Abstract
This chapter addresses biotechnology from a number of environmental perspectives. Three priorities are addressed with respect to their actual and potential environmental implications: medical, agricultural, and industrial biotechnologies. The intended and unintended products of biotechnology affect myriad sectors of society, including applications in industry, medicine, and agriculture. Well-known applications in the early stages of biotechnology consist of advances in medical applications. However, industrial applications began to increase after these advances. Industrial biotechnology is not completely distinct from the other biotechnology fields. The growth of biotechnologies has signaled that private and public sectors are embracing bioscientific applications. This trend demonstrates the array of possible opportunities for failure and potential hazards, many of which are quite subtle and obscure. As a technology evolves, unforeseen events lead to unforeseen subsequent events and, ultimately, to unforeseen outcomes. Therefore, prospective risk assessments become difficult. Medicine accounts for about 17% of the US economy and agriculture touches quite a few other economic sectors, such as petrochemical and pharmaceuticals. Animal and agricultural biotechnology are also discussed.
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