Future Environmental Technologies - Possibilities Arise out of the Use of Natural Resources

With the consumption of natural resources by humankind at an incredible rate, scientists have began pursuing the use of more advanced means of caring for the environment through recycling, and preventing waste and pollution in the first place.

One thing that is being looked at for the not-so-distant future is making paper a thing of the past; Paper is really extremely wasteful. Most of it goes unused, ends up on the ground somewhere, and countless trees must be cut down daily to keep up with mankind's demand for it. Instead of using paper, one might use electronic paper: a flexible display that could be used over and over again. The electronic paper would either be "erasable" through electronic means, or would be able to plug into certain media that one wishes to view, and displays it. If this technology becomes an actuality, we could expect all sorts of interesting evolutions of the computer and computer appliances and add-ons.

Another very interesting and very viable prospect is that of putting plants and microscopic organisms to work for us humans; that is to say, we would be using microbes for things such as the decontamination of polluted water or the absorption of poisonous metals by specially designed flowers. Phytoremediation would be easy, relatively cheap, and could work wonders. Researchers are looking into developing genetically altered plants and bacteria that could "eat" our pollution for us, and perhaps even turn it into something useful. How would you like to give your sweetheart a bundle of funny-colored roses that are loaded with arsenic?

Sometime soon, it's possible or probable that the sides of buildings and maybe even roads could be covered in wear-resistant grasses and flowering plants. We would, in a way, be giving the planet back to nature...but not without getting something for ourselves, of course. The idea of this originally came from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. These modernized "hanging gardens" could help prevent carbon dioxide from heating the atmosphere, help prevent flooding, reduce heating and cooling costs, and much more.

Perhaps one of the most alluring prospects of the near future is the idea that we will be able to make our own fuels and be mostly or even completely independent of fossil fuels. Researchers are studying ways to make oil out of any carbon-based waste. They would do it essentially the same way the nature made oil to begin with: by applying huge amounts of heat and pressure, similar to that which would be found in the lower layers of the planet.

It is fascinating to think what the future may hold for mankind; will be strike a balance with Mother Earth, or will we end up victims to our own destructive nature?