Like many people, Douthwaite believes that technological fixes are necessary to solve the world’s countless social problems. This is contrary to what Johnston and Huesemann believe. Although they agree that technological fixes can be important Johnston and Huesemann discuss how they can actually be very negative. For example, Johnston talks about the rapid advancement in nuclear technology. It was meant to be something that would protect countries during war but instead is something that has turned into one of the worlds biggest fears. They would say modern advanced weaponry is the same because once one person has access to it, it is almost guaranteed to available to everyone. Pesticides were designed to help crop growth but instead have caused major health concerns because of the chemicals they are made with.
Technological fixes and environmental systems often have negative repercussions simply because they are new. Scientists have the technology to create things but when they have never been used before, there is really no way to know exactly the impact that they will have. Once they do know the effects, whether they’re positive or negative, the technology is usually already widespread and nearly impossible to retract. Although the consequences of new technology can be very negative, I personally believe we should not stop developing just because of unintended consequences. Moving forward is part of human nature and without the increase of technology I believe that the world would face major negative consequences.