Engineered Organisms in Environmental Settings provides an update on the field applications of biotechnology products. The book unifies principles from the academic community, biotechnology specialists and other research scientists, and federal and state regulatory offices to tackle issues regarding the application of engineered organisms in the environmental setting. Topics covered include: Bioremediation using biotechnology Safe and efficient applications Risk assessment Recent legislation affecting future environmental applications of biotechnology products Changes in public attitude toward and acceptance of biotechnology products

This book explores the risks and benefits of crops that are genetically modified for pest resistance, the urgency of establishing an appropriate regulatory framework for these products, and the importance of public understanding of the issues. The committee critically reviews federal policies toward transgenic products, the 1986 coordinated framework among the key federal agencies in the field, and rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for regulation of plant pesticides. This book provides detailed analyses of: Mechanisms and results of genetic engineering compared to conventional breeding for pest resistance. Review of scientific issues associated with transgenic pest-protected plants, such as allergenicity, impact on nontarget plants, evolution of the pest species, and other concerns. Overview of regulatory framework and its use of scientific information with suggestions for improvements.

Challenges and Opportunities with GM Crops in Vietnam: the Case of Bt Cotton; Cotton Production in Vietnam; Consideration of Problem Formulation an Option Assessment (PFOA) for Environmental Risk Assessment: Bt Cotton in Vietnam; Transgene Locus Structure and Expression; Non-target and Biological Diversity Risk Assessment; Potential Effect of Transgenic Cotton on Non-target Herbivores in Vietnam; Invertebrate Predators in Bt Cotton in Vietnam: Techniques for Prioritizing Species and Developing Risk Hypotheses for Risk Assessment; Potential Effects of Transgenic Cotton on Non-target Insect Parasitoids in Vietnam; Potential Effects of Transgenic Cotton on Flower Visitors in Vietnam; Potential Effects of Transgenic Cotton on Soil Ecosystem Processes in Vietnam; Environmental Risks Associated with Gene Flow from Transgenic Cotton in Vietnam; Resistance Risk Assessment and Management for Bt Cotton in Vietnam; Challenges and Opportunities with Bt Cotton in Vietnam: Synthesis and Recommendations.

At the heart of environmental protection is risk assessment: thelikelihood of pollution from accidents; the likelihood of problemsfrom normal and abnormal operation of industrial processes; thelikely impacts associated with new synthetic chemicals; and so on.Currently, risk assessment has been very much in the news--therisks from BSE and E. coli, and the public perception of risks fromnuclear waste, etc. This new publication explains how scientificmethodologies are used to assess risk from human activities and theresultant objects and wastes, on people and the environment.Understanding such risks supplies crucial information--to framelegislation, manage major habitats, businesses and industries, andcreate development programmes. Unique in combining the science of risk assessment with thedevelopment of management strategies. Covers science and social science (politics, economics,psychology) aspects. Very timely - risk assessment lies at the heart of decisionmaking in various topical environmental questions (BSE, Brent Spar,nuclear waste).

The decline of many individual and wild fish stocks has commanded an increase in aquaculture production to meet the protein demands of a growing population. Alongside selective breeding schemes and expanding facilities, transgenic methods have received increasing attention as a potential factor in meeting these demands. With a focus on developing countries, this third text in the series provides detailed information on environmental biosafety policy and regulation and presents methodologies for assessing ecological risks associated with transgenic fish --Publisher website, http://www.cabi.org/bk_BookDisplay.asp?PID=2054, viewed 6 December, 2007.

Biotechnologies developed over the past few decades have opened up a wide range of avenues and opportunities in diverse sectors, yet the scale of the today's global debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their application in agriculture is unprecedented. Furthermore, the scientific and policy bases for assessing and passing judgement on genetically engineered products are necessarily evolving as rapidly as the pace of evolution in biotechnology itself. The purpose of this publication -- the second in FAO's new series dedicated to ethics in food and agriculture - is to share the current knowledge of genetically engineered products in relation to consumers, including the safety of their food and protection of their health, and environmental conservation. It seeks to unravel and explore the claims and counterclaims being made in the GMO debate from an ethical perspective, considering the proprietary nature of the tools used to produce GMOs, the potential consequences of their use in intensifying food production and the unintended and undesirable effects that their application could have, both now and in the future.

Since the first commercial introduction of transgenic corn plants in 1995, biotechnology has provided enormous benefits to agricultural crop production. Research is underway to develop a much broader range of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs), including fish, trees, microbes, and insects, that could have the potential to transform fields such as aquaculture, biofuels production, bioremediation, biocontrol, and even the production of pharmaceuticals . However, biotechnology is not without risk and continues to be an extremely controversial topic. Chief among the concerns is the potential ecological effects of GEOs that interact with wildlife and habitats. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is charged with providing scientific advice to inform federal agencies that manage wildlife and their habitats. USGS has identified biotechnology as one of its major challenges for future research. Seeing an opportunity to initiate a dialogue between ecologists and developers of GEOs about this challenge, the USGS and the National Research Council (NRC) held a two-day workshop in November of 2007, to identify research activities with the greatest potential to provide the information needed to assess the ecological effects of GEOs on wildlife and habitats. The workshop, designed to approach the research questions from a habitat, rather than transgenic organism, perspective, is summarized in this book.

Biological Environmental Science is an introductory textbook for undergraduate students who desire a one semester course or, alternatively, a springboard course for advanced environmental offerings. This book features timely issues such as global warming, air, ground and water pollutions, population growth, species extinction and environmental poli