Saturday, October 31, 2009

Eat local

Many other things work better in the concentrated density of urban settings, what about farming? I kid not: an article by Dickson Despommier in the newest Scientific American shows what "vertical farms" could look like. What's more, he argues that they are ecologically preferable to traditional farming, which would otherwise have to add an area equivalent to the size of Brazil to keep up with population growth by 2050. This 30-story farm, using and reusing city waste water and fewer fossil fuels than factory farms and food transportation, "could yield as much food as 2,400 outdoor acres, with less subsequent spoilage." Imagine: greener cities, wilder country... (See more and very stylish prototypes here.)