Technologies of the 21st century

What is 21^st Century technology?

First of all, it’s “hi-tech.” According to the definition on the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Высокие_технологии):

“High technology” is the newest, most progressive technology of the day.  The transition to using high technology and its corresponding appliances and applications is an important link in the scientific and technical revolution (STR) of the modern age.  High technology usually encompasses the most scientifically intensive branches of industry.

Carefully reading the accompanying list of modern “high technologies,” one discovers that many technologies on the list are so-called “clean technologies” or “Cleantech,” such as recycling and energy conservation technologies, and alternative energetics (solar energy, hydrogen energy, etc.).  The list also includes atomic energy, although ecologists believe that atomic energy of the type that is used now—and in its current state—cannot be included in the list of “ecologically clean” technologies. 

The majority of people on the planet are aware how destructive to nature the path of development is in the economic systems of practically all of the countries in the world.  The time is ripe for immediate adoption of the new, scientifically intensive, energy-efficient technologies that will minimize harm to the environment and the world’s ecology. 

Progressively-thinking scholars and the ecological community have persuasively demonstrated in practice that alternative energy sources and ecologically-clean technologies are the “hi-tech” of the 21^st Century.  Technologies capable of constant self-modernization will help with the complete restructuring of existing industrial capacity, bringing it to a level of high technology and high quality—which would help the economy of any country to get on the right track in the long run.

Most importantly, it must not be forgotten that the scientific and technical revolution was primarily meant to improve people’s lives, which are closely related to the availability of quality education, high culture and interpersonal communication and…the health of the environment.  It must not be forgotten that humankind is only a small part of the ecological system of planet Earth.  Therefore, anything we choose to call “high technology” should be examined through the prism of the technology developers’ personal responsibility, and judged by whether or not it possesses two important merits: ecological and energy-conserving capabilities.