Comment on NRC’s artless untruths on climate change and food security by DocMartyn

I suspect the Blue Whale in the room is the gene-jockeys.
Hate them or dislike them, you can’t ignore them. The stage of biotechnology were are at now is about to see a cascade. 1908 was the first heavier than air flight and 1982 the first commercialized genetically modified organism (Insulin-producing bacteria).
So 2012 for GM is 1938, there are biplanes as front line fighters. Prototypes of heavy bombers. No commercial aviation for any but the richest. No navigation aids. No major airports. No helicopters. No jet engines.
In the coming two decades they molecular biologists are going to become molecular technologists. They are already quite good at dicing and splicing, very soon, actually now, they will know exactly how to intervene in specific areas.
As far a crops g the big thing they have been chasing down is saline resistance, which will have a huge impact on the land that can be cultivated as something like one-third of the world’s irrigated land is too saline for most crops.
Arid resistance is also being done, but last time I checked wine vines were where the money was mostly being spent. Lessons learned will be horizontially transfereable.