04/28/2014

A reflection paper: Science, Technology and Society and the Inconvenient Truth

The concept of global warming and climate change as a phenomenon has been around for
quite some time now. The change in the worlds climate is undeniable. The documentary aims to
educate the unaware people of how we are continually destroying our planet. According to
Albert Gore, a politician in the USA and an advocate of global warming, the three major factors
affecting global warming are population, science and technology, and our way of thinking. With
this connotation, it can directly be inferred that science, technology and society are the ones that
drive changes. These fields have sole effects and different interactions that cause great impacts
and implications on the present day situation and the future that lies ahead.
As what the documentary depicts for the past several years, we, the society, with the help
of science and technology have created and done inappropriate things that damaged Mother
Nature. In this point of view, it can be seen that science technology and society contributed to the
problem, global warming.
Society affects the current situation as the peoples way of thinking, thought of as
common culture, led to an increase in worlds population which has been observed with the by
the present-day society. It is true that more people means more needs needing to be met. It also
means more pressure in the environment. The need for food led to faster exhaustion of natural
resources, particularly those of plants and trees. There has also been an increase at the rate by
which lands are being converted into residential areas. As a result, the vegetation that absorbs
carbon dioxide and aids in keeping its levels normal, has diminished. The pressure that we are
causing on our environment makes it hard for the natural system to maintain homeostasis,
contributing to the vulnerability of our world to global warming. Furthermore, global warming
has become too much of a common problem that nobody would want to own up to the mess that
we have created. It is that type of a problem so easy to take for granted as long as its
consequences are still tolerable. As long as its reality is not yet sinking in, we do not see it yet as
a problem. And if we do not see it as a problem, we do not feel the need for solutions.
Given the mindset of the current society, we also claim that our race is the most superior
of all the living things. In our point of view, due to our superiority above others, we should be
the one responsible for maintaining the well being of the planet we live in. But we have done
the exact opposite of this. We have exploited every available resource as we see fit. In the
documentary, Al Gore compared photos of places with rich resources then and now. We could
see how the place drastically changed over a short time. Ice formations and huge areas of
glaciers disappeared due to global warming.
On the other hand, science and technology, useful as they are to mankind, have its own
setbacks. Although intended for the benefit of mankind and the development of life, too much of
it brought about repercussions, such as climate change, that we are now experiencing today.
Since the industrial revolution, great impacts particularly on our ozone layer have been exerted,
and it continues until today. We have built a habit of unnecessarily depending too much on
technology for our daily conveniences. Take for example how we prefer to ride vehicles when
we can actually just walk. In another example shown, the use of nuclear weapons in the 20th
century showed incredibly unpredictable results. A lot of lives and livelihood were lost and
destroyed and the place where it stuck became virtually inhabitable for living things to live. Until
now, the effects are still present but not felt all throughout the world, until now. The heat
released by the explosion of the nuclear weapon accumulated in the atmosphere. Thus, the choice
in the things we buy, the electricity we use, the cars we drive or the technologies we utilize
affects the current condition. We can also deduce that technology, as it is abused, brings about
negative consequences. Indeed, some of the technologies that weve created with the help of
science had unknowingly made great contributions to global warming.
The effect of the interaction between science, technology and society with respect to
global warming can also be seen and interpreted in different ways. In one point of view, the
mindset and values of the current society can be pictured as the primary driver of global
warming. The current mindset and values has preceded the direction of science and technological
advancements that further led to the problem. In another aspect, it could also be viewed that
science and technology is the primary force that led to global warming as one could argue that it
changed the mindset and values of the present society.
The documentary also tackled ways on how science and technology bridges the gap
between the society and the unknown. One good example is in the part of diagnosing the
problem or in determining the relationship and effects of the new technologies and human
activities in the environment. With the use of tools and machineries like thermometers, carbon
measuring devices, weather balloons and submarines, the video depicted how the scientific
community used technology to gather data with the hopes of understanding the environment.
Then, with the help of science, they were able to interpret these data and analyse it in such
manner that they came-up with global warming as a prognosis.
It can be viewed that technology was used as a tool for the enhancement and
magnification of our senses; it provided eyes, ears and muscle to science and it also tapped
characteristics different from what humans can sense. Science using its logic then explains the
data produced by the technology and gives predictions based on evidence. The role of society
can then be viewed as the brain and manipulator of technology and science. It is up for the
people to interpret and figure out ways how to understand the unknown or different phenomena
using the available knowledge and logic offered by science and the amplified and augmented
senses offered by technology.
Based on the documentary, the relationship of science, technology and society can also
be depicted on the solution-making process.
In the latter part of the film, Al Gore was saying that his country, America, and the rest of
the world can reverses this developing high trend of CO
2
production by changing our ways and
planting more trees. America already paved the way in decreasing the CFCs that is produced
yearly so he is quite positive that they could also change for our Mother Earth. He concluded it
by saying, Each one of us is a cause of global warming, but each one of us can make choices to
change..The solutions are in our hands, we just have to have the determination to make it
happen. We have everything that we need to reduce carbon emissions, everything but political
will. But in America, the will to act is a renewable resource.. Together with the facts presented
on the documentary, this implied that changing the culture and the common beliefs and practices
of the present-day society can be one of the solutions to the impending problem. Another
solution could also be in a form of the development of new environmentally-safe technologies
with the help of the updated knowledge coming from science. Al Gore suggested that we save
our planet by using more natural sources of energy like wind, solar or geothermal ones. He also
acknowledged our very own electrical and bio-fueled jeeps. Truly, weaknesses as they may be
considered, can also be turned into strengths.
The video offers a point-of-view that has not been considered and realized for a long
time. It changes the beliefs, twists the opinions and alters the practices of the modern-day
society. It brought a social divide between the believers and skeptics who claimed that global
warming is a natural phenomenon. It also brings about a social movement to promote a better
change throughout the world. Utilizing technology, the discussion in the documentary is
supported by science. It gives us an idea of how science is ever changing and how the world can
be viewed as understandable. It also emphasizes the role of people and the society as a whole in
the direction of the scientific and technological advancements. It also showed how science and
technological advancements can bring harm and impose danger towards the society. Based from
the documentary, it can be implied that the relationship existing between the three different fields
is not necessarily unidirectional and their functions and roles are not mutually exclusive.
As what Winston Chuchill said, The era of procrastination, of half- measures, of
soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a
period of consequences.. He was saying that we are the cause of what is happening to us. We
did this to ourselves so we have to do something to make it right once more or we shall suffer
major damage and very fast and unexpected consequences.
In the end, the societys lack of knowledge of the general truths is imposing a great
danger. Mitigation of the problem not only lies on the direct implementation of policies that
could alleviate the effects of global warming and climate change. It is also important that the
people understand the mechanism behind this phenomenon so that, in their own, they can
formulate indigenous, sustainable and feasible solutions.

TEAM APPLE members:
Faulmino, Chrislyn Joanna
Gentallan, Renerio Jr.
Mejia, Ainei
Morales, Andra Ly
Sangalang, Catherine Anne
Villamil, Daniel James
Virtucio, Arah