11 Vertical Farms to Transform Our Cities

Urban agriculture advocates fight for clean, green food production in "farmscrapers," building on the success of living walls and mobile gardens.

The Sundance-winning documentary Fuel ends with a hopeful artist's rendering of the city of the near future, a clean, green metropolis that produces its own power by the wind and sun, and feeds itself from transparent skyscrapers that are planted up and down with hydroponic vegetables. 

Such vertical farms have captivated designers and gained wide traction on the Internet (here's one new innovative concept). They may seem the stuff of science fiction, but one of the pioneers of the concept, Dickson Despommier of Columbia University, told The Daily Green that we can expect to see the first built vertical farm "within a year." (One may even soon arrive in Las Vegas.)

"It allows cities to become small ecosystems with primary productivity at its base," Despommier told TDG. "It closes all the loops that opened-ended agriculture leaves open. 

There's no runoff, and there's continuous production year round," he added.

VF Type O by Oliver Foster

To see the other 10 vertical farms, click here.

Article by Brian Clark Howard Courtesy of TheDailyGreen

Solar Champions Wanted

Utilities are looking more favorably at solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity as a resource, as reported here last week. But to drill down more deeply into the analysis, the research firm Gartner and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) recently held a webinar to discuss the survey.

"We wanted to understand how solar fit into the overall population of renewable resources that the utilities had," said Al Velosa, an analyst at Gartner.

One thing that struck the researchers was the widespread degree of acceptability solar PV has achieved. In short, solar power isn't just a research project or government mandate anymore, farmed out to lower level office to the utility enterprise, but an integral part of resource planning that is worthy of attention in the executive suite.

"A surprising number of utilities are using PV, especially considering the amount of installations," Velosa said. "PV clearly is a presence among the resources that are part of the portfolio."

One tipoff is the changes in the planning process.  If solar PV construction or procurement is only part of a mandate, it could be the responsibility of a "compliance team." But as it gains a more prominent role, more utilities are putting responsibility on the standard energy team.

"The energy team is something that makes the process more predictable because one change you get is that there starts a rich dialogue to get an idea of how the market is going," Velosa added.

This offers an opportunity for new resources. "There's clearly a need for champions. In legislatures and public utility commissions there're clearly a vocal and strong leadership promoting solar," he said. "And when we looked at our survey population, the traditional energy teams were clearly involved, which is very important."

While interest is high, the ownership model is something that is clearly in flux.

"We are getting mixed messages," Velosa said. "In some cases the utilities are very interested in owning the assets and having stronger control. In other cases, there's too much of a technological requirement," that means a reliance on independent power producers to own and operate the assets.

Whatever the business model chosen, PV appears to be gaining a larger share of the utilities' attention.

Article by Bill Opalka Courtesy of RenewablesBiz

Bio-Plastics: Cashew Nut Computers?

A unique plastic made from cashew nut shells could be used in consumer electronics by 2013.

Japanese company NEC Corporation has announced the development of a first-of-its kind biomass-based plastic -- bio-plastic - produced using non-edible plant resources such as cashew nut shells. The plastic is durable enough to be used in electronic equipment and NEC expects that with continued research bio-plastic could be used in a range of electronic devices by 2014.

The product would represent an environmentally friendly breakthrough in terms of alternative plastics as current variations, which mainly use plant cells and castor oil, suffer from low heat resistance and poor durability to water. The new bio-plastic, which NEC claims does not suffer from these shortcomings, could therefore pave the way for more durable and environmentally friendlier consumer electronic goods such as computers.

Bio-plastics have been gathering greater attention as an alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics which contribute to global warming and environmental pollution. However previously developed bio-plastics have used food sources in their production, sparking fears over the possibility of future food shortages.  

In August of this year manufacturer of cosmetics and household goods Procter and Gamble (P&G) announced the launch of environmentally friendly packaging made from sugarcane-derived plastics for their Pantene Pro V, CoverGirl and Max Factor Brands.

NEC will formally announce the development of a new bio-plastic at the chemical society of Japan on August 31.

Article courtesy of The Independant

Seed Farm Helps Restore Prairies

They look like weeds to most people. But to Ryan Brathal, plants growing along the ditches of rural roads can often be a gold mine. 

They look like weeds to most people. But to Ryan Brathal, plants growing along the ditches of rural roads can often be a gold mine.

Brathal has an eagle eye when it comes to native prairie plants and grasses, and he’s always on the lookout for seeds to harvest. It is, after all, his job.

Brathal is the farm manager at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources seed farm along County Road H near Star Prairie.

The 56-acre production facility was kick-started in 2002 when the Kinnickinnic Chapter of Pheasants Forever purchased land from local farmer Richard Hesselink.

The Pheasants Forever chapter then donated the land to the DNR as part of the Western Prairie Habitat Restoration Area that began in 1999. The idea for native prairie seed farming actually began in 1996, when Harvey Halvorsen, local DNR wildlife biologist, teamed up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s St. Croix Wetland Management District office in rural New Richmond.

The two organizations previously spent tens of thousands of dollars a year buying seed in their ongoing efforts to restore native prairies and oak savannas in St. Croix and Polk counties.
In the early 1800s, before pioneer families settled this area and cleared the land for farming, there was more than 300 square miles of prairie and oak savanna in the two counties. Only small remnants of those prairies, totaling just one square mile, remain today.

“The seed farm was a common sense approach to restoring our public lands back to the heritage landscapes that once dominated this area in the 1800s,” Halvorsen said.

Not coincidentally, when the oak savanna and native prairie began to disappear, the grassland bird populations of the region steadily declined. The numbers of western meadowlarks, vespersparrows and bobolinks decreased significantly from 1966 to 2000, according to records. 

That’s why the Western Prairie Habitat Restoration Area was established in the two counties to protect and restore 20,000 acres of grassland and wetland habitat. As part of that effort, USFWS Waterfowl Production Areas, DNR wildlife areas and other public lands in the two counties are being restored to prairie and oak savannas.

The key to the restoration effort is establishing a reliable source of native prairie seeds. Years ago, conservationists decided to plant large plots of one seed type, such as switchgrass.

“While these stands were thick and helped pheasants survive the winter, they lacked nesting and brood rearing value we now find in the diverse stands of restored prairies,” Halvorsen explained.
“We thought switchgrass was the savior of the world,” Brathal said.

But a lot of the earlier switchgrass plantings were with seed purchased from southern states. These varieties didn’t fare well in these northern climates and the planting turned out to be of little help with bird and waterfowl production.

“A lot of things planted here just didn’t work,” Brathal explained.

Eventually conservation groups realized that there had to be a better way.

“We needed to have plants that were genetically adapted to this area,” Halvorsen said.
“This stuff evolved here,” said Tom Kerr, USFWS supervisor in New Richmond. “Why should we bring other prairie plants in here if they aren’t adapted to our growing season?”

Thanks to vegetation surveys of the region from the 1830s to 1850s that are still available, officials decided that an effort to return the landscape to its original condition would bring results. In recent years, hundreds of acres of land throughout the two-county region have gone through a transformation. The trees on many plots have been harvested and prairie flowers and grasses have taken their place. The native oak trees remain on the land to return the property to its pre-settlement condition.

As the restorations began, state and federal conservation agencies began buying prairie seed on the open market but were spending upwards of $30,000 a year for that purpose and could not find enough seed that fared well locally.

That’s when the idea for creating a local seed source began to germinate. Seed was collected from the remaining prairie remnants in the region and land for a seed farm was sought.

Over the past 10 years, the local seed production facility has saved the agencies thousands of dollars and has improved the effectiveness of the prairie restoration efforts.

“We’ve come a long ways,” Halvorsen said. “The plantings we install today will be here for our grandchildren and future generations. All these restored plantings need is careful application of fire and perhaps some well-managed grazing.”

Today, at the seed farm, five native grass varieties and 20 different forbs (native flowering plants) are grown and the seeds harvested for restoration projects in the area. Some of the seed, if the agencies had to buy it on the open market, could run between $700-$2,000 a pound.
It’s not uncommon for other prairie seed to run $20 a pound or more.

It took four or five years before the seed farm had enough established prairie to make a dent in the needs of both the DNR and USFWS (which split the harvested seed equally).

The DNR’s partnership with the USFWS and conservation groups like the Star Prairie Fish and Game organization has helped to move the effort along, Kerr said. Star Prairie Fish and Game financed much of the remodeling of the current Star Prairie Seed Nursery.

The operation of the seed farm is also aided by several state and federal groups, including the Youth Conservation Corps, Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, Conservation Education program, Wisconsin Department of Corrections and student volunteers from the University of Wisconsin.

Through the Conservation Reserve Program and land preservation efforts, Kerr noted, the agencies also work with farmers and landowners to restore prairies and improve wildlife production in the area.

Once a prairie restoration begins, it can take up to five years before a plot gets near the desired level of plant diversity. During those early years, a lot of weeding, prescribed burns and planning go into each project.


“Nobody has any idea what goes into getting a prairie to look that way,” Brathal said. “They think when you stop farming it automatically grows that way.”

The birds, however, do appreciate the end product. “The birds love this stuff,” Halvorsen said, as he pointed to several bluebirds flitting across the seed farm plots.

Article by Jeff Holmquist, New Richmond News

Canada's Lost Salmon Return in Droves

Image credit: Hemera/Thinkstock

Every year, sockeye salmon return to the rivers of western Canada to make their arduous upstream journey to calmer spawning grounds. It is a seasonal touchstone that signifies the approaching end of summer, one that has been observed for centuries.

The only problem is that some years, like in 2009, the salmon don't return.

In 2009, watershed managers estimated that 10,488,000 salmon would return from the Pacific. As the month wore on, it became clear that the reality would meet only a fraction of this goal. In the end, 1,370,000 salmon returned, a mere 13 percent of the preseason estimate.

The poor showing sent managers and scientists into a frenzy. After a year of research, no definitive conclusions could be made, but several theories had emerged. Warmer ocean temperatures, diminished food supplies, and an increase in predator populations were among the leading suggestions.

Others thought that offshore salmon farms could be responsible. Sea lice, which are common on the farms, may have spread to wild populations, killing many of the young salmon.

Though the final verdict is still out on the cause of last year's decline, it is clear that this year represents a dramatic rebound. Already, assessments predict 25,000,000 sockeye salmon will return to the Fraser river, the largest since 1913.

Still, even a record return may not be enough to reconcile the shock of last year's turnout. "Everybody is abuzz about the great return of the Fraser sockeye," Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said, but "we're welcoming this with cautious optimism."

Article by David DeFranza, Tree Hugger.com

Cooking, Eating, and the Gulf Oil Spill: Chef Mario Batali (Interview)

With fifteen restaurants, eight cookbooks and a host of television shows, including the ever-popular Iron Chef America, Mario Batali is arguably one of the most recognized and respected chefs working in America today. This, combined with his larger-than-life personality is the reason that he has received accolades like GQ Magazine’s Man of the Year and the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef.

Mario and his business partner Joe Bastianich own fifteen restaurants across the country including their flagship New York City restaurant Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, as well as two restaurants in Los Angeles and three in Las Vegas. The duo’s latest venture is Eataly, a 50,000 square foot marketplace located in New York City.

Mario is also the author of eight cookbooks including the James Beard Award Winning, Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes (Ecco 2005) and the New York Times Bestseller Mario Batali Italian Grill (Ecco 2007). Mario’s newest New York Times Best Seller, Spain…A Culinary Road Trip (Ecco 2008) is the companion book to his prime-time PBS series Spain…On The Road Again. His new highly anticipated eighth cookbook, Molto Gusto (Ecco 2010), based on the classic and celebrated dishes of Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, hit shelves this spring.

Mario started the Mario Batali Foundation in May of 2008. The mission of the Mario Batali Foundation is to feed, protect, educate, empower children. To learn more Mario’s mission, visit www.mariobatalifoundation.org.

Mario splits his time between New York City’s Greenwich Village and northern Michigan with his wife and their two sons. He found time among his many ventures to chat with Planet Green about his reaction to the Gulf oil spill.

Planet Green: What is your personal connection with the Gulf region and how has the oil spill affected you?

Mario Batali: I have many friends both in the food industry and outside of it who make their living on the Gulf Coast and it has drastically changed everything they do. I also buy a lot of the most delicious and unique seafood on the planet from the Gulf and it is all under deep public scrutiny and thus not ordered even if I can find the good stuff untouched. The PR sear has created an inhospitable feel to the products in the entire Gulf.

PG: What do you think the future of seafood from this region will be?

MB: We will eventually clean it up and it will come back, albeit altered, as the planet always has, but the less is to stop stretching it before we eventually do break it beyond repair.

PG: What do you see the role of restaurants being in educating the public on food concerns?

MB: The potential is massive but the restaurateur must always concentrate on the fundamental components of hospitality to avoid becoming a cliche or reality show while retaining an intelligent point of view within our fields of expertise.

PG: What can people order and eat to support the people of this region?

MB: I think the best way to support the region is to travel down there to support local businesses and ask them what to eat.

PG: Do you think that big ecological and environmental changes -- like those we'll see with the oil spill -- will affect the way people think about food? Will it affect their eating habits? How about yours?

MB: Big changes always initially frighten both chefs and consumers. We will certainly all think very differently about BP and the concept of offshore drilling. I think we should complete ban the idea and, for that matter, create a moratorium on fossil fuel extraction in less than a decade. It is simply and obviously inevitable that we will have to move away from non-sustainable energy resources as we use them up. Why wait 'til they're gone? The writing is on the wall and we are simply mindless idiots not to read it. Sadly, big businesses find it easier to continue with the status quo even in the face of such clear information. I imagine the non-fossil fuel heating, cooling, and transport technology will be introduced the day we admit there is no more oil.

PG: There's a lot of concern that seafood from the Gulf will take years, or maybe decades, to recover. What do you tell people who are concerned that Gulf seafood classics like oysters, shrimp, and catfish might be off the menu for a long time?

MB: Times they are a-changing. We will find a way to create these products in a less delicious way in a farming environment but nothing will ever replace these wild products as they were before the spill. At best we will find mutations or other vestiges of surviving species. We will soon search out sea cucumbers and new delicacies and develop new dishes from the new catch.

PG: The Gulf region has such a rich and diverse food culture and history, and, as a chef, you're obviously very close to that every day when you go to work. How has the spill affected you? Has it changed the way you think about food? Or the connection between food and the environment?

MB: In my world I will continue to revere and support the people of the Gulf and their spectacular culture of music, food, fishing, and hunting, and will spend a lot of time this fall traveling back and forth to New Orleans and Apilachicola trying to help in any way I can, spending my own stimulus package on their businesses. The incredibly deep ties between the environment, the food culture, commerce and the people of the our worlds are increasingly and more obviously very connected, but I have no doubt that while the spill has created a mindblowing disaster of immeasurable damage, I can count -- nay, we can count -- on the people of the region to rise to this and eventually overcome this handicap. We can also count on hard-working Americans to find a way to participate in the reconstruction of their fragile economy and business climate.

For more information on Mario and his many projects visit www.mariobatali.com.

Article courtesy of PlanetGreen

As U.S. Cities Waver on Plastic Bag Tax, China's Bag Ban Saved 1.6 Million Tons of Oil

A "conservation bag" on sale in Beijing. Flickr:  Xiaming

A ban on super thin plastic bags cut the use of 40 billion bags, reduced plastic bag usage by 66 percent and saved China 1.6 million tons of petroleum, according to recent government estimates, Worldwatch reports.

In a byzantine federal-local system in which officials often flaunt national environmental policies, China's bag policy is widely considered to be a shining example of the powerful, positive effects Beijing can have over the environment when it chooses to.

Last week, as the U.N. Environment Program's chief called for a global ban on plastic bag production, Washington, D.C., approved a bag tax. But Baltimore backed out on a bag fee, and a week-old bag ban in Philiadelphia was killed, apparently under pressure from lobbyists of the petroleum and retail industries.

Though government estimates sometimes deserve to be taken with a heavy grain of MSG, and the plastic bag has been met with heavy skepticism, the ban appears to be having a significant effect.

Compliance isn't uniform. A recent survey by Beijing-based non-governmental organization Global Village showed that while nearly 80 percent of people support the ban on free plastic bags, more than 80 percent of retail outlets in rural areas ignored the ban.

Since March, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has deployed 600,000 regulators to inspect 250,000 retail stores or markets for free plastic bags and non-eco-friendly bags. About 2,000 cases were investigated and 2 million yuan of fines imposed.

The SAIC recently issued a memo warning supermarkets providers of "substandard or free plastic bags" could be fined up to 10,000 yuan ($1,470), and may be subject to one of China's most popular forms of punishment: media exposure.

Last year, state media reported that China's largest plastic bag factory closed following the imposition of the ban in January 2008.

China Daily notes that fashion may be helping to advance the government's policy. Tote bags with hip designs -- or "conservation bags" -- are a must-have accessory for youth in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

The Anya Hindmarch "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote caused such a stir in Hong Kong last year that authorities "banned" its sale in Beijing. The counterfeiters were already hard at work.

Besides leading to rampant pollution that ends up in trees and harms birds and fish -- what China refers to as "white pollution" -- plastic bags are seen as a scourge because they aren't often recycled. While the plastics industry says more than 90% of Americans reuse their bags at least once, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates they are recycled at less than one-third the rate of paper bags.

Ireland imposed a tax on plastic grocery bags in 2002, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban conventional plastic grocery bags, in 2007, and Los Angeles will follow suit in 2010.

Steiner's call for a global ban on the bags cited the fact that plastic is the largest source of ocean litter.

The second most abundant ocean pollution, as Matthew noted last week, is cigarettes. 

Ocean debris worldwide kills at least 1 million sea birds and 100,000 mammals each year, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association has estimated. The litter is most severe in the east Asian seas region, which includes countries such as China with a population 1.3 billion people and where, according to UN figures, almost 60 percent of men smoke.

Beijing has also imposed a partial smoking ban, and this month called for a ban on smoking in hospitals.

Article by Alex Pasternac Treehugger.com