Education

How can education be used to reduce the conflict between technology and nature? Sergio Palleroni, research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at the University of Texas, Austin, requires his students to travel to third-world countries, where they design and personally build environmentally- and socially-appropriate dwellings and other structures, particularly for low-income people (see the PBS miniseries, design: e²). In the process, the students gain a profound hands-on grasp of the value of understanding not only what goes into the physical construction of a building, but the benefits of designing it to best accommodate the unique nuances of both the people who will use it and the ecosystem it occupies.

It seems to all be about respect – respect for nature, for other human beings, for beauty and function.

What if, from the earliest age, all children were taught a profound respect for nature? Might that have an effect on how the leaders, and indeed all the people, of the future dealt with the interaction of technology and the natural world?

Although there have undoubtedly been examples of pre-technical societies despoiling their environs, in general such people have held a profound respect for the natural world (albeit generally coupled with a supernatural fear of many aspects of nature). And if the everyday inhabitants of modern technical societies can be instilled with a love and respect for the natural world, combined with a sufficient understanding of scientific explanations for natural phenomena, isn’t there a greater likelihood that most people will want to recycle their waste, and in general, reduce their negative impact upon the environment?

It is said that the Andaman Islanders of the Indian Ocean coolly reacted to the initial signs of the great tsunami of December 2004 by immediately heading to higher ground if on shore, and heading further out to sea if fishing in boats. Having a tradition of being fishermen and living close to the earth, the elders remembered the stories that had been passed down to them thanks to their ancestors. And they knew what to do after seeing even the earliest signs of the tsunami’s approach. As a result, most of them survived.

But other people living in the areas affected by the tsunami came from lineages that had lost their ancestral memories of such events, and many of them died, not reacting quickly enough to escape.

If we humans, as a species, can regain a sense of being an intimate part of nature, while at the same time appreciating and reaping the benefits of modern science and technology, then our technology can actually benefit nature as well as ourselves. If, as architect William McDonough says, we design everything considering the benefit of all future generations of not just humans, but all species, our technology can happily progress without ill consequences forever (see design: e²).

More and more institutes of higher education are now offering programs, and even degrees, in an innovative field referred to as “STS.” For example, the Program in Science, Technology and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology attempts to address what role science and technology play in major world events and human civilization. It is not offered as an independent major, but can be part of a joint or double major when combined with a science or engineering degree. Perhaps this new melding of science and engineering with concepts from the humanities will result in fresh views regarding the technologies of the future.

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