Comment Articles

Nanotech brings out the Luddites

Declan McCullagh CNET News.com

Published: 12 Aug 2003 12:50 BST

Being an activist means always having to find something new to complain about.

For much of the past decade, environmental activists have voiced fears about bioengineered crops. Engineered crops such as soybeans, corn and canola are popular in the United States, because farmers can reduce the amount of pesticides released into the environment, but pro-environmental groups have successfully campaigned against them in Europe.

Never mind that in a major study published in 1989, the National Research Council concluded that genetically engineered products were as safe or safer than products that are manufactured through more traditional methods. And never mind that there's no evidence that the millions of Americans who munch on engineered grain have experienced any ill effects as a result.

Some well-meaning but scientifically illiterate activists who populate environmental groups are currently targeting another emerging area: nanotechnology. (Nanotechnology refers to working with materials in the one- to 100-nanometre range, a process that promises to create useful new substances, aid medical research and accelerate microprocessors. A June estimate says research and development in nanotech is expected to surpass $3bn in 2003.)

A recent 72-page report from Greenpeace warns of the dangers of nanotechnology. An introduction from Greenpeace's Doug Parr sets the tone for the piece, claiming that nanotechnology-created "materials should be considered hazardous until shown otherwise."

Huh? Abandoning technologies that can protect the environment is hardly the most logical stance for a pro-environment group to take. The US Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, is already looking into and funding the development of nanomaterials that can reduce harmful emissions, aid recycling and filter gaseous pollutants.

Greenpeace goes on to invoke the tired rhetoric of class struggle, arguing: "Is the future of nanotechnology then a plaything of the already-rich? Will the much talked about 'digital divide' be built upon, exacerbating the inequities present in current society through a 'nano-divide?'" In reality, all new inventions -- from air conditioning to clothes dryers to automobiles -- are initially the playthings of the wealthy. Then, as production costs fall over time and economies of scale take over, those products become available to more and more people.