LETTERS.Gene-altered Journalism? IN THE SIX MONTHS THAT I HAVE BEEN reading your magazine, you have written twice about genetically engineered genetically engineered adjective Recombinant, see there crops, once in Brazil ("A Seedy Business" October 1999) and now in Mexico ("Gene-altered Culture" February 2000). While I acknowledge these subjects are newsworthy, it is clear your editing represents an antitechnology position that is based more on uneducated emotions rather than on science and common sense. In an effort to solidify your position, you refer to the Cornell University Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of land. With the help of state senator Andrew D. study on the effects of Bt corn pollen on the Monarch butterfly. What you selectively fall to disclose is that Cornell's was a controlled experiment "Controlled Experiment" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 13 January, 1964, during the first season. Introduction A martian controller is assigned to investigate the phenomenon of murder on Earth. in which the Monarchs had no choice but to consume the Bt pollen, thus a high mortality rate was inevitable. Not exactly real world is it? Contrary to the radical environmentalists' view on the subject, in developing nations where population growth is surging, high-yield progressive agriculture holds back the rampant deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. of wild areas. Vast sections of Africa and Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. are ruining their wildlife habitat with slash-and-burn farming, which many commentators romanticize ro·man·ti·cize v. ro·man·ti·cized, ro·man·ti·ciz·ing, ro·man·ti·ciz·es v.tr. To view or interpret romantically; make romantic. v.intr. To think in a romantic way. because it is indigenous. The most painful reality is that in subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture (also known as self sufficiency in terms of agriculture) is a method of farming in which farmers plan to grow only enough food to feed the family farming, pay taxes or feudal dues, and perhaps provide a small marketable surplus. , children are viewed as manual labor and, thus, large families are desired. Through progressive agricultural development, this problem can be solved as it was here in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . In technical agriculture, knowledge becomes more important. As a result, parents have fewer children in order to devote resources to their education. Every day there are more people who must survive on a limited amount of arable land In geography, arable land (from Latin arare, to plough) is an agricultural term, meaning land that can be used for growing crops. Of the earth's 148,000,000 km² (57 million square miles) of land, approximately 31,000,000 km² (12 million square miles) are . Our differences on this issue won't be resolved in the public forum until the consumer better understands and the media accepts the benefits of biotechnology. For reasonable people, that day can't come soon enough. Neal Braswell Scott, Mississippi Please Help I READ YOUR VERY INTERESTING AND informative article "Digital Mass" (March 2000) about the development prospects of the Internet in Latin America. I would like to contact Mr. Eduardo Adame Goddard, the Mexican entrepreneur running the software company for online stores. Could you please provide me with his e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address and telephone number? Oscar Febres Lima, Peru Editor's Note: Mr: Goddard can be reached in Mexico City byphone at [52] (5)564-9804, e-mail: tceinfo@tecn oft n.com.mx or on the website: www.tecnofin.com.mx Qualified Losses I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY ONE ASPECT OF "Underwater Lumberjack" (April 2000) that may lead to confusion among your readers in regards to our profitability. In the article you state that Aquatic Cellulose has lost US$1.5 million since 1996. At the same time, you fail to mention that these "losses" are NOT the results of actual operations, but merely of research and development expenses related to our new, patented technology. This fact is plainly stated in all of our financial papers. By investing in this robotic technology, Aquatic Cellulose is now the first company able to cut standing inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. trees on a commercially viable basis, and it is currently doing so in Brazil at a project valued over $600 million. It is also worth noting that the underwater logging industry as a whole has suffered for many years due to the lack of a cost effective solution for cutting and retrieving these trees. A recent Forbes article focusing on one of our competitors reported losses from their operations of $5 million in the last 3 years alone. Aquatic Cellulose is providing a dramatically more efficient and safer method of retrieval, which will soon transform the environmentally friendly business of underwater logging into a multi-billion dollar global industry. We feel that is the real story for your readers. Michael Lacy Aquatic Cellulose International Vernon, Canada |
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