AMAZONCENE by Sally Kim
"The term I have chosen is Amazoncene. Amazoncene has a double meaning because it encompasses both the online Amazon company and the Amazon rainforest. Both are related to the cause for the problems today. Regarding the company, Amazon gives us access to almost everything that we could ask for: clothes, fresh produce, movies, and many others. It is constantly partnering with other companies to be able to offer more products and services to its customers. As a result, people are starting to rely heavily on Amazon. In addition, customers can expedite the delivery of their orders by paying more money to become prime members. Having this quick and easy access to everything through technology is making people lazier. People can watch a great amount of entertainment without leaving their bed, talk to their loved ones without having to see them in person, and have food delivered to their front porch within just an hour. In contrast, ancient humans had to hunt and gather food in order to survive for the day. I believe that technology is the root of the destruction of our society because it has made us lazier and unwilling to work to protect our ecosystem.
"Similarly, the Amazon rainforest is a reminder of how technology use has impacted the environment around us. The Amazon rainforest reached an annual rate of deforestation of 27,423 km2 in 2004 (“Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest”). Due to rainforest deforestation, it is estimated that we are losing over a hundred of different species of animals, insects, and plants each day (“Deforestation in the Amazon”). Not only does it impact non-human species, the deforestation impacts indigenous people who have been living, growing food and creating medicine here. A few reasons why deforestation is happening are because people want to make space for more infrastructure and farming and to supply market demands for timber. Essentially, the same technological creations that have made us lazy have allowed widespread deforestation through machinery technology."