I stumbled on this very interesting project while searching for a class project.  I thought it might be inspirational to those of you who want to live in cities, or detest cities because of the lack of gardening space.

http://www.verticalfarm.com/designs.html

That first link shows many of the designs by other students and architects all over the world.  They can be blown up to larger sizes easily, and they are spectacular to look at.

This second link shows  many of the thoughts and resources poured into the process of building these structures.

http://www.verticalfarm.com/articles.html

While  many of us committed to sustainability might shudder at the idea of having a skyscraper dedicated to plants in the middle of the city, many positive aspects of this are good in the long term.  These places have unlimited possibilities in learning opportunities, homes, research and many other uses.

A truly awesome idea

Having locally accessible food, farmed by the people who eat it.  Having  a better impact on the environment due to no output of fertilizers and nutrients into  the groundwater.  Having the ability to grow year round.  And, no relocation of Humans into rural areas and places that are already stressed due to climate change, erosion, drought, etc…

Time will tell, but these buildings are awesome to think about.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

As many of you probably know, our most recent and significant  global disasters have happened in the last 100 years.  The industrial revolution is one, but Industrial Agriculture is by far one of the worst things humans have done to this planet.  And why?  Why would humans knowingly rape, pillage and plunder the earth that sustains us all?

Some say greed, others say misinformation, still others say  it is a detachment of ourselves from our environment. I think that all of these are true.  Even though they may be true, there is still one man responsible for this idea.  He had a great one, and he did save millions of lives, but look at what he and others with money created. Norman Borlaug.

If you know anything about food systems and how globalized food has affected all of us, look no further than your own town.  I guarantee you you’ll find bananas or McDonalds or KFC.  All of this because of large scale  high input mono cropping over vast areas of land, ‘discovered’ by this man.  He is hailed as the greatest man to ever live, but was he?

His idea was to feed everyone, to make sure no one went hungry.  He did an ok job for a while “Rice and wheat varieties developed using Dr. Borlaug’s research sparked what is now known as the Green Revolution. They allowed developing countries to increase crop yields fast enough to feed their growing populations and spared millions of acres of virgin land from being converted to grow crops. Among the dozens of awards and honors bestowed upon Dr. Borlaug during his lifetime were the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and the Congressional Gold Medal “(http://iambiotech.org/2009/09/14/norman-borlaug-1914-2009/?gclid=CJHy2LOl_50CFRPyDAodNDMXqQ).  But look at where humanity is at now.

We are hinging on the edge of global catastrophe, only comparable to an asteroid strike.  We have giant monopolistic corporations who have patents on life, a breathtaking number of obese and malnourished people, and a rate of loss of biodiversity similar to the last great extinction.  Why?  I can’t help but think of this man, his ideas and the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations who funded that idea then capitalized on it, (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1970/borlaug-bio.html).

I am not trying to demonize his achievements, but he is in no way the greatest man ever on earth.  The effects of his  and others decisions are what have given us this world today,  and look at it for yourself.  Why are you working in a community garden?

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Hey all, this is Colin.  I’l be putting this in the resources list on the lefthand side of the screen, but I wanted to highlight what a great resource for you all this is, especially right now when there is so much good seed out on the farm that needs to be rescued!

http://www.seedsavers.net/handbook

Check it out!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »