Interesting. I'm not sure your right on the first. It would take more thought than I am capable of mustering but of course I have an opinion (laugh). But I think your completely correct on the second...

Why would a technological society completely ban technology from part of the world in order to keep it "pristine"?

Wouldn't keeping it pristine involve creative use of tecknology to monitor the pristineness? I.e. how could you define something as pristine if you didn't use technolgy to study and measure it.

It all gets back to the age old argument: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it fall, does it make a sound?

In my opinion, if a tree falls under such circumstance, it would be a tragedy that mankind wasn't there to experience, measure and understand the event. If mankind doesn't, who will. In other words, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, who cares...

Scott

Great post Raoul.