Technology and the Environment

Obviously two of the key factors in a society that determines its quality of life for its citizens and its power are its usage of natural resources and how it interacts with the environment and the technology such a society can wield.

One important aspect of DI is how it views the world. We have been given dominion over this world by God himself. We are to take care of it in a manner acceptable to him. This means we must be wise and compassionate stewards of our world. Even without a divine mandate it is simply plain foolish to abuse the world we live on and to waste resources or destroy our environment.

It is not as if we are not to acquire resources, or mine minerals, or harvest lumber. The resources of this planet are here for our benefit but we absolutely must keep sustainability in mind. I have no intention on living in a world-wide Los Angelos or Mexico City or even Beijing. If we consume until nothing is left the world will be a far more miserable place than it is now. One can only expect massive wars, natural disasters, and completely widespread poverty and starvation.

Therefore one aspect of DI is its emphasis on sustainable design and growth. We reject many claims of radical environmentalists as humans are designed to eat meat and both mining and lumber harvesting is essential to society but we do reject the insatiable growth and urban sprawl as practiced in modern society.

Technology can be a major help for this. Many resources should be put into research and development of technology that helps counteract pollution and minimizes harmful impacts on the environment from industrial or residential processes or buildings. Houses can be designed to operate as much off the grid as possible through solar power technologies or other technological processes that enable such things running hot or cold water with maximal efficiency and minimal impact. Toxic insulation materials can be replaced with just as effective non-toxic materials. Air conditioning or water heating can be done through well designed houses and solar heaters.

Sustainable agriculture processes that do not utilize pesticides or herbicides and avoid eroding or depleting the soil can be introduced on a massive scale. Such things as crop rotation, no till farming, and intercropping are a few such examples.

Another way to maximize sustainability is through meticulously planning and designing cities. One thing that can be done away with is personal transportation, which is a very inefficient and wasteful use of resources, with public transportation. High speed electric rails can be used in large cities or between cities to provide high speed and efficient transportation for people. These can be designed to be powered by clean sources of energy one of which is solar but could also include other forms such as natural gas or hydrogen power. Cities should be redesigned from the ground up with efficiency in mind.

Questions must be asked such as:
"How can we design this city to use as few resources as possible while maintaining the proper safety levels and quality of life for its citizens?"
"How can we minimize harmful impact to indigenous animal and plant life?"
"How can we keep as much greenery as possible and reduce the amount of waste that would blight our lands as possible?"

Once again the main principle here is sustainability. We must wisely manage what we have and take care not to damage our lands or hurt ourselves in the long run. We cannot strip the land of its resources and simply move on.

Now besides our very careful stewardship of our environment DI believes in the power of technology. We shall rigorously pursue the growth and utilization of technology. A very large portion of the resources that the DI society has will be directed towards developing better technology. Technologies that help us maintain the environment while still having widespread access to such items as computers or whatnot while be only one important sector of development. Medical technology will be pursued with nothing short of almost religious zeal. Developing cures for diseases and methods to help alleviate pain and suffering through physical handicaps or disease, developing medical technology that increases the lifespan and helps keep people healthier for longer, and technology that restores people with disabilities back to full health will be a very high priority of DI.

Also ever necessary is military technology. This will be developed at least as heavily as the United States or Former Soviet Union developed its military technology.

Because the earth can only hold so many people sustainably DI has its eyes on the heavens above. Technology that can further the grasp of humanity into the stars will also be developed. Almost limitless resources are beyond earth precious metals and chemicals can be found in abundance. This can alleviate much of the demand for resources on our planet and allow us to leave more of our planet untouched simply to enjoy the natural beauty of our world.

DI will always view technology much as the transhumanists view technology. We place no redemptive property on technology nor do we hold any humanistic views but to improve the human condition through technology is only a good thing. We can enhance our capabilities far beyond the power of our frail bodies. We can heal our wounds and grow our societies far beyond what the mere individual achieve. Although we cannot enhance our spiritual condition we can alleviate much pain through use of the natural intelligence and creativity that God gave us to be used appropriately.