What are the positive effects of technology on environment? Follow

Even though there has been a constant debate on the impact of technology on our environment, there is no denying the fact that environmental technology does provide reliable solutions to improve our environment.

Similar to its influences on our society and culture, technology has an impact on the environment as well. It is true that technology does hurt our environment, but it is also true that if you use it wisely, it can help us to solve many ecological issues.

Thanks to the certain facets of technology, we are living in a better place than before and here are a few highlights on how our environment embraces technology for betterment.

• Capitalizing on renewable energies: Gone are the days when we were relying only on fossil fuels, as a natural means for power. Given that they will not last long and also since they are not renewable, there was an increasing need to find other renewable sources. Energy from wind, water, and sun can provide us the necessary energy. Technology has helped us in harnessing the power from these renewable sources like solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal using the heat of the earth, biomass from landfill waste.

• Protecting wildlife: With different species of wild animals being endangered, there is a need to track the wildlife and help to keep them safer from deadly diseases and other ecological factors. GPS technology helps us to understand the migration patterns, the habitats, the behavioral pattern, etc. of animals which allows us to study them further and provide for a natural way for them to survive.

• Going green without paper: It is a well-known fact that paper is made from trees and man has been destroying thousands of trees to make paper. Going digital has, however, put a stop to using paper considerably. Along with reducing paper waste, digital technology has helped us to keep a better track of the files and information.

• Better agriculture: With an increasing population, there are more building cropping up, especially on agricultural lands. There is no more time or space for conventional farming. Thanks to technology, we now have robotic farming, genetically designed products and more to help meet our daily food demands.

From reducing paper waste to smarter living in natural settings, technology does help our environment immensely if used wisely.

For example, use of drones to collect plastic in oceans and rivers, or use of drones to plant trees. Have a look here: https://www.awakenthefuture.com/trends/categories/envir

We are already aware of the negative effects of technology on the environment. But we cannot ignore the fact that the rise in global concern for climate change is bringing in various tech advancements focusing on solving some of the biggest environmental challenges. 

These technologies are helping the world to shift towards a more sustainable, low-carbon economy. Let’s check out their positive effects on the environment and how they are making a difference.

Smart Home Sensors

This technology advancement is designed to use linked sensors and various appliances connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) that can be monitored and controlled remotely and also prove to be energy efficient by all means. Experts believe that this advancement would surely contribute to the concept of smart cities by connecting every phone, automobile, air conditioner, and much more.

Electric Vehicles (EVs)

EVs are successfully helping businesses to fulfill their desire to reduce environmental concerns related to greenhouse gases and air pollution. They are demonstrating a positive impact on the environment by facilitating zero carbon emission. Using energy stored in rechargeable batteries, these vehicles prove to be cleaner and less harmful. By 2024, EVs could become cheaper than petrol cars, says Bloomberg. 

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

It is a process where CO2 is captured directly from the ambient air and is rolled out in the form of a concentrated stream for utilization and sequestration. However, this technology is still in its early stages of development and is not available for commercial use. Experts also believe that the coming times would see it as a potential benefit if people use it rightly without being under the pretense that all emissions would simply be removed.

Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality (AR/ VR)

There are mixed opinions for e-commerce’s eco-friendliness due to the number of product returns/ exchanges increasing every year. This increased return doubles the transportation costs and leads to excess environmental waste from unused packaging. However, AR/ VR is solving these issues by helping users make better buying decisions and accelerating the existing sales funnel for ecommerce companies.

Digital Payment Framework

Paper receipts pose an array of environmental challenges, says Green America. But businesses are now overcoming these challenges by integrating digital receipts in their retail POS systems or ecommerce checkout process. Contributing to this advancement and reducing paper consumption are paperless invoicing and online payment collection via Banking Cards, United Payment Interface (UPI), Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, etc.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation

With the right implementation of automation and AI, our environment can easily recycle things, analyze data from sewer systems, reduce carbon emissions, fight against climate change, harvest solar and wave energy, etc. It would be the key to streamlining operations, observing low-to-no material wastage, faster cycle times, increased production, and less energy consumption.

Indeed we cannot reverse the negative effects of technology on the environment but leveraging the power of such technologies can surely help in the mitigation of further detrimental harm.