Word: rifkin
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...action, which Strobel discussed with Montana State University's biosafety committee last week, incensed Jeremy Rifkin, the activist who has led a crusade against releasing genetically altered bacteria into the environment. Rifkin, who contends that man-made bacteria might proliferate out of control, demanded that the EPA and other agencies "immediately terminate" the experiment and destroy the trees. But EPA Spokesman Al Heier, acknowledging that the agency's regulations are "somewhat complex," said "nature has enough controls that this product would not get out of hand. That's likely what our final determination will...
Opponents, captained by Washington-based Activist Jeremy Rifkin, have raised legitimate questions about how well these experiments are regulated and monitored. But Rifkin and his supporters have also played on public fears by painting the specter of a biotech Chernobyl -- an experiment gone haywire, spreading man-made germs that could ruin crops, change rain patterns and render large swatches of California uninhabitable...
...Lindow and Panopoulos applied for permission to treat potatoes with ice-minus. They failed to anticipate Rifkin. A former antiwar activist with a fertile imagination and a knack for using the bureaucratic process, Rifkin organized what may be the longest-running regulatory battle ever. One of his victories: a 1984 temporary injunction against Lindow and Panopoulos issued by Federal District Judge John Sirica of Watergate fame...
There have been excesses and lapses on both sides. Rifkin, who makes his living speaking against genetic engineering, sowed fear and doubt among the public even after his supporters had concluded that the experiments were safe. But the scientists have not been blameless. Advanced Genetic Sciences Inc., the Oakland-based start-up firm that conducted the strawberry tests, managed to alienate most of California's Monterey County in 1986 when its closely held plans to test the microbes in that area were uncovered by a local newspaper. While that issue was being debated, Rifkin revealed that AGS scientists had already...
...setback for opponents of such research, and for Rifkin in particular. But it does not mean smooth sailing for the genetic engineers. Strict guidelines are now in place, and as long as there are industry watchdogs, every experiment will be closely checked. Rifkin shows no signs of giving up. "We will battle every step of the way," he promised last week. "This protest is not going to go away." For Lindow, however, the long battle was over. Said he, when the tubers were finally in the ground: "It's quite a relief to finally see science progress...