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Synthetic Biology? Essay

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Impacts on the Environmental Movement David Park, Expos 101, Prassack, 11/15/2011 The environmental movement, addressed in "Rewilding North America" by Caroline Fraser, focuses on the negative outcomes of human activities in the environment. It is a movement that restores the environment that humans have damaged. Scientists have addressed the idea, in "A life of its own" by Michael Specter, of using synthetic biology to mend environmental issues. Synthetic biology combines the "elements of engineering, chemistry, computer science, and molecular biology…to assemble the biological tools necessary to redesign the living world" (Specter 364). There are both positive and negative impacts of a synthetic world on the environment movement. …show more content…

However, synthetic biology would essentially compete against rewilding for funds, and hinder the environmental movement. One example of the competition between the environmental movement is the option of using cores and corridors versus to previous established programs. Initially, the promotion of cores and corridors was rejected by the organizations at first. Later on, rewilding advocates created a new group, "seeking to reshape the environmental movement," and acquired money from Tompkins and Johns. The rewilding movement ultimately took money away from other programs, and changed the concept of the environmental movement. Now another decision has to be made between rewilding and synthetic biology. Because money is limited, organizations can only support a limited amount of movements. By funding synthetic biology, other environmental movements will be halted, whether it is better or for worse. The environmental movement is important, but it does not take priority over synthetic biology. On the issue of nature, the environmental movement and a synthetic world stand at different spectrums. Nature has constantly been molding the earth, and ever since humans came, with their technology, the environment has started to deteriorate. The movement for nature focuses on the negative impact of humans on to nature. Many of the movements that are in affect "recognized that wilderness cannot be preserved by sealing it

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