Environmental side-effects
From Blindside
Contents |
[edit] What is it
The Internet may be just the tool we need to measure and mitigate environmental damage. At the same time, the manufacuring, power consumption and radio transmissions necessary to keep it running may be causing new damage.
[edit] Impact & Maturity assessment
We estimate the Impact Level to be 1, our lowest level. The information assurance issue is loss of public confidence in computing, resulting in lower trust and reduced use of computers. However, as the internet is now highly integrated into public and private life in the UK, that risk is small. In addition, companies such as Sun are trying to introduce the concept of green computing. In their case, it's a logical extension of thin client computing, but other vendors such as HP are also working on efficiency of power consumption. Lastly, separate recycling procedures and centres to work with electronics are rapidly spreading. We assign this a Maturity Level of 3.
[edit] Information Assurance issues
Answer: what seem to be the likely information assurance issues of the emerging technology under discussion
[edit] Timescale
Global warming is something nobody can deny presently and technology has an important role to play in it, to save everyone from a major man-made disaster. Many organisation’s have now started developing eco-friendly products, so the impact of it can be seen in the next 5-25 years.
[edit] Examples
Gene technology and environmental risks
[edit] Comments (attributed)
"It is no longer controversial to state that a human individual is essentially a cultural being, and that culture is an emanation of nature. The Boeing 777 is not some sort of emanation from the old-growth forest. I argue that we need a stronger term; culture is an 'emergent' from nature. Nature evolved into culture; culture evolved out of nature, but it did evolve out of it. Emanation is too weak a word. Over the millennia in their cultures, humans make an increasing exodus from nature," says Freya Mathews, an Australian philosopher and author
"Dangers are intrinsic to all technology, and it is necessary to publicize them to guide the public’s choices about products. He also thought the threats today are so grave that life on this planet may become extinct by 2085. The choice is starkly clear in Ian’s words: Without technology we are doomed; without its control we are also doomed," says Ian Pearson, a Futurologist at BT Labs
[edit] Organisations
[edit] Documents & research papers
Technology Versus Nature: What is natural?
