A recent article by Josie Garthwaite (A New Generation of GMOs. Is synthetic biology on its way to our farms, markets and tables? http://ensia.com/features/a-new-generation-of-gmos/) quotes:
'For groups like Friends of the Earth, part of the concern is that synthesized DNA is developed “outside of nature, outside of the process of natural selection.”'
If the above view holds, then it also holds that the human species is alien to the Earth system. The flaw in this view is that people are not part of natural selection processes operating in nature.
The application of the capabilities the people have to exert selection pressure is not "outside" of nature. This is part of the course of nature, where better questions should be about the direction of selection pressures.
Models that are based on a premise that Earth can be managed as if people didn't exist do not help in our quest to address the many wicked challenges we face.
People are not an invasive species on Earth.
Posted by Shaun Coffey @ShaunCoffey
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