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NATURAL RESOURCES
Can't modern technology fix this mess?
The "technological fix" that industrialized countries traditionally rely upon is actually contributing to the global decline of biological diversity. Biotechnology has contributed in many ways to human society - from beer-making to antibiotics - but modern genetic engineering raises many ethical questions. Biogenetic breeders have developed techniques to select desirable characteristics, such as resistance to disease or rapid growth, to "create" plants. Through this type of gene manipulation, hardier, pest-resistant crops can be created. The substitution of genetically-uniform "monocultures" for biodiversity is dangerous when practiced exclusively, as has been the case in many poor countries. Diversity allows species to adapt to changes in the environment, and when only a few species exist, an alien virus or pest can wipe out entire crops. Diverse agricultural and forestry systems are on the whole more productive and sustainable than monocultures.