Vertical Farming, dialup warning

[HysteryDiagnosis]

On edit: To mention that I have a neighbor.


http://www.americantowns.com/ct/fairfield/news/earthtalk-vertical-farming-238431

“The reason we need vertical farming is that horizontal farming is failing,” Despommier told MSNBC, adding that if current practices don’t change soon, humanity will have to devote to agriculture an area bigger than Brazil to keep pace with global food demand. Another benefit of vertical farming is that former farmland could be returned to a natural state and even help fight global warming. As agricultural land becomes forest and other green space, plants and trees there can store carbon dioxide while also serving as habitat for wildlife otherwise displaced by development.

Vertical farming is not without critics, who argue that the practice would use huge amounts of electricity for the artificial lights and machinery that would facilitate year-round harvests. Bruce Bugbee, a Utah State University crop physiologist, believes that the power demands of vertical farming—growing crops requires about 100 times the amount of light as people working in office buildings—would make the practice too expensive compared to traditional farming where the primary input, sunlight, is free and abundant. Proponents argue that vertical farms could produce their own power by tapping into local renewable sources (solar, wind, tidal or geothermal) as well as by burning biomass from crop waste.

http://www.verticalfarm.com/

[mike_c]

1. wouldn't it be technologically a whole lot simpler to just...

...produce fewer mouths to feed? So we can get by on a smaller proportion of the Earth's primary production?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. I'll bet there wouldn't be much problem with erosion, flooding,

etc.

On edit to add that I have a neighbor and this link to a NY Times article on Big Food vs. Big Insurance

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10pollan.html?_r=3&ref=opinion

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Another article explaning the benefits of going vertical

http://www.miller-mccune.com/science_environment/farming-in-high-rises-raises-hopes-1226

With the worst drought in 70 years decimating northern China's winter wheat crop and the soybean harvest down 40 percent in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay this year, the world food crisis continues to expand — even as increased demand for plant-based biofuels further strains agricultural lands. What's more, by midcentury an estimated 80 percent of the world's population will live in urban areas. Feeding these new city dwellers will require creative ideas to reduce food miles and the associated energy use.

One solution may lie in Dickson Despommier's vertical farm — a 30-story crop powerhouse

[mike_c]

4. it's ironic that the concept drawing places the tower in the midst...

...of horizontal green space that could probably produce more food than the tower at a fraction of the cost and energy footprint.

[notesdev]

5. Who do you suggest should be culled?

A lot easier solution is to ban ethanol fuel, we lost a full third of our agricultural area to that boondoggle.

[joshcryer]

6. Yes, a bullet is probably easier to manufacture than a waste recycling efficient garden.

:shrug: