving it should be enough to motivate us to make wise choices.
into pieces, these Brazilians are doing
their best to save its life.