For many people, advances in technology have brought about more comfort and convenience. However, it’s often at the cost of our natural resources as well as our wildlife. We use trees for wood and paper products, petroleum for fuel and plastics, and water for various uses such as drinking, irrigation, and waste disposal. We’ve cleared land for our homes, buildings, and farms so that we can support our lives. Thankfully, technology can also be used to help us conserve nature and spread awareness of our impact on it.
Keeping Track of Resources
New technologies can be used to monitor better the natural resources that we currently have. We have improved tagging options for wildlife that intrude their privacy less. There are also mapping and database innovations that we can use to see the levels of resources closer to real time. A conservation organization can call on an information technology consulting company to find the best ways to monitor wildlife and natural resources. Different kinds call for different approaches.
Educating the Next Generation
While our generation makes efforts to help the environment for the next one, we can’t be sure about what they will do when it’s their turn. With technology, we can better educate them on the possible effects of their everyday activities in the future. We can present them with options on what they can do to help preserve what’s left of our natural resources. We have many choices on what we can use to educate, including videos, apps, and even virtual reality devices and tools.
Controlling Resource Use
Technology may be what we use to consume resources, but recent developments are being made to control it. For example, when it comes to electricity, we have solar panels and wind turbines that can help us reduce fossil fuel consumption. We also have appliances that use less power while maintaining the same output. Another example is our water recycling system that lets us live on less than what we would have generally taken from nature. Yet another technology is the one we use for reusing materials for items that we have thrown away.
Bringing Back What’s Lost
We have contributed to the loss of resources and species over the years. That is partly due to our discovery of new technologies. However, nowadays, we also have choices for bringing back what’s nearing extinction. It is utilized in taking care of endangered species of animals as well as plants in captivity until they can be released back into the wild. We may not be able to bring back the species that have entirely disappeared, but we can try to prevent more from suffering the same outcome.
The presence of technology doesn’t always mean that the environment has to suffer. After all, it is merely a tool, and its effects depend on those who use it. It can be used to both harm nature and to help preserve it. What matters more is the mindset and viewpoint of the people who have it and how they plan to utilize it. Influencing individuals in favor of conservation and preservation will significantly help, and technology can also be used for that purpose.
