They can pick out a trait from almost any creature and paste it into any other, and they are on the verge of being able to turn a gene on or off at will. We already plant gene-spliced crops on tens of millions of acres. We can order genes from catalogs. Within a few years we will be able to read the code for our very selves and reach in and tinker with it. The stock market is speculating on this stuff.
National leaders ask companies, politely, to make their knowledge available to all.
We need to do much more than that, more than just fasten our seatbelts and go along for theride. We need to slow down and think together about where this technology is going and who should own it and who should decide. For genomics it is still the day after Trinity. Donella H. Meadows is an adjunct professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. For the Pacific Northwest Rain Forest Coast.