Each day 40,000 to 45,000 of our fellow world citizens die of hunger or hunger-related diseases. Poverty and hunger are frequently related to environmental degradation. The causal nexus in and of the process is often viciously circular and involuted. One of the primary contributions which philosophy of technology can make is that of being keenly vigilant in discerning the fallacy of simplistic causality in the analysis and evaluation of social, economic, and environmental projects and their implementation.
Most causal relationships involving humankind and the environment are extremely complex.
The sources of any human activity are multifarious and the consequences of any environmental change are exceedingly elaborate and anything but singular, linear, and simple. Technology can play a constructive role in addressing environmental problems. However, in situations of incredible need and overwhelming poverty a number of criteria must be met. Technological solutions must be simple, sustainable, and extremely inexpensive. These concepts and criteria were creatively and rigorously discussed in the pioneering work of E. F.Schumacher, Hans Jonas, and many others.