The assault on the purity of the environment is the price that we pay for many…
2019
The assault on the purity of the environment is the price that we pay for many of the benefits of modern technology. For the advantage of automotive transportation, we pay a price in smog-induced diseases; for the powerful effects of new insecticides, we pay a price in dwindling wildlife and disturbances in the relation of living things and their surroundings; for nuclear power, we risk the biological hazards of radiation. By increasing agricultural production with fertilizers, we worsen water population.
The highly developed nations of the world are not only the immediate beneficiaries of the good that technology can do, that are also the first victims of environmental diseases that technology breeds. In the past, the environmental effects which accompanied technological progress were restricted to a small and relatively short time. Modern air pollutants cover vast areas of continents: Radioactive fallout from the nuclear explosion is worldwide. Radioactive pollutants now on the earth surface will be found there for generations, and in case of Carbon-14, for thousands of years.
- A.
abundance of food
- B.
disturbance in the ecological system
- C.
water pollution
- D.
increase in diseases
Attempted by 7 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
The passage says that modern technology brings benefits but also creates environmental costs such as smog, pesticide effects, and persistent radioactive waste. The correct option follows directly from that stated consequence.