25 Environmental Threats of the Future

March 30, 2008 — -- Forget genetically modified crops – the great environmental concerns of the future should be nanomaterials, manmade viruses and biomimetic robots.

So say researchers, policymakers and environmental campaigners, who have identified 25 potential future threats to the environment in the UK, which they say researchers should focus on.

In addition to well-publicised risks such as toxic nanomaterials, the acidification of the ocean and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the list includes some more outlandish possibilities. These include:

• Biomimetic robots that could become new invasive species.

• Experiments involving climate engineering, for instance ocean 'fertilisation' and deploying solar shields

• Increased demand for the biomass needed to make biofuel.

• Disruption to marine ecosystems caused by offshore power generation.

• Experiments to control invasive species using genetically engineered viruses.

William Sutherland, a zoologist at the University of Cambridge in the UK, led a series of horizon-scanning workshops where the threats where highlighted. He says they were convened in order to give researchers the opportunity to assess environmental threats before they become a political and social problem.

Science before policyThe original inspiration for the event came from the debate over genetically modified crops. "I was struck by the fact that we were doing a lot of research into the environmental effects of GM crops after policy makers had made their decisions – it was just the wrong way around," Sutherland told New Scientist. He notes that the future supply of biofuel is already becoming a political issue because a thorough environmental assessment has yet to be carried out.

The European Union has been criticised for backing biofuels too hastily, by scientists who argue they raise food prices and threaten food security.

Offshore wind and wave power might be a solution to the growing energy crisis, but Sutherland and colleagues warn that it could also affect marine ecosystems.