Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
I'll toss my vote in for oil. It's bigger and more immediate than any piddling social problems. Deal with social problems after you've ensured an alternative supply for energy and food.
|
I agree with you that oil is a serious concern for engineers of the future (and present). However, I disagree with your classification of oil, energy, and food as separate from the social problems of the world.
Many of the worlds political (and therefore, social) problems stem from this country's overdependance on Middle Eastern oil. Many people from these nations are very angry and upset over the influence that the United States has over oil-producing states. The West's presence in the Middle East (due to oil) is certainly one of the factors that has angered and outraged those who commit acts of terror. There have been numerous attacks on Iraqi oil pipelines since the start of the Second Gulf War. *please, PLEASE don't take this comment in a way that will start a political flame war - the fact is, our presence in the Middle East HAS created socio-economic problems surrounding the issue of oil production, and this is hard to deny, coming from BOTH sides of the political spectrum)*
Also, the issue of food is a very pressing social problem. Socio-political factors are most responsible for world hunger. In addition to new food-producing technology, many social changes must be implemented before the problem of world hunger can be solved.
Many of humanity's technological needs stem from it's social problems. For example, global warming IS a social problem, considering that it will have an incredible impact upon world health and food production - all social issues. We as a society must make SOCIAL changes in order to deal with the problem of global warming, such as improving our energy conservation habits.
Some other examples of socially-driven technological innovations are many of the inventions of Dean Kamen. His invention of a wheelchair that can climb effortlessly, as well as raise a person up to their normal height - was created to deal with a social issue. Same goes for his portable dialysis machine and his water purification system. All of those inventions solve a social problem of some sort - and are by no means "piddling".
I believe that the most important engineering problem(s) ARE in fact those that deal with socio-economic issues. What is the purpose of engineering, if not to make humanity's overall quality of life better?
-- Jaine