First of all, when we need to search for that which is unknown, it would be vital to deal with science technology. It seems that the science technology would have nothing to do with our lives and that it could not make it more comfortable; however, it is related closely to our lives. When it comes to science technology, we would think of Apollo 11, which succeeded to reach the surface of the moon for the first time by human beings from the United States. For the first time, human beings saw another planet by their real eyes, and not astronomical telescopes. Now, we need to do research on a planet that has air, water, and appropriate gravity for human beings to live on due to a marked increase in the world population. Thus, it is significant and meaningful to look for other planets that we can live on in our near future. On the other hand, cloning is a science technology. As the congress of the United States mentioned before, it is quite immoral and against our ethics. Would the clone inherit the karma of the original person? What would happen to a human being if there were a flaw in the DNA? To make clones of human beings and anything seems to be profanely ambitious. If we try to copy DNA in order to make another human being, a mutant would be created sooner or later. In due course, we could not control the cloning any more because we are just a part of nature.

Next, medical technology can let us live longer and better. Compared to last decade, it is possible to make our body healthier and to make our lives longer. In the future, medical technology will give us the possibility to cure some ailments, which defies all treatments such as the AIDS and the cancer. We will save the lives of those who will be struck down by such illnesses if we acquired the medical technology to treat them. Nowadays in Japan, we have many medical mistakes in the hospitals. In addition, the frequency of these events is increasing incredibly year after year, not decreasing as a commonly believed. It would seem that these accidents are only at the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes they are reported as just careless mistakes. For example, the doctors may apologize that they gave the wrong injections, and they prescribed the wrong medications for their patients. I cannot believe this because such accidents, which kill patients, can be prevented from happening. In emergency situations, the doctors could perform the operations for the patients more quickly and more properly if there were enough facilities at the hospitals to accommodate them and properly skilled doctors. Therefore, the progress of the medical technology relates closely to our lives. Meanwhile, the medical technology could also be a menace for all people. As you probably know, in 1995 Japan had a tragic incident in a subway terminal where a chemical weapon, which named sarin, was released on a crowd of people. Now the United States is threatened by anthrax, which is a terrible chemical weapon. Compared to the nuclear and conventional weapons, it is possible to make dangerous chemical weapons easier and more economically, from mere medicines.

Last of all, information technology makes our lives easier day by day. The Internet is a good example of the information technology. We cannot live without the Internet any more. The Internet and email system have dramatically changed the nature of our communications during the last several years. First, email is much faster than usual mail. A letter from Japan used to take about one week to reach someone in the United States. Now someone's email can reach another person's account in another country in a matter of seconds. We can also send a large amount of information by email as an attached file, such as music, or photographs. It is not difficult to send even a book by email. The file can be easily edited and reused because it is digitalized. The Internet has also had great influence on other aspects of our lives. It changed our way of shopping. American books and other commodities used to be expensive in Japan and limited in variety. Now on the Internet we can buy many books available in America, some of these at discount prices. We can also buy many kinds of American medicines, which are not available in Japan. Some medicines are cheaper than in Japan, and they cost less even if we include the shipping cost. The Internet also has made it easier to get different kinds of information. In Japan, we usually use the trains as public transportations, not our cars. Now it is possible to know on the Internet, for instance, which train we should take at a certain station in order to reach another station on a different line by a certain time. In contrast, some hacker can happen the Internet stealing. Once we log on a computer network, our information will be exposed to outsiders. Even though we have perfect securities such as trade editions for all computer viruses and hacker, some geniuses in computer can be easily hacking in our computers. To be regretted, we do not have any countermeasures against hacking.

In conclusion, it is impossible to think about the world without any technologies. However, as I said before, technology has both the advantages and the disadvantages. If we continue to coexist with all technologies, we will not choose the road to ruin. If we choose the right way to use technologies, they will greatly help us in our near future. We cannot go back to our old lifestyles that were without electricity, running water, and gas, which was supposedly like a part of nature. At the same time, we must not forget the fact that we are just a part of the Mother Nature.