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Solutions for Cleaner Manufacturing and Environmental Challenges
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After more than two decades of success
in health care and food production,
scientists are now looking for ways to
use biotechnology to make manufacturing
of common products ñ like plastic
and fuel ñ cleaner, more efficient and
more sustainable through the use of
renewable resources.
 How many plastic products can you
see right now? While you and your family
may be concerned about the enormous
use of petroleum products for energy,
the plastic products that surround you in
your home or office are also made from
oil ó much of it from overseas. That may
be changing forever, very soon.
New plastics are coming into your
home made with corn and other plants,
not petroleum, via a biotechnology
process. Think of the impact on the
environment: the plants themselves will
be taking carbon dioxide out of the air
as they grow, while delivering products
that do not add carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere in their use or disposal. The
result is cleaner air, cleaner water and a
cleaner planet for your children.
 New fuels like biodiesel and
ethanol are coming on the market.
Biodiesel is made by extracting oils from
soybeans and other crops. New bio-degradable
greases and lubricants for
the family car also are being made from
agricultural oils. Ethanol can be made
from corn or, using new biotech processes,
it can be made from agricultural residues
such as wheat straw, cornhusks,
rice straw or even grass clippings.
 Biotechnology is also being applied
in more direct ways to environmental
cleanup. A process called bioremediation
uses microorganisms to reduce,
eliminate, or contain contaminants.
How does all this affect your everyday
life? Such common products as
vitamins, paper and faded blue jeans
can now be manufactured with less
energy and pollution. Plus, every time
you take fresh clothes out of the dryer
youíre benefiting from the detergent
enzymes developed by biotechnology to
remove deep stains. These enzymes have
replaced the phosphates that used to be
a serious pollutant for the nation's
rivers and streams.
 Crops improved through biotechnology
not only improve farming efficiency,
but also provide a softer environmental
footprint than traditional agricultural
practices. According to the National Center for Food and Ag Policy, U.S. farmers growing
transgenic pest-resistant and herbicide-tolerant cotton, corn
and soybeans reduced the total volume
of insecticides and herbicides by more than 66 million pounds
in 2004. Growing biotech crops also
reduces soil erosion by up to 90 percent
compared to conventional cultivation,
saving valuable topsoil, improving
soil fertility, and dramatically
reducing sedimentation in lakes,
ponds, and waterways.
In developing countries with
growing populations,
the greatest
threat to wildlife
habitat and
biodiversity is
the need to
convert these
fragile environments
to
farmland to
feed people.
By increasing
yields on cropland
already
dedicated to
farming, more of
these remaining
spaces can be
preserved.
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