Active Solutions for Classic Problems

Vertical Farming:


Dickson Despommier's Model of Vertical Farming

Vertical farming is an agricultural model stemming from the issues presented by sprawling land-use. First introduced in 1915 by Gilbert Ellis Bailey in his book "Vertical Farming", this model is based on intensive rather than extensive farming. The current concept of the vertical farm has largely been developed by microbiologist and ecologist, Dickson Despommier, who maintains that by farming vertically humans can reduce land and soil degradation and ultimately reduce the toxicity of food grown in natural landscapes. Furthermore, Despommier asserts that the vertical farm can be productive virtually anywhere regardless of climate and soil quality and thus the emissions produced via food transportation would be significantly reduced.
Advantages: Increased crop productivity; protection from weather-related growth influence (crops would be productive despite fluctuating temperatures and seasonal variability); preparation for the future (with a projected population  increase of 3 billion by 2050, with an estimated 80% living in urban areas, vertical farms could ensure food production to sustain the masses); reduce human impact on non-human animals (by ceasing expansion of crops into animal habitats, and reducing the pollution of soils and groundwater with chemical herbicides and pesticides, animal endangerment and extinction could be reduced); conservation of resources (reducing crop sprawl means allowing landscapes to regenerate and regrow); organic foods (growing food in a closed system would mean protection from pests and fungus which would reduce the need for utilizing protective chemicals).
Criticisms: Some argue that the construction and  energy required to maintain vertical farms would render the reduction in transportation useless. Others argue that the economic productivity of vertical farms would be less than that of traditional agriculture due to the high energy requirements and the cost of construction. Still others are simply offended by the artificial nature of vertical production and argue that it may encourage the growth of genetically modified foods.

Solar Power:


Solar Energy 101


"Concentrating solar thermal power plants produce electric power by converting the sun’s energy into high temperature heat using various mirror or lens configurations. Solar thermal systems (trough, dish-Stirling, power tower), transfer heat to a turbine or engine for power generation.  Concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) plants provide power by focusing solar radiation onto a photovoltaic (PV) module, which converts the radiation directly to electricity" (Stoddard, Abiecunas, & O'Connell, 2006). 
• Solar power is a renewable and natural resource. 
• Solar power is non-polluting. Unlike oil, solar power does not emit greenhouse gases or carcinogens into the air. Therefore its mass use would largely reduce harmful emissions thus, reducing human-caused Global Warming effects.
• Light and energy from the sun costs nothing. Once you purchase the equipment to collect and convert energy from the sun, it costs you nothing to run.
• Solar cells require little maintenance.
• Solar cells can last a lifetime.
The two main disadvantages of solar power are that in areas which experience little daily sunlight, amount of usable solar energy produced can be highly variable (this is true of areas of extensive pollution where smog is an issue) and the initial cost of equipment and installation can be quite expensive (however, over time the money saved on electricity bills will likely pay for the initial payment ).
(http://www.vivasolar.com/solarpowerbenifits.html)

Work Cited:

Cooke, Jeremy. (2007). Vertical farming in the big apple. BBC News. Retrieved from <    http://web.mac.com/enidwray/iWeb/Grade%2012%20Topic%20Resources/Food%20Issues_files/Vertical%20farming%20in%20the%20big%20Apple.pdf>. Accessed on 16 March, 2012. 

Stoddard, L., J. Abiecunas, & R. O'Connel. (2006). Economic, energy, and environmental benefits of concentrating solar power in California. NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  Overland Park: Kansas.