[Coral-List] "assisted evolution"

[Dennis Hubbard]

Steve makes a more nuanced point than I did on our track record with
bio-evolutionary engineering. Nevertheless, our bad track record with
agreeing on "good" vs "bad" traits - and then assuming that we can make the
"right" decisions going forward, will only be made worse by the reality
that we do not know what other human-made problems will occur down the line
and how our decisions with respect to this one might have adverse effects
on the trajectory of as-yet unknown problems. It is frustrating because we
always want to "do something" that will help, but......

Dennis

On Tue, Feb 16, 2021 at 10:18 AM Steve Mussman via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>
> Hi Doug,
>
> Interesting article and a fascinating topic.
>
> I’ve often wondered if the coral science community has given ample
> consideration to the possibility that “assisted evolution” could do more
> harm than good. Seems to me that all the momentum favors moving forward for
> as the article points out, “as the border between the natural and manmade
> blurs, gene editing animals to protect them may become increasingly
> appealing”- making the question you raised, (how far should we go to help
> species adapt?) both a crucial and precarious one.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve Mussman
>
> On 2/15/21, 4:12 AM, Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> Assisting evolution: how far should we go to help species adapt?
>
>
> https://e360.yale.edu/features/assisting-evolution-how-far-should-we-go-to-help-species-adapt
>
> The article talks about corals but also other animals and plants.
>
> Cheers, Doug
>
> --
>
> Douglas Fenner
>
> Lynker Technologies, LLC, Contractor
>
> NOAA Fisheries Service
>
> Pacific Islands Regional Office
>
> Honolulu
>
> and:
>
> Coral Reef Consulting
>
> PO Box 997390
>
> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799-6298 USA
>
> Social cost of carbon emissions much higher than previous estimates
>
>
> https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/trump-downplayed-costs-carbon-pollution-s-about-change
>
> A German initiative seeks to curb global emissions of a climate
>
> super-pollutant
>
>
> https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30122020/chemical-plant-nitrous-oxide-climate-warming-emissions/
>
> The toxic effects of air pollution are so bad that moving from fossil fuels
>
> to clean energy would pay for itself in health-care savings and
>
> productivity gains
>
> —
>
> even if climate change didn’t exist. In the US alone, decarbonization
>
> would save 1.4 MILLION lives in the US alone. And save $700 Billion a year.
>
>
> https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/8/12/21361498/climate-change-air-pollution-us-india-china-deaths
>
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-- 
Dennis Hubbard - Emeritus Professor: Dept of Geology-Oberlin College
Oberlin OH 44074
(440) 935-4014

* "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
 Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"