As was emphasized in Chapter 2 and again in Chapter 3, Homo sapiens’
advancement was closely connected to their ability to transform previously
‘worthless’ biophysical matter into a means of providing food, shelter, energy, transportation and comfort. Advances depended upon humans’ ability to accu- mulate and pass knowledge from one generation to another, and continually to invent and refine ways of using biophysical matter for human welfare. Tech- nology has always been, and continues to be, a major driving force in natural resource management and is a major determinant of a society’s overall well-being.
While there are numerous avenues of technological innovation, five broad groups of technologies continue to revolutionize natural resource manage- ment and create new ethical dilemmas regarding their application in society.
Those highlighted in this chapter are ‘Physics and chemistry’, ‘Electronics and information technology’, ‘Biotechnology’, ‘Geomatics’ and ‘Geoengineering’.
Physics and chemistry
Advances in the basic sciences of physics and chemistry continue to revolution- ize natural resource management, regularly providing solutions to old problems and inadvertently creating new ones. Developments in our knowledge of physi- cal chemistry, for example, have allowed us to design a vast array of synthetic materials such as plastics, to work on behalf of humankind. However, each new development brings with it an enormous unknown concerning its effects on the environment (e.g. PVCs). In many cases, those materials found to be the most useful to humankind find their way into the environment in large quantities as pollutants, and pose difficult challenges for environmental management. For example, ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere is one case where techno- logical use of human-made chlorine chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), previously used widely in aerosol propellants and as cooling agents in refrigerators and air conditioners, created immense environmental problems that are not easily reversible. Ozone protects the biosphere from harmful ultraviolet
light, and scientific evidence suggests that depletion is increasingly and adversely affecting the viability of fauna and flora throughout the globe. As a second example, a pesticide such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), although banned in the USA since 1972 because of its environmental side effects, remains the key combatant to the spread of malaria in many tropical developing coun- tries. DDT and its derivatives migrate and bioaccumulate in the Arctic where few direct applications have been documented. Unfortunately, this accumulation has led to widespread health problems in the Arctic and poses serious concerns for the future viability of predator species such as polar bears.
Electronics and information technology
Miniaturization and increased capacity in electronics, especially micro- computers, brings to natural resource management a vast array of powerful tools that were impossible to envisage just a few short years ago. Nowadays, resource managers, even those in remote locations, can have practically unlimited access through the Internet to published natural resource management research using electronic sources (see, for example, http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal finder.html). In addition, public agencies, universities and private corporations increasingly make technical publications available in a timely manner (see, for example, http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/ecoregions/) to Internet users by means of readily available, downloadable and free software. Such technological innova- tion puts massive amounts of information at the resource manager’s fingertips but usually does not offer practical ways to synthesize all this information to help make wise decisions. To fill this gap, academics and consultants have stepped in to provide various decision support systems (DSSs) that require varying levels of technology support. They all have the common denominator of cutting through this great quantity of data to focus on what is absolutely essential for the resource manager to make good decisions rather than get bogged down with masses of information that is merely nice to know (see El-Swaify and Yakowitz, 1997).
Biotechnology
While the field of biotechnology is very broad, our discussion here refers to the transfer of desirable genetic traits from one organism to another, taking the genetic material from one organism carrying those traits and attaching this genetic material to the genes of another organism. Commercially viable products are available when sufficient quantities of this new biological material are pro- duced to meet a corresponding market demand. As with synthetic materials, the true environmental impacts of using genetically altered material cannot be fully known until it is put to use in society. This involves using the environment as a research laboratory where the consequences of some unpredicted outcome might be catastrophic or simply trivial. For example, proponents of biotech- nology argue that improved and more resistant cereal crops will substantially
reduce the need for pesticides, thus reducing the overall environmental risks and costs. Despite assurances from the biotechnology industry, the issue of biotech- nology in Europe has reached fever pitch, with public awareness campaigns to boycott biotechnology foods. In North America, however, arguably the world centre of biotechnology research and development, the public seems much less informed and nowhere near as concerned.
Geomatics
Geomatics is the broad term that denotes the application of earth science technology such as remote sensing (RS), geographical information systems (GIS) and ground surveying using geographical positioning systems (GPS).
Together they have revolutionized natural resource assessment and manage- ment. Until recently, the management of catastrophic weather events, for instance, seemed beyond the capability of resource managers. Typically, resource managers reacted after the fact, to ‘mop up’ flood damage. In the wake of the disastrous Red River flood of 1997 in North Dakota and in southern Manitoba, considerable work has been done on both sides of the USA–Canada border to minimize the future impacts of flooding. This work includes accurate land and water surveying using GPS, which feeds practically seamless geo- coded data into GIS mapping processes that model the Red River geomorphol- ogy and hydrology. These computer models are then used to provide more accurate flood predictions. Such data provide key information before the fact on the best sites on which to build dykes and apply other flood damage reduction strategies. Fields, for example, can be prepared, crops planted, and livestock protected in elevated enclosures or barns, with greater assurance of the risks involved. During flooding events, these models inform flood relief agencies, farmers and local residents (using home or office computers) of impending flood conditions so that various damage mitigation resources, including simple tech- nologies such as sandbagging, can be applied at the most opportune times and locations.
RS has not only revolutionized resource protection as in the Red River Valley, it is used extensively in natural resource exploration, planning and remediation. For example, geologists now rely on relatively inexpensive shock wave instruments, known as seismic reflection surveying, to identify structural traps that may contain oil and gas beneath the ocean floor rather than initially using extremely expensive test-hole procedures, as was routinely necessary in the past. RS also allows geologists to identify magnetic fields that can provide basic geological information. RS can be used on bedrock structures, such as fault lines that are hidden below the earth’s surface; and in some situations RS can more efficiently lead field geologists to bedrock that has economic potential. Furthermore, RS assists companies such as Chevron to monitor its field operations in order to assess its compliance with increasingly stricter environmental regulations. It also helps Chevron make wise and timely decisions in mop-up operations, as in the case of oil spills (Pfeil and Ellis, 1995).
Geoengineering
As indicated in Chapters 2 and 3, human ingenuity has had considerable impact on natural resource management, from building aqueducts in Egypt, throughout the Roman Empire, and in the Mayan Peninsula in Central America, to irrigate farmland. In addition, simple but ingenious technology has been used to build dykelands in The Netherlands and Nova Scotia in order to create land from the sea for farming. Considerably more ambitious technology has also been utilized to change the course and scope of waterways, as in James Bay Hydro Development Project in Canada (see Chapter 3). This massive hydroelectric-generating project provides power not only to Quebec, but also extensively in the USA. In the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan (near Russia), where excessive water diversion of natural inflows for irrigation has reduced this once mighty inland sea by 40%, this project has brought increased pros- perity to some regions and reduced other areas to abject poverty. It has also severely impacted the region’s biodiversity, with substantial long-term implications.
Summary
There is no doubt from these five broad groups of technologies and many other examples that humankind has considerable ability through its geoengineering prowess to change land and seascapes for its own indulgence. Schneider (1996) even reports that a ‘National Research Council report proposes using 16-inch naval guns to fire aerosol shells into the stratosphere in hopes of offsetting ‘the radioactive effects of increasing carbon dioxide’.’ Given the many unintended knock-on effects of past projects and having the capacity to greatly transform our natural resources for both good and bad, which creates both winners and losers, this raises serious ethical questions as to whether any large- or small- scale geoengineering project should be attempted at all (see the case study in Chapter 7).
In the last few centuries, technology advancement has turned out to be both a blessing and a burden. Technological breakthroughs have provided, until relatively recently, the necessary conditions to support larger global populations with higher overall levels of social welfare. In this context, it is important to understand that the industrial revolution with its increased capacity to harness natural resources brought with it substantial social costs as well as environmental damage. This pattern of inequity and environmental damage has been repeated until the present. It is essential to note that the continued accumulation of unwanted side effects has increased the need for vigilance to ensure that the reapplication of old and the use of new resource management technologies do not create net costs to society or an unreasonable or uneven distribution of benefits. It is for this reason that the need for new management approaches such as IREM has arisen.