Technology and the Environment

by William Creasy

Improvement in standards of living have been supported by technological improvements. However, world population continues to increase, and many people are living in greater poverty. Many rural people in developing countries are migrating to overcrowded cities to live in slums and poverty.

What technologies may be important in addressing these problems? Freeman Dyson gave his thoughts on this topic in a lecture at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, on November 10, 1998, in a talk entitled, "The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet." Dr. Dyson is a noted physicist and futurist. He is professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, and the author of numerous books and articles.

Dyson said that an important part of technology development must include improvements in social justice. In other words, technology should tend to benefit all people regardless of income level. For example, public health improvements narrowed the difference in life expectancy between rich and poor people. In contrast, he considered that many inventions simply provide toys to benefit the rich.

Dyson discussed three technologies that he thinks will improve the lives of poverty-stricken people in the developing world. The first is solar energy. This technology will provide inexpensive, delocalized energy that is not dependent on large commercial and distribution systems.

The second technology is genetic engineering. Most genetics research currently is focused on curing human disease, but the genetic engineering of crop plants and trees could provide new benefits. Trees, which directly harvest solar energy, could be modified to produce chemicals or fuel from biological processes. Thus, rural areas would be given an economic advantage relative to manufacturing complexes in cities.

Finally, the internet provides worldwide communication which eliminates the isolation of rural areas and provides access to information. These three technologies could cause social changes by providing incentives to leave overcrowded cities and return to villages, hopefully to healthier, safer, and better lives.

Dyson wanted to apply ethics to guide technology toward social justice. He said that, for the last ten years, it has become almost a religion that the free market will solve all problems. He thinks the markets must be directed and regulated. Unfortunately, he said that he considered that most ethics arise from religion. He was not unreservedly optimistic about his ideas, but, he said, "It doesn't hurt to hope."