Taking actioon

Technology is one of the principal driving forces of the future generation; it is transforming our lives and shaping our future at rates unprecedented in history. It pervades almost all aspects ofour daily life. From shopping, to accessing the bank, to arranging appointments—everything is just a click away. Although some fear that technology “does not isolate man from the great problems ofnature but plunges him more deeply into them”, it has, in fact, inadvertently given rise to the progression of social ideologies. With technology, conceptions of environmental sustainability, socialjustice, and civic engagement have significantly evolved over generations—proving disadvantageous at times, but in most cases, advantageous.
Tractors. Irrigation systems. Water pumps. These advancedmachineries all have one thing in common—progression. This progression not only assists in simplifying once tedious and wearisome jobs, but has helped shape a newer mindset on environmentalsustainability altogether. How? Well, the older generation has witnessed a slow ascent into a more harmonious relationship with nature. This was made evident through the series of interviews conducted for theresearch portion of this course. Rehana, the first interviewee, described her upbringing as one incredibly in tune with the environment. Her family planted and harvested their own crops, fished,hunted, and their key mode of transportation was walking. With this type of atmosphere, however, her views and relationship with nature was a private one. She was instilled with values to respect andconserve the environment, but it was on a very personal level—for herself, her family, and her village. She expressed it as, and I quote, “We believed it was a “people world”, and we had to do what ittakes to survive—Even if that meant cutting down a few extra trees, or hunting an already endangered species”. Directly contrasting this frame of mind was interviewee 2, Joyti, who, without delay,...