Emerging Technologies on the Threshold: Can they cross from lab to living room?
Dorothy Deasy
2011-03-19 00:00:00

The first is the introduction of transgenic salmon. Make no mistake about it -- for the people of the Pacific Northwest, salmon not only are a major food products industry, but part of the identity of the region. Few issues could be as contentious.

salmonThe headline in the paper was Murray Fights -Frankenfish':

Fearing for the wild salmon industry in the Northwest, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington wants to stop the Food and Drug Administration from making a quick decision on whether to approve genetically modified Atlantic salmon for human consumption.


But, according to an article two years ago in Nature, guidelines for making decisions about transgenic animals had been "more than a decade in the making" and were published in January of 2009. At the time a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists voiced concerns over transparency. Now, Washington and Alaska representatives are hoping to prevent the introduction of the fish. Failing that, they hope to require labeling of transgenic fish.

biomassThe second issue concerns a Pennsylvania-based company abandoning plans to build a biomass plant in Washington's Mason County. Planning had been underway for 13 months to build a plant that would burn forest debris. Local opposition was strong, with county residents using a combination of lobbying efforts, education, and protests to disrupt the plans.

In the end, though, the sponsoring company, Pennsylvania's Adage LLC, blamed the failure to move forward not on local opposition but on an inability to find a market for the energy produced. In 2006, green energy benchmarks in Washington state were passed: 3% green energy by 2012, 9% green energy by 2016 and 15% green energy by 2020. To date, the 2012 goals have already been met and Adage LLC could not find a buyer for the power.

The third issue is a move by Washington state to change its existing regulation of birth surrogacy to make it legal to pay surrogates: "The bill establishes a host of protections to ensure surrogacy contracts would be made with informed consent and safeguards for both the birthmother and the intended parents."

There are concerns from some constituencies that such a move opens the door for selling babies and undermining the rights of the child. Making the matter more complex is that some of the more vocal opponents also oppose gay rights and interject that prejudice into the debate.




What these three issues highlight are the importance of: 1) transparency of ethical discussions; 2) the impact of "not in my backyard" thinking on commercialization; 3) the difficulty of going up against existing standards and industries; 4) the importance of having an informed public. Resolution is compounded, too, because the emerging technologies also touch on personal values, both ecological and religious.

Also highlighted by these issues are the conflicts which arise between the rights of the individuals and the welfare of the commons. All three cases are examples where benefits to the individual or the region are potentially damaging to a wider "greater good" ethic.

In the case of the salmon, according to the US Food and Drug Administration and AquaBounty Technologies (the developer of the transgenic salmon), the new fish "could help meet rising demand for fish; would reduce pressure on wild fish stocks; and altered fish consumes 25% less feed." These are benefits that reach beyond the region.

Biomass is one potential component in a move toward increased use of green energy sources. Goals intended to spur development, at least in this case, appear to act as a limitation rather than an incentive (though it must be noted the proposed plan was not completely a clean energy solution).

baby $In the case of surrogacy-for-pay, while an individual volunteering for surrogacy is perhaps a noble act, payment for such services runs the risk of expanding the child birth industry to include the giving of birth itself. When money becomes the primary incentive, it can lead to the exploitation of underprivileged women as dramatized in the PBS Futurestates video "Silver Sling."

That such issues are hitting the local level is an indication that we are indeed in a transhuman age. Ethical debates are now making their way to Main Street.

How do we ensure that the general public is aware of and participates in the ethical issues? What will emerging technologies need to do to be successful in the marketplace? Are individual and societal interests already in balance and, if not, what can be done to create positive change?