Dr. Richard Meagher, a professor of genetics at the University of Georgia, genetically engineered the trees to extract mercury from the soil, store it without being harmed, convert it to a less toxic form of mercury and release it into the air. It was one of two dozen proposals Dr. Meagher has submitted to various agencies over two decades for engineering trees to soak up chemicals from contaminated soil. For years, no one would pay him to try. »I got called a charlatan,« he said. »People didn’t believe a plant could do this.« He will begin to assess the experiment’s success this fall. But his is not the only such experiment with trees.

Global Justice Ecology Project and the Stop GE Trees Campaign, both based in the U.S., are working with organizations including The Corner House of the UK, The Union of Ecoforestry from Finland, and World Rainforest Movement of Uruguay, to pressure the United Nations to oppose the use of genetically engineered trees in carbon offset forestry plantations developed under the Kyoto Protocol, and to ban their commercial development. On 11 May petitions signed by renowned scientists such as Dr. David Suzuki, more than 160 organizations including The Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth International as well as over 1,500 individuals will be presented to the U.N. in Geneva backing these demands.

Can genetically engineered cottonwood trees clean up a site contaminated with toxic mercury? A team of researchers from the University of Georgia - in the first such field test ever done with trees - is about to find out.

The results could make clearer the future of phytoremediation - a technique of using trees, grasses and other plants to remove hazardous materials from the soil. [...] We hope to see a significant difference in the levels of mercury in the soil within 18 months, perhaps as much as a twofold reduction,« said Richard Meagher, professor of genetics at UGA.

It’s a kind of Superfund superplant, a leafy organism designed specifically to devour the hazardous waste that industrial machinations and human carelessness have left in the ground. The genetically modified mutant plants suck heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic, out of the soil into their roots, stems and leaves, cleansing the contaminated soil. It’s an intoxicating vision: Imagine fields of these valiant plants fighting part of the $700 billion battle that the United States faces in mopping up polluted Superfund sites.

Scientists are planting genetically engineered trees in dozens of research projects across the country, ignoring the pleas of environmentalists who fear dangerous, unintended consequences. When we’re talking about changing the very makeup of wild forests, we definitely need to apply caution,«said Kathleen Casey, with the Northwest office of the Sierra Club. Trees send their pollen huge distances, and the idea that this won’t contaminate the gene pool is ridiculous,«said Phil Bereano, a University of Washington professor of engineering.

Can biotechnology save the planet? When most people hear that question, they probably think about genetically modified food or new drugs. But the same technologies that are being developed for farms and pharmaceuticals have scientists speculating that biotechnology could hold some promise for moderating global warming caused by the greenhouse effect.

The expensive, energy-intensive process of turning wood into paper costs the pulp and paper industries more than $6 billion a year. Much of that expense involves separating wood’s cellulose from lignin, the glue that binds a tree’s fibers, by using an alkali solution and high temperatures and pressures. Although the lignin so removed is reused as fuel, wood with less lignin and more cellulose would save the industry millions of dollars a year in processing and chemical costs. [...] By genetically modifying aspen trees, Dr. Vincent L. Chiang, professor of forest biotechnology, and his colleagues have reduced the trees’ lignin content by 45 to 50 percent - and accomplished the first successful dual-gene alteration in forestry science.

Kinkos, the photocopy giant, announced that it would not align itself with suppliers using genetically engineered trees. This policy is the first of its kind regarding genetically engineered trees and is a groundbreaking step toward the elimination of the severe ecological threats posed by genetically engineered trees. We laud this decision by Kinkos and congratulate Rainforest Action Network and the Dogwood Alliance on this important victory,” said Brad Hash, Campaigner on Genetically Engineered Trees for Action for Social & Ecological Justice.

Call it genetic engineering for trees. That’s how ArborGen, a Summerville-based biotech company, serves the nation’s forest industry. Using gene transfer techniques, tissue-freezing cryogenics labs and a foresight that penetrates decades into the forest industry’s future needs, ArborGen develops ways to improve the quality of wood and the growth and harvesting of trees. Producing faster-growing trees is one of the byproducts of our research,” says Dawn Parks, ArborGen’s government and public affairs manager. ”We focus mainly on improving wood quality, tree plantation productivity and pulp and paper manufacturing.

Molecular biologist Keith Woeste and his colleagues at the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center are, according to this story, wagering they can grow better hardwoods through a combination of classical breeding and biotechnology to give a boost to the nation’s $14 billion a year hardwood industry. The story says that Purdue University scientists are trying to create superior black walnut, black cherry and northern red oak trees - a trio coveted by the fine furniture and wood flooring industry - that can be planted by the millions in tree plantations.