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Technogaianism (a portmanteau word combining "techno" for technology and "Gaia" for the Earth Mother of Greek mythology) is the stance that advanced technology can help restore Earth's environment, and that developing such technology should therefore be an important goal of environmentalists. This is different from many environmentalists' position and a common perception that all technology necessarily degrades the environment, and that environmental restoration can therefore occur only with reduced reliance on technology. Technogaians argue that technology gets cleaner and more efficient with time. They would also point to such things as hydrogen fuel cells to demonstrate that developments don't have to come at the environment's expense. While many traditional environmentalists still contend that most technology is detrimental to the environment, Technogaians point out that it has been in humanity's best interests to exploit the environment mercilessly until fairly recently. This sort of behaviour follows accurately to current understandings of evolutionary systems, in that when new factors (such as foreign species or mutant subspecies) are introduced into a living system, they tend to maximise their own resource consumption until either, a) they reach an equilibrium beyond which they cannot continue unmitigated growth, or b) they become extinct. In these models, it is completely impossible for such a factor to totally destroy its host environment, though they may precipitate major ecological transformation before their ultimate eradication. Technogaians believe humankind has currently reached just such a threshold, and that the only way for human civilization to continue advancing is to accept the tenets of Technogaianism and limit future exploitive exhaustion of natural resources and minimise further unsustainable growth or face a massive global collapse of civilization. More directly, they argue that such things as nanotechnology and biotechnology can directly reverse environmental degradation. Advanced nanotechnology, for example, could convert garbage in landfills into useful materials and products, while biotechnology could lead to novel microbes that devour hazardous waste.
Bright Green The difference with bright green is a subtle one. While “bright greens” are optimistic environmentalists who reject a dualistic view of technology and nature, technogaians seem to adopt a more pragmatic, evolutionist approach. These latter may, or not, simply be considered as environmental utilitarianists. See also | ||||||||
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