Posts Tagged ‘environmental protection’

Genetically Engineered is…

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Genetically engineered (GE) is a way of describing an organism into which scientists have introduced a new trait that the organism didn’t already have.

Genetic engineering is a very targeted approach to breeding – the organism in question actually gets some new DNA as part of the deal. GE organisms contain an rDNA (or recombinant DNA, itself created in a lab) construct that produces the new trait.

For example…

GE crops are more resistant to pests. GE baking aids make that cake you’re making a little fluffier. GE animals grow twice as fast.

And I Would Have Gotten Away With It, Too, If It Weren’t For That Rascally Ecuadorean Judge…

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

“CARACAS, Venezuela — A judge in a tiny courtroom in the Ecuadorean Amazon ruled Monday that the oil giant Chevron was responsible for polluting remote tracts of Ecuadorean jungle and ordered the company to pay more than $9 billion in damages, one of the largest environmental awards ever.”

What do you think?

Is $9 billion enough to cover large-scale destruction of the environment and irreparable damage to human health? Is it too much?

And would knowing that BP has already pledged $20 billion to pay for damages related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill change your mind?

No Fracking Way

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Shooting chemicals into New York State’s groundwater to capture an unsustainable energy source? Not in my backyard.

  • New York State is days away from approving a temporary ban (moratorium) on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. “fracking”).
  • Fracking (outside the parlance of Battlestar Galactica) is a method of drilling for natural gas trapped beneath shale rock. Water, chemicals, and sand are blasted into the rock until it gives, then the gas is collected.
  • Environmental groups, and now New York State legislators, are concerned about shooting harmful chemicals into the state’s water supply. Gas industry people disagree.

Facts & Figures

  • Natural gas trapped under the Marcellus Shale – a rock formation spanning NY, PA, OH, and WV – could meet U.S. gas demand for more than 10 years
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will release a report about fracking in 2012
  • The moratorium will go into effect when Governor Paterson signs it before the end of this year

Best Quote

“Right now, we think any time-out is a good one. The gas isn’t going anywhere.” – Craig Michaels, Watershed Program Director at