by Ryan Thomason

Created on: May 08, 2008   Last Updated: October 08, 2008

Technology is a by-product of human civilization.

It started as means of hunting, providing warmth, and shelter. When probably the most instrumental Technology, the plow, came along, and with it a large expansion into agriculture, the destruction' of earth began. Lands were turned into farms, and the molding of your environment to fit your needs, instead of adapting to your environment set humans apart from all the other creatures on earth. From early on, most technology was developed and adapted because of warfare. While that may be cause for some harm to the environment, it was humanity that received the brunt of those advances. For some time, you could have wondered if Technology Would Spare the Humans?' That is until the last 100 years came around.

With the industrial revolution, you begin to see the toll humanity can take on the planet, the increase in use of resources and pollution has changed ecosystems and caused species losses at rates in increasing speeds. Though, we have begun to see a shift. With the current oil crunch, Green' technology has been on the rise, and, while the technology may not be the savior of our planet. It has been extremely beneficial.

Wind and Solor Technology has created new way of giving humanity the one thing it can't do without, and that is energy. While the technology still has a ways to go before it is refined enough to compete with the cheapest sources, oil and coal. It has been making leaps and bounds in the industry. Even the classical major polluter Coal has been getting a technological overhaul. New methods have created a cleaner burning coal, lowering the amount of emissions into the atmosphere and the immediate impacts have been lessened so far that you can barely distinguish a modern coal burning fuel plant from the archaic ancestors of its past.

To ask if technology will spare the earth is like asking if there are Aliens waiting for a good time to invade and take over. You don't know, and you possibly never will. What do you know is that Humanity will always do whatever it can to push itself and dip its toe into waters where it hadn't been before. Eventually, technology will help to decrease the some of the damage that humanity has done to the planet, and thus, make the next generations of humans able to enjoy it like we have. So, Yes, technology has the power to spare the Earth, but it will be up to its creators as to how and when.

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