The demise and potential revival of the American chestnut

Post by bluGill » Sat, Mar 13, 2021, 1:11 PM UTC

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #15

My parents grew chestnuts on their farm, when my father was still alive. They were mostly American, with a bit of Chinese for blight resistance, and did pretty well. I've long wondered if regular breeding might have done the trick, if we'd spent the past century trying. Keep back-breeding for more American properties, but resistant, too. For my parents, tent caterpillars were more of a problem.

Post by throwaway98797 » Sat, Mar 13, 2021, 1:20 PM UTC

wtallis wrote: post #64

Swizec wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as we know. My argument is that large chaotic systems are often poorly understood by us and we have gotten it wrong many times in the past. I agree that erradicating bad mosquitos feels like a win, but I personally don’t know if there’s any unforeseen effects.

Your argument lacks nuance. It comes across as though you are unwilling to accept that we can learn from the mistakes of the past and be more careful this time, because with that attitude you don't have to engage with the specifics of a proposal. It really seems like pointless fearmongering, especially after the article already addressed some of the specific concerns about what might go wrong with introducing GMO che…

Post by acomjean » Sat, Mar 13, 2021, 1:29 PM UTC

samatman wrote: post #58

burlesona wrote: post #12

Very interesting article. I wonder about the second and third order effects of genetic engineering, but I would say I’m optimistic about a tree that’s engineered to survive a blight, whereas engineering crops so they can survive being soaked in cancer-causing poison that kills everything else in the field —- and then eating them —- seems far more concerning.

On the other hand, engineering corn to produce Bt toxin, which is harmless to mammals, such that less broad-spectrum insecticide must be applied to get the crop to harvest, seems like a straightforward win. The toxin only affects insects which actually eat the corn, so it shouldn't be contributing to the alarming crash in insect population we've been seeing worldwide.

Post by throwaway98797 » Sat, Mar 13, 2021, 2:22 PM UTC

XiJInPaddington wrote: post #76

throwaway98797 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha. He learned from the past that some things are better to not mess with. If you fail at something 1000 times at some point humility should force you to reconsider trying.

If something is worth doing it's worth doing. I'm glad for example the people trying to cure various diseases don't have the characteristic that you call humility but I reckon is something else entirely.

Post by njharman » Sat, Mar 13, 2021, 3:08 PM UTC

nullserver wrote: post #52

tshaddox wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there consensus on how significant the sparrow thing was to the famine? I would have guessed that the whole “you’re not allowed to have your own farms any more, you now have to work in these farms, but you don’t get to keep any of the food from these farms” thing was a much more significant cause.

This is a core reason many are freaked out by too much government. If a company screws up. It goes out of business. Others will take its place. If a government screws up, oh well.