NYU Prof: Bioengineer Babies to Fight Global Warming

Professor Liao says this helps fight climate change since ‘larger people consume more energy than smaller people’

LIAO: "There's this technique called preimplantation genetic diagnosis. And, what you do there is you can -- it's a technique that's used for -- sort of for fertility clinics.”
O’KEEFE: "Right. So, IVF treatments and things?"
LIAO: "IVF treatments and you can get rid of -- you can sort of detect sort of genetic diseases. So the idea is that maybe you can use the technique like that to select smaller children."
O'KEEFE: "Okay. So a range of potential options that you select the genetic material that is bound to lead to smaller children."
LIAO: "That's right. That's right."
O'KEEFE: "But, it requires in vitro fertilization?"
LIAO: "That's right. So that would require in vitro fertilization. Another possibility is you can use hormone treatments. So these are -- we already give hormone treatments to children who are expected to be very very tall, excessively tall. 
O'KEEFE: "Oh, okay."
LIAO: "And, so you can give them --"
O'KEEFE: "You give them the hormone treatment in utero now do we?"
LIAO: "No, you give them when they're small. And, so it closes the growth plates." 
WRIGHT: "With the idea that smaller people would be more -- or have a smaller carbon footprint?"
O'KEEFE: "Would they consume less?"
LIAO: "That's right. So, other things being equal larger people consume more energy than smaller people. They also, for example, it takes more energy to transport larger people. They -- you need more clothes -- fabrics to clothes larger people rather than smaller people. They wear out shoes, carpets, et cetera, et cetera more than smaller people. So think of the life time carbon footprints. That's quite a lot."

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