Synthetic Biology and Greenhouse Gases

"This volume summarizes the proceedings of two workshops sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on cutting edge systems and synthetic biology research which could facilitate mitigation and adaptation through quantum leaps in photosynthesis, fertilization, methane control, and drought and disease resistance, and thereby substantially increase crop yield and soil carbon. The technologies are at various stages of development--some are ready for field testing while others are still in the laboratory, but those that pass proof of principle should be available and implementable within a decade. A corollary benefit might also be the activation of economic incentives to regard CO2 and CH4 as potential resources rather than wastes; this could lower the volume of unproductive arguments over "whose fault it is" that greenhouse gases have increased rapidly in recent times"--