Consider, first of all, technology’s impact on the environment. Calling it a “quiet crisis,” former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall described the situation in the United States:

“This nation leads the world in wealth and power, but also leads in the degradation of the human habitat. We have the most automobiles and the worst junkyards. We are the most mobile people on earth and we endure the worst congestion. We produce the most energy and have the foulest air. Our factories pour out more products and our rivers carry the heaviest loads of pollution. We have the most goods to sell and the most unsightly signs to advertise their worth.”

There is no question that the automobile has brought many advantages and benefits to society in general. Yet, who can deny the harmful side effects, such as air and noise pollution, and deaths and injuries due to accidents and careless driving? This technological innovation is at best a mixed blessing.

Much has been said about the threat of total destruction facing mankind today. But there is no denying that much of this has been brought about by the technological development that has produced the fearsome weapons of war​—from the crossbow to the laser space-weapon. The height of such development, no doubt, was that in just three years, from June 1942 to July 1945, scientists and technicians were able to develop the first atom bomb.

But what has this unprecedented technological feat accomplished? It started and fueled the spiraling arms race, which has created the situation ironically labeled MAD​—Mutual Assured Destruction. Perhaps of even greater concern is the fact that more and more nations are gaining the technology to build nuclear devices.