Environmental biotechnology and modern biotechnology have been interwoven ever since. For example, one of the landmarks in modern biotechnology occurred in 1980 when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the award of a patent to Ananda Chakrabarty for a genetically modified bacterium capable of breaking down crude oil. Challenges being addressed by modern environmental biotechnology range from the search for microbes that will reduce acid rain by removing sulfur from power plant coal to the biological production of biodegradable plastics. As society struggles with the dilemma of protecting the environment while simultaneously promoting economic development, environmental biotechnology is playing a key role in attaining a healthy balance between what are often competing interests. The earth has been affected by pollutants for thousands of years.
Pollutants enter the environment and are broken down by naturally occurring organisms and events.
This global process has been working less and less well as a direct result of the increased production of pollutants by human activity. Humans can take steps to heal this process. This history is paralleled in our everyday experience of recycling household waste. First we recycled nothing and read about overflowing landfills. Then we recycled newspapers and a few other items while purchasing products manufactured from recycled paper - and still read about overflowing landfills.