Technology has expanded into every aspect of our lives and continues to advance into ever wider terrain. Some are eager to embrace it as a means to improve our standard of living as technology closes the distance between people, introduces new and more efficient medical treatments, and more. Others are skeptical about whether or not this scale of influence is more helpful or harmful to society. Although seemingly benign, mass technological use acts as a detriment to society because it gives access to harmful means of communication and calls into question a whole series of ethical principles. Widespread ignorance of the negative effects of technology on the environment goes against seemingly valid standards of behavior. . Let's take the case of e-readers. Although, for all intents and purposes, e-readers are promoted as the greener alternative to regular books, the New York Times reported that “the impact of one e-reader… is equivalent to about 40 to 50 books. When it comes to global warming, though, that's 100 books” (qtd. in Morgan). People buy e-readers in part because they think “environmentally friendly” is another benefit they can add to their list. Unfortunately, this is not the case, nor is it the only technological tool to support unwarranted claims. Often people believe every claim advertised for a product and do not follow up on their own research, thus continuing with an unencumbered sense of ethics. Likewise, this mentality carries over to the field of offshore oil drilling. Experts are adamant that “the technology to contain oil spills in sea ice environments simply does not exist” (Williams). They are also adamant about the 30-50% chance of an oil spill in that region (Williams). Despite these obvious risks, ... middle of paper ......tailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&contentModules=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&zid=&p=OVIC&action= 2&catId=&activityType =&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010509224&source=Bookmark&u=lawr16325&jsid=57289855f8aea411ebce18dda9dd37ec>.Williams, Margaret. “Offshore Drilling in Alaska: Time to Slow Down.” Yale Environment 360. Np: np, 2008. Page no. Opposing points of view in context. Network. January 23. 2014. .