US Clears Test of Genetically Modified Trees in Southern US - Center for International Environmental Law

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and over 90 other organizations urged US Congressional Representatives to fund the revival of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) for Fiscal Year 2011. This call follows the testing of genetically modified eucalyptus trees in the Southern US, designed to withstand cold weather for use in pulp, paper, and biofuels. The author contends that independent assessment is critical for technologies billed as environmental protections or climate change mitigations, noting that GM trees carry a higher risk of "gene flow" from transgenic to wild-type trees than GM crops.

• Genetically modified eucalyptus trees containing a foreign gene to withstand cold weather are being tested in the Southern timber belt to determine if they can serve as a source for biofuels, pulp, and paper, as these trees typically cannot grow north of Florida due to freezing.
• Genetically modified trees are considered more controversial than GM crops primarily due to the increased probability of "gene flow" occurring between transgenic and wild-type trees.
• CIEL and more than 90 other diverse organizations requested that US Congressional Representatives include funding for the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in the Fiscal Year 2011 legislative branch appropriations bill to provide non-partisan scientific information.

APA

Kistler, A. (2010). US Clears Test of Genetically Modified Trees in Southern US - Center for International Environmental Law. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/us-clears-test-of-genetically-modified-trees-in-southern-us/

Chicago

Kistler, Amanda. US Clears Test of Genetically Modified Trees in Southern US - Center for International Environmental Law. Center for International Environmental Law, 2010. https://www.ciel.org/us-clears-test-of-genetically-modified-trees-in-southern-us/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Kistler |first1=Amanda |title=US Clears Test of Genetically Modified Trees in Southern US - Center for International Environmental Law |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=19 May 2010 |url=https://www.ciel.org/us-clears-test-of-genetically-modified-trees-in-southern-us/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kistler2010clears, author = {Kistler, Amanda}, title = {{US Clears Test of Genetically Modified Trees in Southern US - Center for International Environmental Law}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2010}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/us-clears-test-of-genetically-modified-trees-in-southern-us/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }