Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
good can still produce miserable losers among us, when these “good sciences” are
used mainly as a tool for global economic competition, especially when science and
technology are used for the domination of some countries over others. Scientists as
a whole should take full responsibility to ensure that science and technology bring
benefits to everyone equally. If we are not careful, we might predict that, even if
science and technology were to advance in faster pace along with excellent material
comforts and improvement in healthcare, the continuing population explosion and
excessive usage of natural resources might overload the planet, and then sustainable
development might not be possible.
6
Concluding Remarks
Many of the problems we face today are problems that cannot be solved with cur-
rent scientific knowledge and technologies—they await the accumulation of new
knowledge and the development of new technologies. That is why it is so important
to continue our efforts for the advancement of science and technology, and for the
education of a new generation of creative scientists.
During the long history of mankind, our ancestors invented various technologies
in order to survive better or to improve the quality of life. Their curiosity and their
desire to understand natural phenomena were the basis of the advancement of sci-
ence. Until about one hundred years ago, the advancement of science was driven by
the available technology; only during the last century have technological advances
been led by the results of scientific research.
In recent years, we have observed encouraging improvement in international sci-
entific collaboration. Many projects were initiated, many agreements were signed.
Year after year, we have discussed the “capacity building” of science, technology
and education for developing countries, but the worsening situation of the entire
world has yet to find its turning point. For example, the rain forest, which is of-
ten compared with the lung of a human body, is continuing to disappear from the
surface of the earth. For the past decade, every summer we witnessed the thick
dark smog generated by the forest fire in Indonesia contaminate not only the air
in Indonesia, but also their neighboring countries. It is not realistic to blame or to
expect Indonesia to be able to keep their rain forest from disappearing. Unless we
consider the protection of the rain forest in Indonesia as “our responsibility”, and
raise enough funds to help Indonesia establish a protected “global rain forest”, no
matter how serious we engage in international scientific collaboration, the rain for-
est will continue to disappear.
We should all recognize the fact that the increasingly interconnected world can-
not be a safe place if a large portion of its population still suffers from grinding
poverty, disease stricken, illiteracy, derived of education, unemployment, and other
barriers to survival. Scientists can play key roles in finding solutions to these prob-
lems. Especially if we learn to solve problems together, learn to share knowledge,
new technological options and the limited resources available, learn to respect and
