Will Eucalyptus Be The New Kudzu?

Kudzu was imported to the Southeastern US to reduce soil erosion. It is now an invasive pest. The vine will quickly engulf trees, bushes, telephone poles, and people. (Just kidding about the people, but it does grow quickly.)

In 2005, ArborGen planted genetically engineered, cold tolerant Eucalyptus trees in Baldwin County, Alabama. The exact location has been kept secret. They are now asking the USDA for permission to expand the test to 29 field trials, with over 260,000 trees.

260,000 trees is not a field trial. These are experimental forests hiding behind field trial loopholes. Genetic Eucalyptus Trees Threaten Southern U.S.

According to the above referenced article from "Toward Freedom",

"Eucalyptus are internationally known for their devastating impacts--from invasiveness to wildfires to their ability to worsen droughts. Massive wildfires in Australia earlier this year were fueled by eucalyptus, which contains a highly volatile oil. These wildfires moved at 100 km/hr and killed 173 people, who literally did not have time to escape. Additionally, eucalyptus grandis, one of the species in the GE eucalyptus hybrid, is also a known host to Cryptococcus gattii, a fungus that can cause fatal fungal meningitis in people and animals that inhale its spores. C. gattii was recently found in the U.S."

The following quotes are from Permit applications 08-011-116rm and 08-014-101rm received from ArborGen LLC Field testing of genetically engineered Eucalyptus grandis X Eucalyptus urophylla Draft Environmental Assessment May 08, 2009. A copy can be found at http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0059

"the species of Eucalyptus used to produce this hybrid are not considered weedy or invasive in the U.S. None of the genes introduced into Eucalyptus code for traits that would be expected to make the plants more weedy or invasive. The genes introduced to affect cold tolerance could make the engineered Eucalyptus more adapted to cold temperatures in the southern United States, but this trait in and of itself would not impart invasive or weediness characteristics to the
engineered plants."

In other words, Eucalyptus is not considered a weed because it hasn't become invasive yet. If it should be come invasive, it would be considered a weed, but since the field test would already be underway, we won't be able to do anything about it. Also, making Eucalyptus more cold hardy can't possibly make it more likely to spread.

"preventing flower formation would prove impossible over time"

Arborgen admits that they will create flowers. Their descriptions of the 29 field sites show that both engineered and non-engineered Eucalyptus are currently being grown nearby. But don't worry about that, because Eucalyptus seedlings aren't very tough.

"There are other species of cold-hardy Eucalyptus that can possibly be grown in the Southeast U.S.These species include E. neglecta, E. niphophila, E. pauciflora, E. camphora, E. nova-anglica, E.macarthurii, E. gunnii and E. cinerea. These could occur in the States where these field test occur. Among these species, E. cinerea, also known as the silver dollar tree or Argyle Apple, is the most popular species grown for its ornamental foliage. "

So why do we need a bio-engineered tree?

Petitions can be found at http://ga3.org/campaign/GEtrees/xn873s54hjx563dt? and http://globaljusticeecology.org/petition.php.

Comments close Monday, July 6, 2009, 5pm Eastern