The Gaia Reports By Theodora Filis - Environmental Journalist

By Theodora Filis In the US, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Association (EPA). Now, more than ever, environmentalists are complaining that policies and regulations are insufficient and poorly organized. Many worry corporate influence over policy has led to a dangerous level of "self-regulation" by biotech companies like Monsanto, Syngenta, and Scotts. Mandatory labeling of GMOs and biotech companies allowed to self-regulate are causing heated debates. Debates have caused a significant increase in the amount of valuable information regarding GMOs, but have not helped to stop the planting of the “gene flow” of GMO seeds worldwide. Gene flow, the process by which a gene will move through wind-blown pollen and work its way into non-modified varieties, has already been well-established for GMO corn, GMO

By Theodora Filis The doubling of the world's population over the past five decades is putting great strain on deep-sea ecosystems, which cover more than half of Earth. According to researchers gathered at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, these ecosystems are now threatened by the same kind of mass industrialization common on land during the 20th century. The Earth's oceans are all connected to one another. Until the year 2000, there were four recognized oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. In the Spring of 2000, the International Hydro-graphic Organization delimited a new ocean, the Southern Ocean (it surrounds Antarctica and extends to 60 degrees latitude). There are also many seas (smaller branches of an ocean); seas are often partly enclosed by land. The largest seas are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. Our nation’s oceans, waves, and beaches are vital recreational, economic, and ecological treas