2. How Will Technology Destroy The
Earth
For this presentation I will look at some of the
different ways that our modern society and
technology is destroying our planet.
I feel that technology itself is neutral and how
humans choose to develop, use, and dispose of
this technology is what is doing our planet harm.
We are building, expanding, and inventing at a
rate that our planet cannot support. We have a
finite amount of resources and should be doing
our best to preserve them for as long as possible
not burning through them as fast as possible
3. Evolution of Technology
The evolution of all forms of technology is
happening at such a rate that people are no
longer replacing just broken items but perfectly
good working items because something new and
improved has come on the market.
The rate at which technology is being created and
improved upon in unsustainable for our planet.
This technology is not being created responsibly
or ethically, made with harmful materials and
processes
Consumers are not disposing of these goods in a
responsible manner.
4. Resources & Materials
Every piece of technology ever created is made
of materials either natural or synthetic.
These natural materials need to be taken from
the earth, things like metals, aggregates, wood,
water and soils.
Synthetic materials are man made and often
contain materials that are harmful to humans and
the environment
More sophisticated technology requires tools and
processes
These can cause damage to the earth if not done
responsibly
5. Materials
Mining, forestry and oil are some of the basic
materials needed to create the technology of our
daily lives, but we are not extracting and removing
these materials responsibly.
Deforestation Open-pit Mining Alberta’s
Tar Sands
6. Manufacturing Conditions
How products are made especially in 2nd and 3rd world
countries is unethical
The working conditions and manufacturing processes are
often unhealthy and unsafe
To keep product costs down employees are usually not
paid fair wages for the work they do or given proper
safety gear
Child Workers in Asia Garment Factory India Factory
7. Manufacturing Waste
The process of creating products often has harmful by-
products and emissions that have negative effects on the
natural environment.
Some of the industries that are most effecting the health
of our planet are; metal smelting and mining operations,
leather tannery, pulp & paper, textile dying, and chemical
production
8. Waste
One of the biggest downfalls of our modern society and
technology is the waste generated by our consumerism
Not much consideration is put into what happens to a
product when it becomes waste
This is leaving us with a lot of waste that is not properly
being disposed of casing pollution and damage to our
Earth
9. Nuclear War
From all of the topics I have covered so far I feel the
biggest threat that technology has on our planet is in
the form of nuclear warfare.
As of 2014 there were 4,000 active nuclear warheads
and 10,144 total nuclear warheads in the world.
It was called the Tsar Bomba, this 50,000-kiloton
hydrogen bomb was the largest nuke ever detonated
and it’s considered the most powerful man-made
creation in history.
When Tsar Bomba was dropped, the fireball had a 5-
mile diameter that reached over 6 miles into the sky.
From 62 miles away, the heat could still give you third
degree burns. Windows were broken up to 560 miles
away.
That equates to a mushroom cloud 8 times the height
11. Hope For The Future
There is hope for the future and it starts with you!
The products you choose to buy can have a positive
impact!
Look for company's that have ISO certification
ISO is the International Standards Organisation for
things like sustainable energy and water and resource
conservation
Look for products that are fair trade certified
Fair trade is an organized social movement whose
stated goal is to help producers in developing
countries achieve better trading conditions and to
promote sustainability. Members of the movement
12. Investing in Clean Energy
By converting from coal and nuclear power to
solar, wind and geothermal we can slow climate
change and global warming
If we become less dependant on fossil fuels there
will be less oil spills, and damage to the Earth
from oil extraction
Demand responsible and sustainable products
and policies from our global governments and
cooperation's
13. Reference Page
Maclennan, D. (2014, September 5). Elgar Blog. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
http://elgarblog.com/category/environment/
Coal mining in Mongolia. (2012, February 28). Retrieved April 10, 2105, from
http://kids.mongabay.com/facts/2012/02/
Ciencia, G. (2014, February 28). ¡Tu ropa es tóxica! … DETOX. Retrieved April
12, 2015.
"Federation of American Scientists: Status of World Nuclear Forces". Fas.org.
2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014
Wilson, M. (2012, April 20). Ingeniously Charting The Horrifying Power Of
Today's Nuclear Bombs. Retrieved April 12, 2015, from
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669575/ingeniously-charting-the-horrifying-power-
of-todays-nuclear-bombs
Hiroshima Panorama Project. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
http://sun.iwu.edu/~rwilson/hiroshima/rama2.htm
