Technology has been well-known to create more problems than the cure it solves.
Take for instance the internal combustion engine. These machines are wonderful. They changed the face of the earth and made modern life a further convenience. Combustion engines can now be found in every facet of society, in cars, trucks, planes, rockets, tractors, bulldozers, anything that needs to move and move with speed and power.
This proliferation of combustion engines has created a dilemma though. Combustion engines currently run on hydrocarbon-based fuels such as petrol. Current-day engines are not 100% efficient in completely burning petrol, thus affecting gas mileage. About 20% of the energy in petrol is used by the engine for movement. The rest of the energy is wasted on pollution and other sorts. One by-product of combustion with petrol is carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an tasteless, odorless, tasteless, and non-irritating gas created in the engine under conditions of a lack of oxygen supply. This prevents the engine from completely converting the petrol to carbon dioxide. For its nondetectible nature, this gas is dangerous to humans exposed to it day and night and causes carbon monoxide poisoning.
Symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects. More extreme exposures can poisons the central nervous system and prevents the body from transmitting oxygen to nourish the body, causing oxygen starvation. Treating this condition entails taking the victim out of the area affected and subjecting the victim to a 100% oxygen therapy.
Imagine though the concern for this silent poison as almost every household and business has a car. Polluted air has high concentrations of this poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide poisoning is cited as the most common type of fatal poisoning in the the United States and France. About 200 people die each year.
Prevention is the ultimate form of cure. Education of the public is not always a good idea since this poison is not usually considered an immediate threat with bills, rising food costs, rising petrol prices, and keeping their jobs, among other things. Better technology has to be created to address this problem.
Technology created the problem, so technology would naturally solve it. More efficient combustion engines have to be developed. To be more efficient, ways have to be found to burn petrol more fully, or to use alternative sources. Making the fuel enter the combustion chamber in a more fine mist, or forcing more oxygen into the chamber may produce the same results. Alternative technologies currently are in the works, most likely seeing a marked improvement in the years to come.
Erwin Chua MCP, MCDST is a HUMAN BEING posing as a WEB MARKETER. In his youth, he's read the entire World Book Encyclopedia and World Book Dictionaries from A-Z out of a passion to know things and share his knowledge with others. Things that fascinate him most include: the HUMAN CONDITION and its PASSION TO IMPROVE, TECHNOLOGY that make things easy, SYSTEMS that make things easy, and HELPING OTHERS escape the RAT RACE through online marketing. He has a still-pending MA in Philosophy from DLSU-Manila after he decided to leave the academe in pursuit of a career in web marketing. He is based in Penang, Malaysia spending his online and offline activities pursuing his passion in equipping others with tools and mindset to be spiritually and financially free.
