Controlling our environment is the base purpose of technology. Nearly every advent of new technology has been built with the purpose of overcoming our physical limitations and overcoming our environment.
Technology such as cell phones and the Internet tend to get a lot of recognition as fundamental elements of an advanced society. And, while there can be little doubt as to the extent that these technologies help improve our lives on a daily basis, I believe there are overlooked, less glamorous technologies, that are fundamental to advanced societies. One of these is basic technological building blocks is refrigeration.