GreenBuildIndiana

Visionaries Develop Vertical Farms in Response to Declining Agricultural Land

 

 Architects and other visionaries are responding to the growing need for food, by proposing vertical farms in urban settings. Why vertical farms? 

Because "An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use." (sources: FAO and NASA)

From The Vertical Farm, by Dickson Despommier  Watch an interview with the author. 

 

Foundation Slab Floating on Reclaimed Insulation is Foundation of Energy Efficiency

Shown here is a view of the upper-level foundation slab for our house.  It is floating on 10.5 inches of reclaimed extruded polystyrene (XPS).  The slab is separated from the foundation walls as well, which means that it is thermally decoupled.  This assures that the BTUs in the house will be conserved by using this method.

Las Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World

Image Credit:  Las Gaviotas.  This tiny hydroelectric turbine is one of four technologies that keeps Las Gaviotas off the grid. It generates 30 kilowatts off a 1-meter drop in a low-fall dam.  Las Gaviotas was a feature in yesterday's "Living on Earth" broadcast on NPR. Founded by Colombian Paolo Lugari, Las Gaviotas has out-innovated some of the world's biggest corporations in its effort to create a sustainable society:

"Built from scratch in a treeless corner of [Colombia], this community of scientists, tinkerers, and refugees - now numbering more than 200 - has created a verdant rainforest where once there was nothing but scrub grass. It has also devised and deployed dozens of inventions with a frequency and success rate that puts some of America's most storied technology companies to shame.

"Its products include a hydroelectric microturbine that generates 30 kilowatts and thousands of RPMs from a mere 1-meter drop in a low-fall dam; a system of solar panels, spherical boilers, and tanks that can provide hot water for housing projects as large as 30,000 units; and a remote-controlled zeppelin that uses video cameras to spot forest fires."  CNN Money

Alan Weisman wrote a book on Las Gaviotas, and he has recently updated it and re-issued it in a new edition. In addition to advancing renewable energy technologies and successfully creating a verdant forest out of nothing, Las Gaviotas has some lessons on what is most appropriate technology for a post-carbon world, and what really makes human beings happy.   Says one of the community's leaders: "We believe austerity is a better path to happiness and to man's comfort. In Colombia's oil camps, what have they gotten? Prostitution and alcoholism, because salaries are too high. Then the oil is gone. What's left is misery." 

Smart Meters Help Even Older Homes Save Energy

Image Credit: www.carboncommentary.com

A story in today's New York Times highlights the gains made in energy savings in the UK through the increasing use of Smart Meters.   Smart Meters provide real-time information on energy use so that homeowners can immediately see the effect of appliances, light bulbs, and computers on their energy usage and, their bills.   It has been shown that such feedback (as any Prius owner will tell you) changes behavior, especially as the cost of energy rises. 

In the UK, where creaking old homes vastly outnumber sleek new "green" homes (as they do in most cities of the world), Smart Meters are fostering such energy-saving behaviors as:

• Installing highly efficient windows
• Insulating under roofs
• Installing solar water heaters
• Using incandescent light bulbs little and replacing most or all bulbs with compact fluorescents
• Giving up using an electric teekettle, a notorious energy hog

Britain's Low Carbon Trust  has been a major force in making the city of Brighton and its neighbor Hove, traditional and ancient towns, into prototypes for the new green village.  The trust is sponsoring home tours  so energy-saving Brighton homeowners can share how they have transformed their older homes.

In the U.S., Smart Metering has been tried in several locations, including Chicago and the state of California. By all accounts, they are a raving success. Duke Energy Indiana  plans to install 800,000 Smart Meters starting this year.  According to Energy Design, Strategy and News:

"Some 50 million old meters in the United States are likely to be replaced by advanced meters by 2010 at a cost of about $18 billion, according to a recent analysis by Deutsche Bank. Worldwide, only 6% of electricity, 8% of gas, and 4% of water meters are even automated, according to Texas Instruments Inc, which sells a variety of chips for meters. In fact, in the electric industry alone, 500 million meters worldwide could be replaced over the next 10 years, resulting in semiconductor sales of at least $7.5 billion.."

Okay, so let's get on with it.

I Want My PZEV

MSN Auto News has published an article titled Green Cars Automakers Won't Sell You which reveals that automakers have achieved a six-cylinder engine that burns cleaner than current U.S. hybrid cars.  And these vehicles, called Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles, or PZEV for short, are only available in California and six northeastern states that meet California's tougher pollution standards.  Another example of the failure of our federal government to stand  up to the auto and oil industries by enacting national emissions standards.  Hat tip to Jason La Fleur for pointing this out.

"PZEVs such as this Ford Focus are so clean that hydrocarbon emissions from grilling a single burger are equivalent to a three-hour drive in this car."

Monitor Your Energy Use and Post It Online

The August issue of Wired magazine features an article by Clive Thompson on how feedback loops get people to change their habits.  As a Prius driver, I can attest to the fact that the consumption feedback monitor screen has changed our driving habits as we try to constantly increase our fuel efficiency.   

"There's already solid evidence that feedback mechanisms can change eco-behavior. ...Imagine if your daily consumption were part of your Facebook page -- and broadcast to your friends by RSS feed.  That would trigger what [Ambient Orb creator] Ambient Devices CEO David Rose calls the sentinel effect: You'd work harder to conserve so you don't look like a jackass in front of your peers.   This isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.  The design firm DIY Kyoto (as in Kyoto Protocol) recently began selling a device called the Wattson , which not only shows your energy usage but can also transmit data to a Web site, letting you compare yourself with other Wattson users worldwide."

Awesome; the power of feedback combined with the power of social networking.