Space Jam (I prefer Raspberry)

Vertical Farming makes sense on this planet, right now. But I digress.

If you're one of those people who disagrees, who'd rather continue to depredate this planet, maybe we can find common ground in outer space.

Mitchell Joaqim, Friend of Vertical Farms, Announced as a TED Fellow

Today, Mitchell Joaqim, whom I've mentioned here, has been chosen as a TED Fellow for the upcoming 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach, CA. Here's a list of all the Fellows. Here's the short bio on Mr. Joaqim:

Architect and co-founder of Terreform ONE, a non-profit design group that promotes green design in cities.

If you aren't familiar with TED, you're missing out. Go to TED.com and watch presentations given by all the brightest people around on the most interesting topics you can imagine, for free.

Why Have the Climate Talks Neglected Food?

Seriously? It's no longer a secret that agriculture is a major contributor of greenhouse gasses. Reuters reports:

When that indirect effect [of deforestation] is included, farming accounts for
nearly a third of global greenhouse gases.

This report from Iowa State University (can't get enough of the Hawkeye state) tells a different story, but it still puts agriculture's impact on greenhouse gas emissions at a very noteworthy level.

Why would the Climate Change Summit ignore it?

Root for Local (Vertical) Produce

GOOD, a group the Vertical Farmer loves, published this infographic (an image created to illustrate boring numbers data, see more here) showing how far "local" produce travels from plant to plate compared to that distance for "conventional" produce. The results are shocking.

Climategate: Bad News For Vertical Farms?

In case you haven't heard yet, Global Warming (GW) is a big hoax and Al Gore is a liar, a thief, a hypocrite, and soon to become the world's first carbon billionnaire. Oh, and he also has big socks and big feet...or at least a big footprint of carbon. The billionaire part is cool (can we have some?), but the other parts...not so much.

Vertical Farming Makes the TIME 50 Best Inventions List

Valcent Technology's VertiCrop System, which I wrote about here, was just announced as one of TIME's 50 Best Inventions of 2009. It is number 16.

Congratulations to Valcent for this recognition for its work in sustainable agriculture!

But is this really a Vertical Farm?

The UN Committed to Solving Global Hunger? Don't Be Fooled

We must give money to farmers in developing countries. It is, according to Jacques Diouf*:

“The most effective way to eliminate hunger from the face of the Earth.”

Bloomberg News published that in an article today that expounds the UN's commitment to curing the global hunger problem through, essentially, financial aid. The article almost convinced me that the UN is doing everything within their power to rectify this horrifying injustice.

But then I thought about subsidies.

The Floating Vertical Farm

Small ports, Grub Hubs, dot the city's seaboard, serving hospitals, schools and restaurants, receiving and distributing food day and night. Floating Farms run on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), which produces electricity and also turns seawater into fresh water, and underwater wind turbines that capture the power of tides (see: Verdant Power.) River Gyms act also as shipping vessels, bringing workers to the Vertical Farm, and delivering food to the dozens of Grub Hubs (also the name of a great website). Subways and Eco-vans further distribute the food, running fully on clean energy. Everyone is healthier. Everyone is happier. It's one vision; do you like it?