If the first humans were sustainable, and now we aren't; what is the best way to become sustainable? Are the answers in the past or future? Over time, modern technology has cost us our sustainability. Can newer technology give it back?
I think that in the past we were sustainable by default for several reasons, the number of people inhabiting the planet has greatly increased, and technologies that are available to us have changed.
We can not go back to the way things were in the past. That is like going some place as a child then returning as an adult, the thrill of it has warn off, it is no longer a big and as magnificent as we remembered, and it leaves us disappointed.
For us to move to a more sustainable future we must take lessons from the past and look to the future. As our technologies progress, we can solve some of the problems that we have created by our advancement. We must solve these problems at the source, which is in the manufacturing process. At the same time we must look at the quality of the environment in the past and hope we can reach that point again.
We must move forward with our technology, and hopefully with the advancements of the day we can gradually come to point were we have become a sustainable society.
I like to try to respond with a different view; but as I pondered the question and your response, I think similarly. I feel that the only thing the past offers is inspiration; and as far as today and the future are concerned, I feel that technology is the key. We've already reached the point where technology has been around long enough for us to see the bad. Now that this has been realized, technology is beginning to refine itself, and newer technologies are emerging at a stage of refinement unprecedented. I feel it will take time, but it can be turned around. I feel this turn should/could have started sooner, but better now than just plowing ahead.
I think that in the past we were sustainable by default for several reasons, the number of people inhabiting the planet has greatly increased, and technologies that are available to us have changed.
ReplyDeleteWe can not go back to the way things were in the past. That is like going some place as a child then returning as an adult, the thrill of it has warn off, it is no longer a big and as magnificent as we remembered, and it leaves us disappointed.
For us to move to a more sustainable future we must take lessons from the past and look to the future. As our technologies progress, we can solve some of the problems that we have created by our advancement. We must solve these problems at the source, which is in the manufacturing process. At the same time we must look at the quality of the environment in the past and hope we can reach that point again.
We must move forward with our technology, and hopefully with the advancements of the day we can gradually come to point were we have become a sustainable society.
I like to try to respond with a different view; but as I pondered the question and your response, I think similarly. I feel that the only thing the past offers is inspiration; and as far as today and the future are concerned, I feel that technology is the key. We've already reached the point where technology has been around long enough for us to see the bad. Now that this has been realized, technology is beginning to refine itself, and newer technologies are emerging at a stage of refinement unprecedented. I feel it will take time, but it can be turned around. I feel this turn should/could have started sooner, but better now than just plowing ahead.
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