Modern problems: Technology as our solution

 Modern problems: Technology as our liberator

Disease-resistent, genetically modified crops
can help us prevent food-shortages

Science is a double-edged sword. It does have its multitude of benefits, and yet it can wreck havoc on any population, if used for evil purposes. From the benefits of penicillin to the destruction resulted from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima nd Nagasaki, it is clear that no matter how it is used, scientific technology does have tremendous power, the power to make our lives better or worse, depending on how we use it. This article is basically a brief discussion on how technology can solve some of our most crucial problems in the coming future.

The modern society: what bothers us most 

Today's world is increasingly getting more globalized every single day, and we're witnessing an exponential growth in terms of scientific advancement and research. But at the same time, there are several problems that continue to haunt us as if forever, and need to be tackled in real time. Many of these problems are virtually the result of our own idiocies, or those of our ancestors. But there obviously are certain examples which are independent of the human activities, and will happen no matter what we do. The best we can do against such adversities like cyclones, tornadoes and Tsunamis is to stay actively alerted and prepared, to meet and face them as boldly as we can.

The problems of the first sort are primarily the result of a partial Malthusian catastrophe, thanks to tremendous growth in human population and comparatively lesser growth in terms of resources crucial for our survival. As per the simplified form of Malthus's Iron Law, resources grow arithmetically, while population grows geometrically. This causes crises such as food shortages, famine and riots, ultimately leading to partial or even total collapse of the said observation domain. But the reason such a crisis has been averted at the global level is that, we've discovered and invented many different types of resources previously unavailable, unaccessible or even unknown to us. Examples of these types include geothermal energy, solar energy and the variety of genetically modified crops we're growing.

The second category of problems are somewhat more threatening, because virtually no level of preparation can actually avert them in real time, at least with our current level of technological prowess. Recently, the very-severe cyclone Phailin lashed against Indian shores in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. But thanks to modern technology and its careful, responsible and judicious application, almost everyone (except 20 or so unlucky souls) was saved. Although the cyclone still caused tremendous devastation especially across India's east coast, much loss has been averted. This is a recent and practical example of how technology should be used to combat natural catastrophe.

Given below are some of the major problems bugging us since the beginning of 21st century, and how science and technology can solve them in the near future. However, since it is nearly impossible to discuss every sort of such problems, I've limited the scope to just a few but important cases. May this serve as a good food for thought for you all.

1. Burning of fossil fuels and the impending energy crisis 

Fossil fuels pose a real danger to our
planet and the global climate

Since the beginning of modern civilization, man has always searched for new sources of energy. The energy requirement of the modern world is far greater than what we needed previously. Ranging from running data-centres to powering space probes and orbiter missions to other planets, from providing electricity to a ever-increasing count of homes to coping up with increasing computational and processing needs of ever-more-powerful computers, we need energy. Energy is thus, in a way, the currency of the modern world.

Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum have served us much, by acting as the primary sources of energy used to fuel our thermal power plants, generating electricity that is then transferred easily and conveniently across long distances. However, it is no secret that the global reserves of coal and petroleum are getting used up too soon, and there's too little of them left anyway. And even then, certain countries have greater access to them because of their geography and geology, and this creates international tensions and disparity, turning a handful of countries just way too rich, and all other countries a slave to their demands. Since energy is required for virtually any activity, we need to depend on too scarce, too little sources of energy. And we can hardly choose to ignore what the burning of these exhaustible fuels is causing, from global warming to increasing carbon-dioxide emissions.

Modern technology can be used as a tool to combat these problems. Already, we have an arsenal of various other green, inexhaustible sources of energy, such as hydraulic energy, solar energy, wind energy and more, which can be harnessed to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. However, it is difficult for us to completely switch to them, because such a transition would require greater technological flexibility on the part of developing countries, as well as cost-effective ways of actually using them. For this, we need global cooperation.

Electric cars are among the major needs for
a sustainably developing planet

In my opinion, the best way is to develop proper infrastructure at different places, tailored to suit their energy needs, and making use of whichever source of energy is available. For example, cold countries can make use of geothermal energy, harnessing power from the heat difference between earth's surface and the hotter layers beneath. A country like India, my homeland, can make use of solar energy and wind power. Being partly a tropic nation, India receives a gigantic amount of power from the sun. What has scorched India's surfaces for eons, the same source of energy can now be used constructively. Vast plateaus of South India can be used as collection hubs for generating power from the sun. Since the sun will most certainly last for another 5000000000 years or so, we can really make use of its energy that is otherwise wasted heating earth's surface. This run-off energy can save us millions, while simultaneously benefiting the global climate.

Coastal plains of India and the Rann of Kach can use wind energy. Already the western state of Gujarat has made huge strides in this regard, and is already exporting electricity to other power-deficient states in its neighbourhood. Last year, when almost entire North-Indian power grid came down, Gujarat continued to 'glow brightly', thanks to its self-reliance in terms of energy.

2. Population explosion: a real concern 

Vertical farming is an
effective but debatable
solution to urban farming
needs and requirements

No matter how efficiently and judiciously we make use of our resources, population growth, if allowed to continue unchallenged and unchecked, can actually do some severe damage to the existing and future setups of the modern civilization. Instead of looking at it as an isolated problem, we all need to consider it a global threat, which it most certainly is. Give enough resources to the people of any developing nation, help them live today, and they'll multiply tomorrow. Often, such 'multiplication' is unchecked, leading to increasing levels of dependence on our natural and technological resources. How exactly can we tackle this problem through science?

The answers are many. We can obviously use education and literacy as powerful tools, educating the masses and making them understand how to plan their families, and how small small families can benefit them directly and indirectly. But there are several more direct, quantitative ways of checking population growth. And no, I'm not advocating genocide or mass-murders here. Some of the ways in which technology can help us check population growth are:

a. Using Internet and global data repository (which is always growing, thankfully), we can identify areas which are more prone to population explosion. Such areas, including rural India and China, can then be divided into zones, where teams can be deployed by national governments and international authorities alike, to popularize birth-control, family-planning and education.

b. Quick urbanization in developing countries helps check population growth. It is clear that in developing countries, rural people come first when it comes to population-growth. Urbanization leads to development, and this indirectly helps control population-growth.With greater levels of employment and educational opportunities, people can actually live better, brighter and healthier than before.

c. Sophisticated birth-control procedures can help directly control population growth. From anti-fertilization agents to techniques like tubectomy and vesectomy, we have many different ways. But in my opinion, we can always build them better and simpler. By making these technologies more painless and easier than before, we can directly prevent regional Malthusian catastrophes.

3. Food shortages: poverty on the rise 

Especially in urban centres of India, I've witnessed what food shortages can lead to. From malnutrition to open riots, shortage of this crucial resource can actually do a major setback to any nation, and to the entire world in the long run. To prevent such a problem, we need to find alternative sources of food. Some of the ways in which modern science is attempting this problem are as follows:

Superfoods can actually help make
food cheaper and accessible

a. Cheap superfoods: Superfoods include the variety of nutritional resources which, besides providing nutrition, also provides other benefits such as improvement in immunity, recovery from and prevention of certain health conditions and so on. Marine resources such as Spirulina and other algae have been used to develop algal food supplements, which can act such as  important sources of protein and other nutrients. Being produced globally and under a variety of conditions, these sources are cheap since they are produced easily and in vast quantities. They have the potential, if properly distributed, to cure nutritional deficiencies and resulting problems in the population of developing and less developed nations.

b. Genetically modified crops: Using better plantation techniques and genetic modification, more disease-resistant varieties of crops can be yielded in greater quantities, thereby benefiting large number of people. India's 'Green revolution' is an example of what such as initiative can result into.

c. Easier transportation: Using cleaner, greener and cheaper means of transportation, food prices can be controlled in emerging markets. Since transportation is an important tertiary sector in modern economy, it must certainly be improved. Electric cars in the near future can make this dream of ours a reality.

4. Pollution and global warming 

If you've been reading this article from the very beginning, you can see that many of the problems we face today are interrelated, and even intertwined. Thus, even attempting to solve any one of them would automatically improve our level of advancement in tackling others. Such an example is pollution. Global warming is a real concern, because not only does it lead to increased frequency of natural calamities, but additionally it is depleting important resources such as marine algae in the polar regions.

There are two primary ways of tackling pollution. These are:

Gujarat in India specializes in wind power,
one of the most rewarding sources of energy

a. Using greener, cleaner energy: Using inexhaustible sources of energy such as solar energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy, wind energy etc. we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, thus minimizing global CO2 emission rates. This will automatically make the situation better. Improved technologies will lead to better machines and systems, capable of collecting run-off energy from various sources. The more efficient systems we develop, capable of collecting and harnessing energy from inexhaustible sources, the better and cleaner our world gets.

b. Reducing energy wastage: Using better wiring and electrical power grid designs, we can reduce energy wastage. Superconductors have already been developed, but currently they work at very low temperature levels. In future, superconductors working at normal temperatures might be developed, which will minimize energy loss to a tremendous extent. Since electricity is the primary form of energy used in the modern world, we must strive to use it more judiciously and responsibly. Power-conserving mechanisms such as LED lights and TFT screens can also do a lot of benefit, by using less energy and providing more benefits. Another brilliant way of improving our existing setup is to actively advance our computational capabilities. Every byte of data needs to be processed to be made useful, and this needs energy. Future technology can make more bytes processable from 1 joule of energy, thereby minimizing energy wastage. 

More energy-efficient computers in future can
reduce energy wastage

In addition, environmental science dictates the construction of satellite belts of green plants around heavy urban centres. Improved modes of plantation, urban planting and even multi-stored urban farms in future will additionally boost the process of making the planet greener. This will also help solve the food-shortag problem.

5. Diseases and illness: technology as the solution 

In his book 'Physics of the future', Michio Kaku speculates future technologies capable of making our lives really better, by providing us better healthcare. Smart medicines such as computerized pills and nanotechnologically enhanced drugs and molecules will actually help us prevent and cure diseases. In another article of mine, I've already described how anticipatory systems can help us improve healthcare standards, providing us early warnings. Here are some ways in which we can make healthcare more efficient in future:

a. Early detection and warning systems: By checking symptoms more efficiently and successfully, future technologies will enable us to detect potential health hazards that might occur in future. Even before the onset of a problem, we'll be able to tackle it, thereby preventing it alltogether. Incubation periods of different diseases cause us not to notice it before the appearance of its first symptom. But smarter detection algorithms and mechanisms will actually be able to detect these signals, and then alert us. This will really and literally save millions of lives.

b. Nanotechnology: Nanotechnolically enhanced and modified 'smart medicines' will be a reality in future, eliminating pathogens and cancerous cells successfully, before they result in a casualty.

Nanotechnology in medicine can help make
our lives healthier and better

c. Better health standards: Laser technology and other sterilization technologies in future will actually help us make biologically cleaner environments. Pollution-control in addition will help us make environments safer and cleaner.

d. Genetic modification: Genetics is a promising branch of science. Using biotechnology and genetics, it will be possible in future to create own very own 'personalized' medicines, and we might even be carrying DVDs or other storage media containing our entire genetic codes! This might sound way too futuristic, but it is certainly a strong possibility in future, as Prof. Kaku writes. 

What next? 

Technology is a major boon for all of us. It is our responsibility, as stewards of nature (to use the already much-used term), to use whatever resources we have in a sustainable sort of way. And scientific technology is itself one of the greatest, if not the greatest, resource at our disposal. Scientific development will also make HDI rankings better for countries, and this will, in my opinion, make the population morally better and more intelligent. In future, a day might come when we'll witness a war-free world, where no barriers would be there to keep our descendants isolated and separated.

I know, that I sound too optimistic. But it is always a good think to be an optimist, because no pessimist has ever reached the moon or crossed the Atlantic. Science and technology are our best tools, and let us together make better use of them. Because yeah, we deserve better!