Friday, October 23, 2009

Bamboozled: Vertical Biofuel Farms in Croatia?


Croatian architecture firm UPI2M has proposed growing bamboo and algae in Vertical Biofuel Farms in that country's capital, Zagreb, that would be placed on top of existing gas stations, turning these notoriously hard-to-find locales into international landmarks. As treehugger puts it:
It is a clever idea. We all support the idea of local food, why not local fuel? The reduction in fuel miles, ending of reliance on foreign supplies, and absorption of CO2 by the growing plants would make our car based culture viable again.
But is that really the road we want to take? Is it more worthwhile and desirable to prolong our "car based culture" than to work towards developing a culture based on something else entirely? What about Gross National Happiness?

The Vertical Biofuel Farms might allow us to keep buying Hummers, but would their vitiation really be a bad thing?

One thing that the Vertical Farmer does like is the idea of growing bamboo, one of the fastest growing and most versatile crops, indoors, but not necessarily for use as a biofuel.

What do you think?
Check out UPI2M's website here.

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