There are ongoing debates concerning the concept of green movement is closely connected with theories of economic development and population growth. Specifically, in order to advance social and economic welfare of the individuals, there should be an increase in the urge of natural resources, like water, energy, and minerals. The success of sustainable development here lies in a degree of efficiency of using the natural resources and in the extent to which the waste products are minimized1. In this respect, the concept of green movement provides us with the idea of using minimum resources to provide more means for larger groups of population. This ideology has led to a tag of war between two different groups that hold different thoughts about the same ideology. These groups are Boomsters and Doomsters.
The Doomsters, though in general support of the green ideology, hold that the population growth puts pressure onto the little resources that are available, compromising the quality of life human beings live. This is because population growth has a direct effect on resources like energy, water, space and even the climate. They further argue that it is this growth in the population that is responsible for social, economic and even political ills being experienced in the world today. Doomsters’ position is countered by the Boomsters whose arguments hold that all solutions to human beings are provided within human population. Therefore, a rise in the population is a major step towards alleviating human problems, among which is poverty.
Any attempt to control the rate at which human beings reproduce is not supported by this group, since they believe that advancement of technology and the diffusion of the same has positively affected the lives of many poor people around the world. This group is particular about the individuality of human beings and their freedom to make use of such resources as energy and water. While considering the two sides of the debates from the viewpoint of green movement, the development of economically prosperous society consist in creating ecologically sustainability that takes it roots in social liberalism, grassroots democracy and environmentalism, which is the main idea supported by doomsters2. Specifically, they understand the concept as the urge to introduce approaches to controlling the utilization of natural resources that can be quickly exhausted.
Defining the Term “Green”
The term green is often associated with ideology, concepts, and approaches that promote an ecological outlook on all social, political, and economical processes. Specifically, each field of social life, including technology, science, and psychology should be ecologically and environmentally oriented. For example, “green”-minded people are more likely to support recycling, minimizing the use of natural resources and advocating the methods protecting environment from negligent use and contamination3. There is another, more radical assumption about the definition of green ideology which consists in the urge to decrease the existing standard of living because human needs exceed the actual resources that nature can supply.
Abuse of resources creates the necessity to limit social freedom and turn to more ecologically safe job environment. In this respect, the term green is more associated with extermination of existing social and economical systems that negatively influence the ecological situation. The green ideology can also been seen as a trigger to paradigmatic shifts in perceiving the surrounding world. These shifts should primarily occur to the fields of science, technology, and politics because they take the major control over the natural resources management4. In this respect, considering the concepts of “green” technologies and “non-green” technologies, it should be stated that the latter is more connected with approaches and tools that are more environmentally friendly whereas the former is mostly utilized for other than this purposes.
One way or another, the concept of “green” has gradually been integrated into the contemporary culture because more and more environmental activits are interested in introducing new patterns of behavior, lifestyle and attitude to nature. They are against consumerist culture and manifest approaches and instruments to strike the balance between the needs of the contemporary civilization and the resources that our plant has in store.
“Green” Speak
“Green” speak can be perceived as a method for rendering important messages about the existing environmental dangers. Its peculiarity also lies in a possibility to express outlooks on existing problems connected with global warming, carbon dioxide emissions, deforestation, and ozone layer reduction and provide possible solutions to improve the situation. In addition, green speak should always trigger action and participation in facilitating the changes to the existing environmental problems.
In the majority of cases, the “green” language is often used by environmental activists who resort to all possible meetings and negotiation aimed at encouraging people to change their outlooks, behaviors, and attitudes The activist also speak about positive action to make people understand what is wrong and what is right from the perspective of environmental ideology5. In this regard, green speak addresses the entire society, the globalized community, rather than to particular racial, ethnic, and economic groups because environmental protection and problem do not relate directly to economical and social problems, but to the social and ecological awareness of the Earth’s population. There are many web sites programs and actions taken by people to inform about the potential threats to natural resources, such as creation of web sites and online forums with the help of the Internet. Hence, technology plays a crucial role in promoting the environmental activities. Finally, green speak is in search of less aggressive means for implementing an ecologically sustainable society.
“Green” Technology
Overview of the concept of Green Technology
In order to understand whether “Green” technology is the solution to human problems today, it is worth making a close analysis of technology in terms of its different elements. For instance, talking of the social systems as an element of technology means that it must have a social setting. That is, occurs within a society. Looking at it from an informed perspective, in what society does this technology “comfortably” fit and is so much welcome? It will be congruent with the rich in the society, curving a niche within the human society that sidelines the poor majority6.
Living in the era of globalization, the environmental threats has also come to the international level. In particular, mass destructions and pollution in one part of the world has a potent impact on climate changes in another part of the world merely because the eco-system balance has been breached. In this respect, “green” technology introduction is often socially predetermined because ecologically problems often lead to economical and social constraints.
Specifically, it should be oriented on solving the problems of food supply and population growth, the aspects that in their turn strongly depend on sustainability development and ecological situation. Environmentalist are more concerned with the present problems of global environment and they believe that the introduction of a new action paradigm can initiate the creation of a new human power and resources that would positively contribute to the reducing environmental problems such as global warming.
Solar Power: Assessing the Advantages and Disadvantages
To Whom Is the Technology Aimed at?
The contemporary green movements support the idea of using the wind, solar energy, and water for producing energy. In this respect, the usage of solar power is one of the most effective ways to reduce the consumption of fuel. The introduction of solar batteries that can be used either in houses or for automobiles can partially diminish the utilization of natural resources. The use of specific solar energy cannot be applied to all population of the world on the ground that not all societies have an equal access to electricity and solar power technology due to geographical location and social conditions. This is specifically connected to the developing countries where the economical system is not so well organized as compared to the developed economies.
However, the platform for establishing solar plants at this region is even more promising due to the favorable climate conditions7. This is, first of all, explained by the fact that solar in the developing countries, particular in those located in Africa have desert spaces for building renewable energy factories. Second, these countries are less dependent on the sale of fossil fuels except for some countries. Finally, the investment into solar energy will meet the purposes of Green movement that is more orientated on the integration of pure sources of energy.
Challenges and opportunities
Despite the existing advantages of introducing solar power plants, some nuances hampering the integration process should be taken into the deepest consideration. First of all, the process of solar plant development can be hampered by the confrontation by fossil fuel industry who will not concede its position at the market. Second, geographical location matters as well, specifically when it comes to developed countries where space deficiency can cause additional problems. Finally, due to the fact that solar industry belongs to strategies industries, many countries are striving to gain the competitive advantage and win the position of the leading provider of green technologies.
Despite the above presented constraints, solar energy as the kind of renewable energy causes much less harm to the environment in comparison with the one produced fossil fuel industry. Despite the problem with receiving the land for building the plants, the legal procedures will help settle the problem. For instance, China, one of the leading producing of solar energy has managed to solve the problem and introduce the network of solar power plants in its region8.
Evaluation and Practical Application
While evaluating the efficiency of Roger’s adoption model in terms of acceptance, attitude, and practical application, the project of solar power industry development can be replaced, but partially. This is explained by certain constraints that were enumerated in the above passages and the ones that will be disclosed below. Specifically, it is necessary to evaluate possible geographical situations as well as the actual environment situation in an identified region.
Second, the marketing demand is of the great importance as well because the money invested to the production should be fully reimbursed; otherwise, the venture will turn out to be non-profitable. In addition, the total replacement is impossible due to the existing social and cultural constraints that are primarily based on the attitudes and awareness of the necessity to implement alternative energy. Habits and established social systems prevent the community to transfer immediately to another level of development. In this respect, the introduction of green ideology and technology should be consistent and gradual and should be designed for long terms.
Conclusion
It was noted that “Green” technology is an ideology that proposes for an acute cut on the rate at which humans reproduce in order to sustain the development and even conserve the environment. Further, it has been realized that as much as this ideology seems the true solution to human problems today, it can introduce a new philosophy and attitude of life. The main aim is to compromise human freedom in the name of environmental conservation. Despite the fact that depriving human of social freedom is a challenge, this constitutes the major condition for introducing green mind and alternatives for improving the ecological situation.
It should be noted that the individuality of humankind is the only tool towards alienating human problems like poverty. It will be noted that freedom is the most important tool that a society must first have a grip of before seeking a solution to its problems. This, in itself, defies the ideologies that make the Green Movement.
Bibliography
Green Speak. Greenspeak, Saving the World on Word at a Time, 2007, n. p. Web.
Milloy, Steve Green Hell: How Environmentalist Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them. Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001.
Nordhaus Ted, & Michael Shellenberger. Breakthrough: From the Death of Environmental to the politics of Possibility. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.
Reuters, With Solar Power, It’s Green vs. Green. Green Tech.2011, n. p. Web.
Weeks, John. Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. US: Wadsworth Publishing, 2004.
Footnotes
- John Weeks. Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. (US: Wadsworth Publishing, 2004), 464.
- John Weeks. Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. (US: Wadsworth Publishing, 2004), 470.
- Steve Milloy Green Hell: How Environmentalist Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them. (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001), 12.
- Ted Nordhaus, & Michael Shellenberger. Breakthrough: From the Death of Environmental to the politics of Possibility. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007). 23.
- Green Speak. Greenspeak, Saving the World on Word at a Time. 2007 n. p. Web.
- Steve Milloy Green Hell: How Environmentalist Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them. (Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2001), 10.
- Reuters, With Solar Power, It’s Green vs. Green. Green Tech. n. p. Web.
- Reuters, With Solar Power, It’s Green vs. Green. Green Tech. n. p. Web.