Quick Reads

Will Unicorns Save us from Climate Change? (BECCS won’t.)

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

IPCC’s latest recommendations based on dangerous “magical thinking”: observers
OCT 31, COPENHAGEN — It’s hallowe’en at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 40th plenary session, but as the world’s premiere climate science body releases its latest report, observers are wondering if the planet has been played a very nasty trick indeed. The IPCC appears to have embraced carbon geoengineering in the form of CCS and BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage), which it now claims can achieve “net zero emissions” somewhere in the second half of the century. But critics are calling the move a case of dangerous “magical thinking”. 

Video Animation Explores Risks of Treating Life as a Machine

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Synthetic Biology Explained
MONTREAL, 29 Oct. 2014–On the eve of the largest annual gathering of synthetic biologists in the world, ETC Group and the Bioeconomies Media Project are launching a new animated explanation of the workings of this emerging “SynBio” industry, often dubbed extreme genetic engineering. Thousands of scientists, students and vendors will converge at the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Jamboree in Boston to share the latest advancements in what has become a multi billion dollar industry based on the industrialization of life at the molecular level.
 

Regular la biología sintética YA: 194 países

Submitted by Veronica Villa on

La irresponsabilidad de esa industria tiene los días contados

El Convenio sobre Diversidad Biológica (CDB) de Naciones Unidas urgió a los Estados parte a regular la biología sintética, una nueva forma de ingeniería genética extrema. La decisión histórica se tomó después de 10 días de difíciles negociaciones entre los países en desarrollo y un pequeño grupo de países ricos que promueven el desarrollo de la biología sintética.

Regulate Synthetic Biology Now: 194 Countries

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

SynBio industry’s wild west days are numbered
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA– In a unanimous decision of 194 countries, the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) today formally urged nation states to regulate synthetic biology (SynBio), a new extreme form of genetic engineering. The landmark decision follows ten days of hard-fought negotiations between developing countries and a small group of wealthy biotech-friendly economies. Until now, synthetic organisms have been developed and commercialized without international regulations; increasing numbers of synthetically-derived products are making their way to market.

Países en favor de la biología sintética contra el resto del mundo

Submitted by Veronica Villa on

Bloquean las negociaciones para regular la biología sintética

Entre los 194 países que asisten a la 12ava Conferencia de las Partes del Convenio sobre Diversidad Biológica de la ONU, un pequeño club de naciones ricas con poderosas industrias biotecnológicas (Canadá, Australia, Nueva Zelanda, Japón, Suiza, Brasil y la Unión Europea) han estado oponiéndose a países de África, el Sureste Asiático, América Latina y el Caribe sobre la necesidad de una gobernanza internacional para la también llamada ingeniería genética extrema.

Northern “Syn Bio Club” Blasted for Impeding UN Talks Progress

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on

Synthetic Biology States vs. the Rest of the World
- For immediate release -
 
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA–Tensions are rising at UN talks concerning oversight of synthetic biology technology, sometimes called extreme genetic engineering. A small club of wealthy nations with powerful biotech industries, (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Brazil and the European Union) have been clashing with developing countries from Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean over the need for international governance frameworks for synthetic biology. 
 

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