Sociology: Your Compass for a New World Robert J. Brym and John Lie Wadsworth Group/Thomson Learning © 2003

Technology and the Global Environment Chapter 18

Technology and Human Control I WTechnology Is Not Beyond Human Control WWhile Technologies Routinely Transform Societies, They Are Adopted Only When There Is a Social Need for Them

Technology and Human Control II WSince the Last Third of the Nineteenth Century, Technological Development Has Increasingly Come Under the Control of Multinational Corporations and the Military Establishments of the Major World Powers WResearch Scientists and Engineers Who Work for These Organizations Must Normally Adhere to Their Research Priorities

Nobel Prizes in Natural Science by Country, (in Percent) Percent Source: Kidron and Segal (1995: 92-3); U.S. Census Bureau (1998c: 620). Scientific Articles Published, by Country, (as % of total) U.S.A UK 8.7 Japan 7.5 USSR 6.8 W. Germany 6.5 Rest of world 34.5 Total100.0 Year

Research and Development, U.S.A., 1960 and 1997, by Source (in Percent) Year Percent Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (1998c: 609); Woodrow Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (2000). $74.3 bil. (in 1997 dollars) $205.7 bil. 33% 65% 66% 31%

Market Penetration by Years Since Invention, U.S.A. Years Since Invention Market Penetration (in %) Source: “The Silent Boom” (1997). World Wide Web Cell phone PC VCR Microwave Invented Years till 25% penetration VCR Microwave PC Cell Phone World Wide Web

Questioning the Benefits of Technology WA Substantial and Growing Minority of Americans Is Skeptical About the Benefits of Technology WNegative Consequences of Technology Include W Global Warming W Industrial Pollution W The Decline of Biodiversity  Genetic Pollution

Annual Mean Global Surface Air Temperature and Carbon Dioxide Concentration, Sources: Goddard Institute for Space Studies (2001); Karl and Trenberth (1999: 102) Year Mean Temperature, C  CO 2, parts per million x x x x x x x Carbon dioxide concentration Surface air temperature

Worldwide Damage Due to “Natural” Disasters, (in 1998 $US) $US billions Sources: Abu-Nasr (1998); Vidal (1999). Year

The Social Distribution of Environmental Risk W Some Categories of the World’s Population Share a Disproportionately Large Share of the Risks Associated With Environmental Degradation Including: WDisadvantaged Classes WRacial Minorities WLess Developed Countries

Air Pollutant Emission Projections,u.S.A., (in Mil. Short Tons, Projected) Year Millions of short tons Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1998: ) % 30% Total due to on-road vehicles

Renewable Resources, World, Percent Change, (Projected) fish catch irrigable land crop landrangeland, pasture forests Percent decrease Source: Postel (1994: 11)

The Market and High-tech Solutions WSome Analysts Think the Market and High Technology Will Solve the Environmental Problem WThree Issues Suggest These Are Insufficient Solutions: W Imperfect Price Signals W The Importance of Political Pressure W The Slow Pace of Change

Sociology’s Role WSociology Can Play an Important Role in Helping to Solve the Environmental Crisis by Sensitizing the Public to the Social Issues and Choices Humanity Faces in the 21st Century WFor Example, Sociology Poses the Choice Between More Competition and More Cooperation As Ways of Solving the Environmental Crisis