--- title: "Define technology and its impacts" subject: "Technology, Environment and Society" chapter: 1 key: "semester_7/technology_environment_and_society:define-tech-impacts" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/define-tech-impacts site: BCT Engineering --- # Define technology and its impacts Technology, Environment and Society · Chapter 1: Technology - Asked in: 2079 Bhadra, 2+6 marks - Video: [IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO THE SOCIETY (EDUCATION AND ECONOMY)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_em56XPuk) — ORVIN CORTES - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/define-tech-impacts - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/chapter-1 ## Question Define technology. Discuss the impacts of technology on society and environment. ## Short answer Technology is applying scientific knowledge and tools to create goods and solve problems. It benefits society through better health, communication, and education but causes unemployment, inequality, and cultural erosion. Environmentally, it offers clean energy and monitoring tools yet leads to pollution, deforestation, and climate change from industrial and consumer activities. ## Answer #### Technology **Technology** is the application of scientific knowledge, tools, skills and organised methods to make goods and services and to solve practical problems of human life. It includes hardware (tools, machines) and software (knowledge, methods, organisation). Examples: irrigation canal, hydropower plant, computer, vaccine. #### Impacts on society **Positive:** - **Health:** vaccines, diagnostic machines and medicines have increased life expectancy and reduced child mortality. - **Communication:** mobile phones and the internet connect people across the world instantly. - **Education:** online learning, e-libraries and digital classrooms widen access. - **Economy and employment:** higher productivity, new industries and jobs (IT, telecom, tourism). - **Transport:** roads, vehicles and airlines connect remote areas to markets and hospitals. - **Empowerment:** awareness, women's empowerment and transparency in governance. **Negative:** - **Unemployment** of unskilled workers due to mechanisation and automation. - **Inequality and digital divide** between rich and poor, urban and rural. - **Cultural erosion**, breakdown of joint families, consumerism. - **Health problems:** sedentary life, screen and social-media addiction. - **Crime and war:** cyber crime, weapons of mass destruction. #### Impacts on environment **Positive:** - Renewable energy (hydro, solar, wind, biogas) reduces fossil fuel use. - Water and wastewater treatment, recycling and waste-to-energy plants. - GIS, remote sensing and early-warning systems help monitor forests, glaciers and floods. - Energy-efficient devices (LED, electric vehicles) reduce emissions. **Negative:** - **Air pollution** from vehicles, brick kilns and industries (e.g. PM2.5 in Kathmandu valley). - **Water pollution** from industrial effluents, pesticides and sewage. - **Deforestation and land degradation** from roads, mining and urban expansion. - **Climate change** from greenhouse gas emissions; glacier melting in the Himalaya. - **Solid waste and e-waste**, plastic pollution, ozone layer depletion by CFCs. - **Loss of biodiversity** due to habitat destruction. #### Summary | Area | Benefit | Harm | |---|---|---| | Society | Health, education, communication | Unemployment, inequality, cultural loss | | Environment | Clean energy, monitoring | Pollution, deforestation, climate change | Technology is a double-edged tool; its net effect depends on choosing appropriate, clean technologies and controlling harm through EIA, regulation and public awareness. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Which best defines technology? A. Only the study of pure science B. Application of scientific knowledge, tools, skills and organised methods (hardware and software) to make goods and services and solve practical problems C. Only electronic devices D. Only machines used in industry Answer: B. Technology includes hardware such as tools and machines and software such as knowledge, methods and organisation. (Key point: Definition) 2. Which is a positive social impact? A. Cyber crime B. Digital divide C. Vaccines and diagnostic machines increasing life expectancy and reducing child mortality D. Sedentary life Answer: C. Health benefits are a positive social impact; the others are negative. (Key point: Positive social impact) 3. Which is a negative environmental impact? A. Climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation and e-waste B. Early warning systems C. Wastewater treatment D. LED lighting Answer: A. Pollution, deforestation, climate change and waste are negative impacts; the other options are positive ones. (Key point: Environmental harm) 4. How can harm from technology be controlled? A. By avoiding all technology B. By ignoring public opinion C. By using only older technologies D. By choosing appropriate clean technologies and using EIA, regulation and public awareness Answer: D. Technology is double-edged; its net effect depends on choice of clean technology and control of harm. 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