1. Technology &
Its Negative
Impact On
the Planet
How Modern Technologies
are destroying the Earth
By: Vanessa Tang

2. • Wind & Solar Power • The effects on Toddlers
• Prolonged Life • Carbon Dioxide Levels
• Education • Impact on the Oceans
• Genetically Modified • Effects on Agriculture
Food (GMOs)
- Genetically Modified Food
• Communication
capabilities • Deforestation

4. Prolonging Life
• With advancements in technology, doctors and surgeons
can now perform life saving procedures such as:
- removing tumors; brain, spinal, lung, etc.
- kidney dialysis
- Lung, kidney, heart, and liver transplants
• Cardiovascular surgery (Blood vessels)
• Blood pressure & blood sugar kits are available for
households
• According to Statistics Canada, the average life span has
increased from 59 years in the 1920’s to 70 years in 2009
• Prolonging life is also a contributing factor to
overpopulation (not a pro)

5. Education
Technology has impacted education in a number of ways:
• Long distance/Online education: A person can now study
any where, from one course, to their entire education
online
• Enables educators and students to contact each other
outside of a classroom environment
• Students have access to thousands of peer reviewed
articles and scholar journals
• Allows full-time employed individuals to
study something new or upgrade their
knowledge while still working full-time

6. Genetically Modified
Foods - Pros
Genetically Modified Foods are foods that are biologically
altered for human and animal consumption for a number of
different reasons:
• Cold & Drought tolerant
• Pest, Herbicide & Disease resistant
• Adding nutritional value to food that does not naturally
contain any
• Poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up
heavy metal pollution from soil and underground water
supplies
• Pharmaceuticals: R&D on edible medicines/vaccines
(modified tomatoes) to ship to countries that cannot
properly store certain vaccines & medicines or can not
afford the injection procedures

7. Most of the modern
technologies created were to
reverse or prevent further
destruction to our planet or
are tools to cure illnesses
instead of concentrating on
ways to prevent them.

8. The Negative Effects on
Toddlers
Even though there are a few positive effects of the use
of technology by toddlers, there are several negative
effects that most people do not consider such as:
• Less human interaction: Toddlers depend on people
time to develop the proper emotions and social skills
• Toddlers require a hands on approach to learning:
Drawing a picture on paint does not teach an infant
the artistic skills it would by using crayons and paper
• Too much stimulation: Children can easily get
overwhelmed
• Not enough movement: Children need to jump and
climb around, not sitting in front of a screen for hours
on end.
Positive Effects: Increased hand-eye coordination; teaches cause and effect

9. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Carbon Dioxide is a odourless, colourless gas that occurs
naturally in Earth`s carbon cycle by the decomposition of
animals and volcanic eruptions. However after the Industrial
Revolution, the C02 levels in the atmosphere skyrocketed. This is
because:
• The Burning of fossil fuels:
- Energy for households and factories to mass produce
- Transporting goods instead of shopping locally
- Automobiles; in 2011 over 1 billion cars were in production
• Carbon Sinks: such as forests and oceans have absorbed CO2
from the atmosphere, however scientists believe these sinks
are filling up and unable to absorb the same amount of CO2
as in the past.
• CO2 is the main contributor to Global Warming
Click on the carbon footprint picture to View
Global Warming 101 on YouTube.

10. CO2’s Impact on the Oceans
The oceans are also known as carbon sinks, they absorb
at least half of the CO2 that is released into the
atmosphere. However, since the Industrial Revolution
and the continuous rise of CO2 emissions, there have
been many problems caused by the levels of CO2 now
held within the oceans such as:
• Habitat destruction and habitat loss due to:
- Rising temperatures from Global Warming
- Coral reef depletion
*In 2008 there were 405 Dead
- Water acidification Zones world wide; compared
to 45 in the 1960`s
*Click on the sad fishy to watch a
YouTube Video on Dead Zones

11. Aquatic Habitat Destruction & Habitat
Loss
• Over Fishing: Bottom Trawlers and large fishing boats
have generated a 90% loss in our large predatory fish
population
• Ghost fishing: marine animals, fish and seabirds either
consume or get caught in waste dumped from large
fishing boats, cruise ships, etc. The waste can be as
small as a beer cap, to a 5 mile long fishing net.
• Pollution: chemicals from runoff, dumped waste from
ships, and acidic levels from absorbing CO2 and
warmer temperatures from Global Warming
The results of these technologies range from the cod
moratorium, to a decreased reproduction rate to fish
farms, and so much more…

12. Technologies Effects on Agriculture
• Genetically Modified Foods: There are many ethical
issues with certain cultures that believe it is an unnatural
way of producing food. There are many risks:
- Increase in food allergies
- environmental hazards: certain modified crops have
created high mortality rates among insects that feed
from it
• Reduced soil quality from over tilling, no crop rotation
and excessive use of insecticides and herbicides.
• Zero Tillage: a method of farming in which the use of
large scale machinery is minimal, and soil is rarely
disturbed – also reduce energy and labour costs
*Click on the tractor to read about the
Zero Tillage farming practice

13. Deforestation
The second largest Carbon Sink are forests; they are
also the home to millions of species. Unfortunately
because of human activities, forests decrease by 32
million acres annually, covering only 31% of the
planets land surface. These human activities
include:
- the development of cities and towns
- clear cutting for farm and grazing land
- the demand for paper and other products
80% of recently extinct species is the result of the
destruction of grasslands, forests and rain forests

14. To Conclude
to read the
Scientists’
There are many new technologies such as Warning to
cellphones, laptops, medical technologies that Humanity
can prolong life, and genetically modified foods
that assist in feeding the hungry, however there
are far too many technologies that are used in an
unsustainable manner that are destroying our
planet. There are too many published reports and
warnings from scientists such as the 1992
Scientists Warning to Humanity to not begin to
reconsider the choices we have made. If we
continue to deplete our resources and use
technologies the way we do, we will with no
doubt destroy our planet.

15. References
Biello, D. (2008). Oceanic dead zones continue to spread. Retrieved from
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=oceanic-dead-zones-spread
Draper, D., Reed, M. (2009). Our environment: a canadian perspective. (4th Edition)
Messenger, S. (2010). Rate of forest loss as decreased, but we`re not out of the woods
yet. Retrieved from http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/rate-of-forest-loss-
has-decreased-but-were-not-out-of-the-woods-yet.html
NASA. (2012). Global climate change. Retrieved from http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
Overfishing. (2012) Overfishing: a one minute crash course. Retrieved from
http://overfishing.org/pages/Overfishing_in_one_minute.php?w=pages
Sousanis, J.(2011). World vehicle population tops 1 billion units. Retrieved from
http://wardsauto.com/ar/world_vehicle_population_110815
Statistics Canada. (2012) Life expectancy at birth, by sex, by province. Retrieved from
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/health26-eng.htm
Whitman, D. (2012) Genetically modified foods; harmful or helpful? Retrieved from
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php/
What To Expect. (2012). Young children and computers: some pros and cons. Retrieved
from http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/toddler-learning/young-children-and-
computers.aspx
Zero Tillage. (2012) Zero tillage: a greener way for canadian farmers. Retrieved from
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=21-004-
X20050068759&lang=eng