permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

http://www.causes.com/causes/678042-global-justice-ecology-project
 PETITION: Tell USDA Secretary Vilsack to Ban Genetically Engineered Trees!
December 6, 2012 · Started by Global Justice Ecology
Project<http://www.causes.com/causes/678042-global-justice-ecology-project>
· Invite 
Friends<http://www.causes.com/causes/678042-global-justice-ecology-project/actions/1710167?recruiter_id=85347200&utm_campaign=invite&utm_medium=wall&utm_source=fb#>
 To: Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

Genetically engineered (GE) tree
company<http://www.causes.com/causes/678042-global-justice-ecology-project/actions/1710167?recruiter_id=85347200&utm_campaign=invite&utm_medium=wall&utm_source=fb#>ArborGen
has petitioned the USDA for permission to sell hundreds of
millions of invasive, flammable, genetically engineered eucalyptus trees
every year for planting across the US South. I demand that this petition be
rejected.

ArborGen’s plans to sell half a billion cold-tolerant GE eucalyptus
seedlings annually for planting in huge industrial plantations threaten the
ecological
integrity of forests across the US South from Texas to South Carolina.
These industrial timber plantations will replace vast swaths of native
forest, displacing native wildlife and impacting local communities.

Ecological Catastrophe

Eucalyptus trees are introduced organisms in the US and are documented as
invasive pests in California and Florida. The cold tolerance trait could
vastly expand the range of this invasive tree. Experience in California and
other parts of the world has clearly demonstrated that, like kudzu, when
eucalyptus escapes, it is next to impossible to eradicate.

Court decisions on other genetically engineered perennial organisms
including GE bentgrass and GE alfalfa, demonstrate a growing legal concern
around the potential escape of perennial GE organisms, even from field
trials.

In addition, the U.S. Forest Service has stated that large-scale plantings
of eucalyptus lower water tables, and affect groundwater recharge and local
stream flows, in some cases eliminating seasonal streams. This is of
particular concern in light of recent drought conditions in parts of the
South. They state, “[eucalyptus] water use is at least 2-fold greater than
most other native forests in the southeastern US.”

Human Health at Risk

In dry regions or areas where droughts occur, eucalyptus are at high risk
of catching fire. Wildfires in Oakland, California in 1991 and in Australia
in 2009—both fueled by eucalyptus trees—killed scores of people and caused
billions in losses.

The fatal fungal pathogen, Crytococcus gattii has been found in the U.S. It
can cause fatal fungal
meningitis<http://www.causes.com/causes/678042-global-justice-ecology-project/actions/1710167?recruiter_id=85347200&utm_campaign=invite&utm_medium=wall&utm_source=fb#>among
people and animals that inhale its
spores. One of the eucalyptus species used in the GE eucalyptus hybrids (E.
grandis) is a known host for Cryptococcus gattii. Creating extensive
habitat for this fatal fungal pathogen is dangerous and foolhardy.

I demand that ArborGen’s petition be rejected.