We are still screwed: the coming climate disaster

Why wouldn’t the very same things be possible or even more likely with mutagenesis or cross-breeding? Both are significantly more random than selective gene editing.

To repeat: Plenty of potential issues, not necessarily specific to using CRISPR, but the use of that tool makes more fundamental and sweeping changes than traditional plant-breeding techniques. Bigger chances, bigger potential upside, and bigger potential downside as well.

None of this is true. There’s nothing inherently more extreme about modern genetic manipulation than what happens with random mutations and crossbreeding. There’s nothing inherently more dangerous about it.

It’s just more directed. There’s nothing about that direction which makes it more likely to result in some kind of horrible outcome than random chance.

The best way to get a horrible outcome is to code for a horrible outcome. Working to avoid it works.

While I appreciate your opinion, I’d also appreciate you not telling me that mine is false. There’s not evidence to prove that gene editing is safe or not just yet, and all I’m advocating is caution. I think using CRISPR and other gene editing tools is a good thing, as long as sufficient safeguards and testing are done as well.

There’s no way for anyone to provide what you are asking for. There’s no way to “prove” such a thing. You absolutely could engineer messed up things, just as messed up things evolve naturally.

Yeah.

So this is where we’re at now.

From the story:

Guards barred an AP reporter from passing through a security checkpoint inside the building. When the reporter asked to speak to an EPA public-affairs person, the security guards grabbed the reporter by the shoulders and shoved her forcibly out of the EPA building.

Clearly she was coming to kill Pruitt. We have to keep our government officials protected from the assassins of Environmental Antifa-13

That’s what she gets, for stepping out of the Free Speech Zone.

Some people claim AP was being punished for this story yesterday:

“Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, thought he was finally close to nailing more than $1 billion in business.”

The quid: UAE and Saudi Arabia lobbied to punish Qatar.

finally a useful emergency alert?

THE TRUTH IS GETTING OUT

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/05/24/613939464/as-the-planet-warms-well-be-having-rice-with-a-side-of-co2
It’s not all melting ice and rising sea levels. High CO2 levels make rice less nutritious - a big deal for places where rice is something like 75% of the average caloric intake.

I saw these signs on the way to work one morning in Austin.

https://www.wired.com/2009/02/austin-road-sig/

I do love this town.

Other than pissing off libtards, for the life of me I can’t understand the reason to require utilities to power from failing coal plants. I’m a fan of nuclear power but even requiring that is anti-conservative IMO.

I’m not I’m even sure that I believe the helping coal contributors. Lots of energy company have huge natural gas revenue, so do utility companies and they traditional are large Republican donors.

The only surprising thing is that Trump is keeping his word. This is about the only thing that even has a hope of preserving coal jobs.

No it won’t. Surface mining, especially in places like Idaho, produces so much more per employee hour than we did in peak employment years.

Even increasing coal demand, or at least minimizing decline, will have small at best employment gains.

Coal mining jobs aren’t coming back ever, and there ain’t a damn thing anyone can do politically. Mining efficiency has gone up too much since the 60’s to ever have hope of going back to those pined for glory days.