Tarr, in his essay, “Many years ago,” reflects on environmental problems, such as urban noise and air pollution. In this essay, Thor compares the current and past causes of environmental issues – the car and the horse. Back in the distant 1700s, Americans were puzzled by searching for an alternative means of transportation, which they called a horseless carriage. People were sure that they would be able to cope with the health risks that horses created for rural and urban residents in this way. The health authorities were confident that the dried powdery particles of manure carried by the wind were the causes of dysentery, smallpox, and respiratory diseases.
The author’s main idea is the statement that any new technology, despite its apparent advantages, will have certain limitations and dangers in the practice of its application. Tarr examines the American society’s problems of horse-drawn carriages and cools the premature euphoria (Tarr, 1971). The appearance of cars caused many not only raptures but also possible risks associated with human health and harm to the environment.
Tarr also mentions the current era, speaking about the concept of nuclear reactor technology, namely its use as an alternative to fossil fuels. Undoubtedly, atomic technologies would bring significant benefits to all humanity since they are almost eternal in terms of life expectancy (Tarr, 1971). However, it took several catastrophic accidents for society to realize how dangerous this technology is. Humanity has always sought to achieve utopia and has been looking for a wonderful invention that would make life easier and more enjoyable for many years. Usually, these searches led to the fact that people had high expectations about the safety and effectiveness of a particular technology. The use of horse-drawn carts for many centuries ended at the beginning of the 20th century with the advent of automobiles and the steam engine. Various scientific journals praised the use of cars and humiliated horses as a relic of the past.
Nevertheless, it was studied, documented, and proved that the widespread use of cars led to consequences much more severe than those for which horses were blamed. The use of cars has caused air pollution so catastrophic that it threatens the well-being of humanity and the entire planet. It happened not because of horses but because of the widespread use of cars, steam engines, and similar technologies. At the moment, humanity is at a stage when such technologies should be replaced or limited in application (Tarr, 1971). Unfortunately, many of the consequences of using harmful technologies are irreparable, which means that people should clearly understand the effects of searching for new technologies.
I believe that humanity has always been too careless about the environment and has often used new technologies irresponsibly. People did not think about the catastrophic consequences that can arise from the use of cars, blaming horses for air pollution. I suppose that people are too enthusiastic about finding new technologies that will improve the future, but at the same time, they do not think at all about the present. The same thing happened with nuclear technologies – people were sure that this was the answer to all questions, but they put the planet in another terrible danger. I believe that humanity needs to be more careful with the nature that surrounds it and each other. No new technologies are worth the lives of our loved ones.
Reference
Tarr, J. (1971). Urban pollution – many long years ago. American Heritage, 22 (6).