The impact of novel technologies on the environment throughout history

Abstract

Several known historical processes or events, especially those with a manifest environmental impact will be assessed from a technological standpoint. Recent technological advances made results of technological intervention into the nature much more rapid than before and therefore the assessment of prior experiences is both helpful and necessary. Three types of consequences of technological intervention are discerned: (1) "slow progressors", i.e., such risks that accumulate throughout substantial time spans and are not instantaneously obvious, and those of (2) intermediate and (3) immediate impact. The capacity to reverse the negative consequences of each type of intervention inversely correlates with their manifestation speed. Specifically, the events of the third type often result from the "interaction with the absolutely unknown" often need to be remedied in an urgent manner. Each of these types of environmental impacts will be illustrated with a known historical event. It is likely that the same three types of negative consequences will be seen in the nearest future upon the development and utilization of novel bio-organical and biotechnological products. These risks will be also discussed in a historical perspective. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.