Posts Tagged scientists
Vertical Agriculture On The Up
Over the next 40 years the UN predicts a global population boom, leading to agricultural land shortages. Great Stuff Hydroponics thinks we can overcome this problem and help to reduce the environmental impact of our cities by building vertical hydroponic agricultural buildings in urban centres.
Supplying food in the West is not an issue, where agricultural land is available and complex distribution systems are already set up. However, the UN predicts that by the year 2050, there will be an additional 3 billion people on this planet, approximately 80% of whom will live in urban centres. This poses a problem, particularly in developed societies where farmers are a dying breed and food often has to be transported over vast distances before it ends up on peoples’ dinner tables.
Currently, some cities are greener than others; Singapore, Hanoi and Havana have all been cited as food producing cities. Whilst they are not yet self sufficient, other cities still have very far to go. New York, for example, has to import nearly every morsel of food which is consumed there, and trucking all that food into the city every day takes its toll on the environment and is an incredibly inefficient use of resources in a sophisticated society.
The answer, according to environmentalists, scientists and hydroponics enthusiasts is to stop all these wasteful practices by building hydroponic farms, vertically, in the heart of our cities. This would let the land around our cities return to an unspoilt ecosystem of forests or grasslands, aiding the fight against global warming and climate change. After all, we have developed into an urban species with all of the methods to produce reliable crops every year hydroponically at our fingertips. We do not need to rely on taking up large tracts of land with agriculture, polluting our atmosphere with delivery truck exhaust fumes, and leaving our crops to the mercy of the elements the way our ancestors did. Farming to excess is a contributing factor to desertification, reduced soil quality and it is unnecessarily damaging to indigenous flora and fauna.
There is already considerable popular support for town planners and city councils which take environmentally friendly decisions, dedicating themselves to keeping our countryside green and focusing on making our cities cleaner and more pleasant places to inhabit instead.
Dr. Dickson Despommier, a professor of microbiology at Columbia University, originally came up with the idea of the Vertical Farm Project, as a solution to the future pressure on land and resources and as a way of reducing the carbon footprint of our cities. Since the beginning of the project, a number of environmentally friendly ‘vertical farms’ have been designed for New York, Toronto and Paris.
Toronto scientist, Gordon Graff designed a concept building known as the SkyFarm which would sit in the centre of the city’s theatre district. His 58 floor tower design could provide enough food at the centre of the city for an estimated 35,000 people, every day. It would comprise of different crops, vegetables and fruits, all being grown hydroponically, using water in place of soil. During hydroponic growth, plants are fed nutrients dissolved in water in a strictly controlled environment.
The benefits to the environment of producing food in vertical greenhouse-like farms in the centre of town would be multiple. Not only are distribution vehicle emissions cut by growing food in the place where it will be eaten, but there is also no need for ploughing, no digging, and no seasonal droughts. Crops are protected from the elements and run off or ‘dirty water’ is eliminated as water can be recycled within the hydroponic system of the building.
Also, because plants grown hydroponically are in a controlled environment, with no soil, there are also no soil borne diseases or pests to worry about; the city’s food could be produced without the need for chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
Hydroponic growth requires only one twentieth of the water used to irrigate a farm growing the same number of plants, yet yields are higher. Because there is a continuous flow of nutrients to the plant, the plant can concentrate its energy on producing fruit rather than roots. Hydroponic lights and a CO2 rich atmosphere within the building could also increase food production by stimulating photosynthesis and lengthening the daylight hours available to the plants.
Gordon’s SkyFarm idea would be a totally self sustainable building, powered by solar panels. He also says that non edible parts of plants could be composted, producing methane; this biofuel is a source of renewable energy which could be contributed to the local power grid. The SkyFarm could even develop into a scientific research facility or an eco-tourism attraction, creating jobs and drawing attention to the city as a whole.
The spirit and aims of the Vertical Farm Project have been enthusiastically received all over the world. An environmentally friendly Science Barge is run by New York Sun Works to prove the point to city inhabitants that food can be successfully grown hydroponically within the city. School groups and apartment communities have been particularly taken with the project, which illustrates how using the citys’ 14,000 acres of sunny rooftop space to grow plants hydroponically, could feed 20 million people across the city of New York and the surrounding area.
The most exciting aspect of these concept buildings is that they are feasible with the technology already available to us. Not only that, but city inhabitants who are tired of paying a premium to buy food which has been brought into the city from afar need not even have a rooftop or garden. Great Stuff Hydroponics can supply beginners hydroponic kits along with all of the materials and equipment required by established growers, for use inside peoples’ homes. Given the correct lighting and nutrients, any variety of plant can be grown in water, hydroponically, absolutely anywhere, regardless of the season or climate.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agriculture, biology, chemical pesticide, chemical pesticides, compost, crops, farming, farms, fertilizer, fertilizers, garden, hydroponic, hydroponic kits, hydroponic light, hydroponic system, hydroponics, pesticide, pesticides, pests, plants, scientists, species, sustainable, sustainable building, the environment, vertical farm, vertical farm project, vertical farmsRelated posts
How a New Database for Women Scientists Can Promote Agricultural Biotechnology
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has come up with this online database of women scientists working in the field of agriculture.
The database’s objectives are:
- To promote activities such as diversity-positive recruitment.
- To promote international teamwork among women agriculturalists
- To promote cross-cultural communications among women scientists in the agricultural sector.
- Showcase women talent in the field of agriculture.
- Advance women’s interests by availing information on scholarships and agricultural-related training opportunities.
I am more interested in the last two objectives. CGIAR largely operates in developing countries that suffer chronic food shortages. Among its many programs, CGIAR uses modern agricultural biotechnology to solve poor countries’ food problems.
There is a whole gamut of women scientists working in the field of agricultural biotechnology. Many have, and continue to excel in their respective areas of specialization. Africa, for example, has Dr. Florence Wambugu who has distinguished herself as an ardent advocate of agricultural biotechnology as an affective tool to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.
There are more women scientists of Dr. Wambugu’s competence in the developing world, but they are hardly known beyond the borders of their countries. Existing societal biases makes it hard from them to explore opportunities for advancement. This makes it hard for them to grow both professionally and career wise. This database must elevate the profile of such women scientists. The agricultural world needs them.
The biotech industry is fast gaining prominence. Africa and other developing regions of the world would only benefit from the many potential applications of biotechnology not only by developing a mass of well trained biotechnologists, but also exposing them to the world. This database is an invaluable avenue for women scientists wishing to explore the world.
To ensure that this database better benefits women scientists, CGIAR should consider working closely with national and international scientific institutions because they well understand the needs of their women scientists.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural research, agriculture, biotech, biotech industry, biotechnology, countries, nutrition, promote, scientistsRelated posts
What is Biotechnology
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity states, “Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”. The OECD (the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development) defines biotechnology as “…the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents”. Thus, “Biotechnology” basically means using biology as the basis for a technology that is applied to research and product development in areas such as agriculture, food science, and medicine.
The Academic Standards for Science and Technology defines Biotechnology as the ways that humans apply biological concepts to produce products and provide services. This is very true if we consider a section of biotechnology in which the directed manipulation of organisms is used for the product of organic products such as beer, milk products, food etc.
Biotechnology had already been performed long before the term itself was coined, though on a very basic level. For example, man had already learnt the method of fermenting fruit juices to concoct alcoholic beverages during the period around 6000 BC. However, it was considered more of an art then. Biotechnology became a real science only about two decades ago when genes were found to contain information that would enable the synthesis of specific proteins. This was in the 1970s, when new advances in the field of molecular biology enabled scientists to easily transfer DNA – the chemical building blocks that specify the characteristics of living organisms – between more distantly related organisms.
Then in the mid-eighties and early-nineties, it was confirmed that the transformation or modification of the genetic structure of plants and animals was very possible. The introduction of “Transgenic” animals and plants also led to more resistance to disease and increased the rate of productivity etc. Modern biotechnology is also now more often than not associated with the use of genetically altered microorganisms such as E. coli or yeast for the production of substances like insulin or antibiotics. New innovative biotechnology application such as plant-made pharmaceuticals has also now been developed.
Sub-fields in Biotechnology:
Red Biotechnology is the use of genetically altered microorganisms for the production of substances like insulin, antibiotics, vitamins, vaccines and proteins for medical use, and is thus related to medical processes. Genomic manipulation is also an example of Red Biotechnology.
Biomanufacturing or White Biotechnology is emerging field within modern biotechnology which involves the designing of organisms such as moulds, yeasts or bacteria, and enzymes to produce certain useful chemicals, and is related to the industrial sector. It is also known as Grey Biotechnology.
Green Biotechnology or agricultural Biotechnology, like the name suggests, is the area of biotechnology involving applications to agriculture. This basically involves the genetic manipulation of plants and animals in order to create more productive, environmentally friendly, disease resistant species. An example of traditional agricultural biotechnology is the development of disease-resistant wheat varieties by cross-breeding different wheat types until the desired disease resistance variety is achieved.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural biotechnology, agriculture, biology, biotech, biotechnology, chemicals, green biotechnology, living organisms, manufacturing, organic, organic product, organic products, organisms, plants, red biotechnology, scientists, species, what is biotechnology, white biotechnologyRelated posts