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67 
UNIT 10 
GREEN TECHNOLOGIES
 
 
A 
Discussion Starters 
Look at the six photos below. Describe them and fill in the suggested table: 
 
Ecological Concerns of Presence 
Ecological problem 
Causes of the problem 
Would-be aftermath
(for the planet and humanity) 
 
 
 
A 
 
 
B 
 
C 
 
D 
 
E
 
 
F 
 
 

68 
B 
Before You Read 
How do you think scientists and technologists can improve the environmental situation 
nowadays?
What are the issues of top-priority for them to consider?
 
C 
Read the Article 
 
The Negative and Positive Ecological Impacts of Technology 
Nowadays no one will argue that in the result of longer working 
hours and increased use of technology more and more energy is 
being consumed. The impact that this is having on the 
environment is substantial in both negative and positive ways. It 
is hard to deny the benefits modern technology has produced in 
industry and in everyday life, however, there are considerable 
negative effects as well. 
According to the International Energy Agency the figure of the world’s energy consumption is 
predicted to rise to incredible 40% by the time the year 2030 arrives. The major drain on the 
world’s energy resources is not just information communications technologies. A number of the 
occurring ecological and environmental problems are due to the rapid growth of new industrialized 
countries such as South Korea and China. The emissions their factories produce are amongst some 
of the highest in the world and contribute significantly to the amount of noxious gases that pollute 
the air.
Industry aside, there are many other aspects technology has had a negative ecological impact on the 
world. In the modern home, there are numerous high technology gadgets designed to make our lives 
easier and more pleasant. The gases emitted by the combustion process to yield energy for 
numerous devices can have a devastating influence on the ozone layer and contribute to what is 
known as the “greenhouse effect”. Often referred to as a thermal balance, this phenomenon adds 
much warmth to air currents of the Gulf Stream, affects the climate on the Poles, leads to the Polar 
icecaps melting at an alarming rate, causing a significant rise in the world’s oceans. This, as it is 
well known, has a ripple effect around the planet experiencing devastating floods, typhoons and 
violent storms. 
Although it can be argued these changes in our weather systems have just as much to do with 
Mother Nature as technology, it is hard to ignore the correlation between the rise in technology 
manufacturing and the increase in frequency of environmental disasters. 
Despite the claims that technology is to blame for many of the world’s natural problems, high tech 
has also served to improve the shape of our planet. Since its rise in the workplace, numerous ICT 
companies have been designing “greener technology” to combat the detrimental influence that 
computers and their accompanying equipment cause on the environment.
For instance, in the Green Grid community a number of efficient directions to improve the way 
energy is consumed by IT oriented businesses are being devising. One of the biggest achievements 
of the Green Grid is the Power Usage Effectiveness or, PUE, the metric system which aims to 
record data centre energy consumption every 15 minutes. By recording in these 15 minutes it helps 

69 
those monitoring the data to notice if there are any energy fluctuations and if the data centre 
systems are using an adequate amount of energy. The long term goal of the Green Grid’s work 
groups is to introduce a standard system that allows business managers and IT operatives to 
compare the amount of the energy they are consuming and if necessary to resolve the ways to 
reduce it.
Another aspect that is having beneficial impacts on the environment is low carbon technology. 
Largely developed in China (e.g. the Chinese Dongtan City produces ‘0’ GHG emissions), this 
issue aims to offset the amount of emissions polluting the air by using renewable fossil fuels which 
are preferably used because of their high energy efficiency and extremely low emissions. For other 
countries to develop effective low carbon technologies, they need to apply another approach to their 
resources than Chinese do. This is because many of other economies possess different environments 
and various natural resources to hand. Other emerging countries can also diversify into new low 
carbon options thanks to the advances in technologies such as bio-fuels, solar and wind power 
which are no longer sci-fi but a fact. 
One obvious way that technologies are assisting our environment is the reduction of the need for 
paper. With the ever increasing use of online communication, paperless offices are now a common 
occurrence worldwide. Shrinking the usage of paper in turn reduces the demand for logging and 
deforestation, allowing richer lands to yield a smaller footprint. The deployment of green 
technologies such as PC power management systems and multi-function devices allows a business 
that relies heavily on energy reducing technology.
An office can become more environmentally sound if it employs readily available energy reducing 
technologies and incorporates them with, for example, such eco-friendly practice as turning off 
excess lights. According to current statistics, putting energy management systems into practice can 
save a company a huge amount in energy consumption. It is also worth mentioning the replacement 
of laser printers with multi-function devices, i.e. the incorporation of a printer, fax machine and 
photocopier all in one system. This is not only space saving but also sparing of the electronic 
hardware amount that is permanently on standby in an office. 
As it currently stands, many of the world’s organizations have not begun to actively look for 
greener and more ecologically friendly methods for producing the energy they need, and they are 
not thinking of the ways to enhance their carbon footprint, yet it is an issue that needs to be 
addressed sooner rather than later. 
(See more at: 
https://www.iea.org/renewables2018/
; 
https://www.inc.com/women-2/why-flexible-
working-hours-actually-makes-employees-more-productive.html
) 

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