Imagine a world without smart phones, computers and internet. Perhaps it would be just an empty dark and cold place. This concept may probably seem to be inconceivable to most of us, because we are now used to living with it. In the past 50 years, the world is continuously becoming more evolved and dependent on technology. With incredible breakthroughs, the world has now become what was once considered science fiction. Indeed, technology became a game-changer. It has totally changed the general living standards, ways of communication, data collection and analysis, and even manpower productivity.
Life becomes easier and efficient. Advancements in technology may manifest augmentation in the economy. However, the impact of such development in the environment must be considered especially now that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) also known as Industrial Revolution 4.0 has already emerged. It’s happening. It’s already part of our lives. But while we are rethinking our relationship with technology, we should also rethink our relationship with the environment.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
Industrial revolution in general can be characterized by advancement in technology that humanity applies to improve the process of production (Hilton, Sean, 2018).
In the history of technological advancement, the First Industrial Revolution (IR) used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second IR used electric power to create mass production. Lastly, the third IR used electronics and information technology to automate production.
To date, the middle of the last century, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has evolved. It represents a fundamental change in the way people live, work and relate to one another. It is a new chapter in human development, enabled by extraordinary technology advances commensurate with those of the first, second and third industrial revolutions. Such advances are merging the physical, digital and biological worlds in ways that create both huge promise and potential peril. It is a fusion of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, and other technologies (Klaus Schwab, 2019).
The downside of 4IR era with regards to environment
Majority of the world’s current environmental problems can be traced back to industrialization. Among its negative consequences are climate change, unsafe levels of air pollution, toxic substances in soil and water bodies, tremendous amount of wastes on land and in oceans, biodiversity depletion and deforestation (Conservation folks, 2019). One of the major problems that can be associated directly from 4IR is the accumulation of e-waste. The demand for electronic devices is very high but proper disposal is not well managed. Hence, it resulted to the world’s e-waste huge problem. In fact, the United Nations calls it a “tsunami” of e-waste.
As projected, the amount of e-waste will increase up to 52.2 metric tons by year 2021 (PCR Daily News Letter, June 2018). Hence, warning is given to everyone about the threat cause by e-waste to human health and environment. While, there has been much discussion about the impact of 4IR technologies on economic productivity, the consequence of these technologies on the environment may not be realized. According to the study of Pajula T.,et.al. (2017), the environmental impact from the extraction of resources to processing, and then to usage and finally to disposal is not sustainable.
Shaping the future
With the recent changes in the world due to technology advancement, what can be expected in the coming years? It may be difficult to assess the inputs for the environment, positive or negative. To date, the 4IR offers new technological innovation tools, and as progression continues, what can be seen are its adverse environmental outcomes on the planet.
Development and innovations are inevitable but it must be reiterated that technological advances are only a part of the equation. It is humankind who utilizes these technologies. Hence, lifestyles must be re-evaluated and responsibility for the environment must be ensured. While humankind has no control over development, they can be responsible in guiding its evolution. Thus, they can shape the effects of 4IR in the environment and re-direct it towards the horizon or a future with common objectives and values.
References
Klaus Schwab. 2019. World Economic Forum. Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it mean to respond. retrieved from www.weforum.org last July 5, 2019
Hinton, Sean. 2018. Forbes Media LLC retrieved from www.weforum.org last July 5, 2019
Conservation folks. 2019. What Impact Would A Fourth Industrial Revolution Have on the Planet? retrieved from www.conservationfolks.com last July 5, 2019
Pajula T., Behm K., Vatanen S., Saarivuori E. 2017. Managing the Life Cycle to Reduce Environmental Impacts. In: Grösser S., Reyes-Lecuona A., Granholm G. (eds) Dynamics of Long-Life Assets. Springer, Cham. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45438-2_6 last August 28, 2019
Penmatsa, Ravi Kiran Varma & P L N, Raju & M, Priyanka .2017. An IoT application for environmental monitoring and control using Raspberry-Pi. International Journal of Engineering and Technology. 9. 546-552. 10.21817/ijet/2017/v9i3/170903S082
Dounis, Anastasios. 2010. Artificial intelligence for energy conservation in buildings. Advances in Building Energy Research. 4. 267-299. 10.3763/aber.2009.0408.