Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus

The problem is that people tend to think only one step ahead, and only in a narrow field. This is how our educational system tends to train and reward thought patterns. But that's not how the world works; the world is interconnected and Nature is a brilliant chess player.

One of the things I do is permaculture, not the fancy kind, but the work-with-what-you-got kind. I prefer native to exotic plants, although I have planted some exotics if they're things already in circulation for central Illinois. I think about what a plant does in the environment and try to stack functions: larval food, nectar flowers, edible seed or fruit, nitrogen fixer, soil binder, soil penetrator, beauty, etc. Every piece of the ecosystem connects to multiple other pieces. My prairie patch is functional ... but it's also mostly exotic species with some natives scattered in there. It works as a prairie, but it shows how much impact humans have had on this landscape. This inclines me to be wary of introducing anything, ever, to a new area.