The Impact of Technology on the Environment

The industrial revolution has brought about new technologies with immense power. This has been succeeded by continued industrialisation and further technological advancements in developed countries around the world, and the impact of this technology on the environment has included the misuse and damage of our natural earth.

These technologies have damaged our world in two main ways; pollution and the depletion of natural resources.

Air and water pollution

Air pollution occurs when harmful or excessive quantities of gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and methane are introduced into the earth’s atmosphere. The main sources all relate to technologies which emerged following the industrial revolution such as the burning of fossil fuels, factories, power stations, mass agriculture and vehicles. The consequences of air pollution include negative health impacts for humans and animals and global warming, whereby the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the air trap thermal energy in the Earth’s atmosphere and cause the global temperature to rise.

Water pollution on the other hand is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater, usually due to human activities. Some of the most common water pollutants are domestic waste, industrial effluents and insecticides and pesticides. A specific example is the release of inadequately treated wastewater into natural water bodies, which can lead to degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Other detrimental effects include diseases such as typhoid and cholera, eutrophication and the destruction of ecosystems which negatively affects the food chain.

Depletion of natural resources

Resource depletion is another negative impact of technology on the environment. It refers to the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources consist of those that are in existence without humans having created them and they can be either renewable or non-renewable. There are several types of resource depletion, with the most severe being aquifer depletion, deforestation, mining for fossil fuels and minerals, contamination of resources, soil erosion and overconsumption of resources. These mainly occur as a result of agriculture, mining, water usage and consumption of fossil fuels, all of which have been enabled by advancements in technology.

Due to the increasing global population, levels of natural resource degradation are also increasing. This has resulted in the estimation of the world’s eco-footprint to be one and a half times the ability of the earth to sustainably provide each individual with enough resources that meet their consumption levels. Since the industrial revolution, large-scale mineral and oil exploration has been increasing, causing more and more natural oil and mineral depletion. Combined with advancements in technology, development and research, the exploitation of minerals has become easier and humans are therefore digging deeper to access more which has led to many resources entering into a production decline.

Moreover, the consequence of deforestation has never been more severe, with the World Bank reporting that the net loss of global forest between 1990 and 2015 was 1.3 million km2. This is primarily for agricultural reasons but also logging for fuel and making space for residential areas, encouraged by increasing population pressure. Not only does this result in a loss of trees which are important as they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but thousands of plants and animals lose their natural habitats and have become extinct.