The green movement is coming at us from all directions and from some unexpected sources. Googles’ investment in wind power is a sign; as is the US Department of the Interior’s plan to build a major solar power plant on public lands. Not long ago I reported a story about a 14 year old Ontario student who converted is grandfathers old Volkswagen into an electric vehicle. Even more recently there was the story of a college student from Purdue who has designed a functioningsolar motorcycle…You know he’s probably getting more dates now that he’s getting all this attention. So now from North Carolina here’s 11 year oldBirke Baehr who recently spoke a TED X conference.TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Seems Birke has been studying how Americas’ food structure is working and has some very clear ideas on how it can be transformed into a more effective and healthy system.
At 11 years old Birke has changed his goal of being a football player and has decided he wants to be a an organic farmer instead, because as he said, “I can make a greater impact on the world.” The problem as he sees it is that 70 percent of processed foods on the market today are genetically modified. The other part of that is that genetically modified foods have been proven to cause cancer in lab animals.
TEDXCHANGE – BIRKE BAEHR
Now that our agribusiness systems are being looked at differently; organic, urban and vertical farmers are providing new solutions to address healthy eating and reduction in C02 emissions. And a child shall lead them.
IBM’s recent rollout of CItyOneshould be a wake up call that business as usual just isn’t going to cut it. CiyOne is IBM’s new interactive ecosystems game. CityOne is an innovative way to create collaboration among all the participants of our cities. Maybe it’s wishful thinking to hope our political representatives will figure that out and start working on a national renewable energy plan that includes solar and wind power that can transform the nation to new prosperity. But than again it’s our job to tell them that green jobs is what we want and need.
When you think green though it’s important to recognize its impact effects every aspect of daily life. That includes the idea of vertical farming as a method to meet increased food demand and reduce co2 emissions. We as a nation have a tremendous about of knowledge that has to be shared in order for us to move ahead.
No where is this more apparent than in agribussiness. Recently Richard Keller, AgProfessional editor writing about two agribusiness conference the Farm Progress Show and Agriculture 2.0 Global Investments Conference wrote” Both glass building farming systems were outlined at the New York City Agriculture 2.0 Global Investments Conference for agricultural innovators and investors. The attendees of the conference in September were quite different than those attending the Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa, at the end of August.
ITALIAN DESIGNED VERTICAL FARM
At one conference, most attendees thought global warning is a make believe concept, and at the other conference, attendees were positive that changes in global weather are obvious and not a theory. At the farm show, tripling the yield per acre by 2050 was a typical discussion goal, and at the conference, two speakers outlined the goal to find financing for multiple-story greenhouse-type building for growing food crops by 2050 in the middle of cities.” In Vancouver,BC Terrashere Systems is already operating a small scale vertical facility. Vertical farming and TerraSphere Systems
Talk about keeping your head to the sky. Vertical farm visionary Columbia University professor Dickson Despommiersees a future where skyscrapers in urban cities like New York, Hong Kong or London will serve as skyfarms. Those urban farmscould use renewable energy such as solar and wind and will use less space and waste fewer resources. In his upcoming book “The Vertical Farm“Despommier says that fifteen thousand years ago, there was probably not a single farm on the planet.
Today, farms occupy a landmass the size of South America. Dickson Despommier’s work on vertical farms has been featured on such top national media as CNN, “The Colbert Report,” and “The Tonight Show,” as well as in full-length articles in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Scientific American, and The Washington Post. At Columbia, he has won the Teacher of the Year Award eight times for his work in public health and environmental health sciences.
VERTICAL VISIONARY – DICKSON DESPOMMIER
Urban planners are paying attention to Despommier and others as they recognize population projections will squeeze already dwindling natural resources. According to the United States Census Bureau the world’s current population is estimated to be close to 6.8 billion. The world’s population is expected to reach between 8 and 10.5 billion between the year 2040 and 2050. That’s alot of hungry mouths to feed.
This amazing vertical farm recently took first place in the recent HP Skyline 2020 Competition to reinvent India’s skyline. Dubbed “The City and the Skyline”, the project responds to the growing crises of water, housing, food and energy. The multi-tiered self-sufficient vertical farm is composed of modular housing units that can be added as needed. The competition yielded some truly noteworthy designs that challenge our traditional notions of what a skyline is supposed to look like. The objective was
not just a meandering line etched in the sky. Not just a cutout or silhouette. Beyond restricting definitions, skylines can be seen as infusions of perception, imagination and desire. Every time a building mushrooms in a city, the skyline is altered. But transformation, not change, is the goal of invention. We invite designs concepts for an iconic structure — building, tower and institution — that can change the perception of the urban skyline.
Sen Kapadia : New image of future cities with high density but loose clustering. Very sociable and humane living. Circulation needs clarification. This seems the ideal direction for changing the skyline, not visual but really culturally and ecologically sustainable. Variable elevations of different clusters promise also a future visual delight. Vary attainable proposal without demand on high technology.
John Hantz
Hey Detroit, the world is watching. The city has been the poster child for a lot of things, and now it is in the spotlight for urban agriculture. It’s like a fascinating science experiment: take vast swaths of vacant land, add an under-employed populace and a dash of food desert, and who knows what you might end up with. Growing food in the city is not new. Many African Americans who migrated here from the South for factory jobs in the ’20s had green thumbs, as did immigrants from European countries like Poland and Malta. Read on
On Labor Day, How We Can Give Both Workers and Our Environment a Chance
Kimberly Freeman Brown and David Foster
This Labor Day, America is facing a dizzying array of problems, none more acute than the twin crises of how poorly we treat our workers and how appallingly we treat our planet. In case anyone believes these issues are distinct and need to be addressed separately, let’s remember some of this year’s grisly headlines: Read on
New York is one of the great cities of the world. Its reputation in finance, fashion and media is well known. It is also a city that is greening up. Other cities such as San Francisco, Portland,Oregon and Vancouver, BC have been implementing sustainability programs for some now, but recently the Empire State Building announced a new multi media exhibit that showcases a $20 million energy retrofit project. Meanwhile over in Brooklyn urban farming is taking root on the tops of roofs. The urban farming movement is spreading as enterprising individuals and businesses recognize the potential of transforming empty commercial rooftops into local farms. Brooklyn Grange is a 40,000 square foot organic farm on top of a warehouse the grows vegetables without chemicals. Throughout NY and other cities there are large amounts of empty rooftop space. I think you’re seeing where this is going. Urban cities have the potential to be transformed into a mecca of agriculture. There has also been lots of interests in vertical farming where skycrapers depending on their design could be used to seed the growing urban farming movement. And you thought New York was just about fashion.
BROOKLYN GRANGE
The Homemade Electric Porsche
Jeff McCabe didn’t have $125,000 for the Tesla Roadster, so he decided to make an electric car on his own, for a quarter of the price. McCabe recently met with Katie Fehrenbacher at GigaOm for the network’s weekly Green Overdrive Series to explain how he gutted his old-school Porsche by removing 1,700 pounds of unnecessary gear that stood between him and his dream of lightweight electric freewheeling.
In its place, he installed a lithium ion phosphate battery capable of taking McCabe 120 miles without a charge and to a top speed of 85 mph. McCabe claims he could have left in gears that would have allowed the car to reach higher speeds. But this isn’t about speed, he says. It’s about performance. (And a little bit of aesthetics, as you can see from McCabe’s hair-raising paint job.) Watch the videoto see how McCabe converted his Porsche into an electric car.
SKIN
Suffering for fashion is one thing (think sky-high stilettos, rib-cracking corsets, and sprayed-on jeans), but getting some hapless animal to do it for you is quite another. Skin Trade is a new indie documentary that cuts to the bone of the issue, so to speak, by splicing interviews of prominent animal advocates with graphic—and we do mean graphic—footage of what goes into making a fur coat. Available next month on DVD, Skin Trade takes a no-holds-barred look at the business of killing animals for fashion, from the earliest days of fur trading to current-day claims about fur’s inherent sustainability.
Not too long along I attended one of the brown bag lunches at the Green Zebra’s Environmental Action Center in San Francisco. The speaker, Suzi Palladino of San Francisco’s Victory Garden highlighted the fact that during World War Two 40% of San Franciscans were growing their own vegetables and fruit – through a national incentive program called Victory Farms. By the way attending some of Green Zebra events is like getting an MBA in sustainability. You can learn about solar power, take a twitter class and maybe even get invited to a wine tasting. Plus there are lots of really cool people who come seeking and knowing all kinds of things green and ungreen.
Anyway stay tuned for more information about Urban Farming and Skyfarming. While it’s too late attend the upcoming debate: Agriculture: Does it Belong in urban areas? at the Hub SoMa. The first debate focuses on urban agriculture and whether growing volumes of food in urban areas makes sense, and if so, how. Practitioners and advocates will provide participants with an expansive view of urban agriculture by exploring different angles of the various issues associated with the topic. The are some forward thinking who are exploring the area of sustainable development which can incorporate the use solar power, wind power and forward innovative rain collection systems.
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James Cameron – Avatar, Titanic Movie Producer discusses BP
disaster.
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Energy Deputy T.J. Glauthier Joins San Francisco SunRun
SunRun, the nation’s leading home solar financing company, today announced that T.J. Glauthier has joined SunRun as an Advisor to Management and the Board of Directors. Previously, Glauthier served at the Department of Energy as Deputy Secretary and COO, and Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science for the White House Office of Management and Budget. From 2008 to 2009, he served as a member of the Obama economic transition team.
In addition to his advisory role at SunRun, Glauthier is President of TJG Energy Associates LLC, which advises venture capital and private equity firms, alternative energy companies, electric utilities, global energy and transportation companies within the energy and cleantech sectors. He serves on three boards of directors in this field and is also an advisor to Booz Allen Hamilton’s energy sector practice.
“SunRun is democratizing the residential solar industry with its PPA and Lease,” said Mr. Glauthier. “SunRun’s offering is a game changer for homeowners, local solar installers, job creation and America’s energy future. I look forward to helping SunRun expand across the country.”
“We are excited to bring T.J.’s wealth of experience in energy policy and business to SunRun,” said Ed Fenster, SunRun’s CEO and cofounder. “As we expand to new markets and new opportunities, it is important to have the perspective of industry thought leaders like T.J.”
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SolFocus and Victor Valley College Complete the Largest Solar Power Plant of its Kind in North America
Victorville, Calif.– Victor Valley College and SolFocus held a grand opening ceremony today for the largest solar power plant in North America using concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems. After two months of construction, the one megawatt solar power plant is now providing clean power to Victor Valley College in Victorville, California.
About the Solar Power Plant:
• The Victor Valley College solar micro-generating facility is now connected to the regional electrical grid operated by Southern California Edison and will produce approximately 2.6 million kilowatt-hours annually, which is roughly 30 percent of the College’s electricity demand.
• Construction of the six acre plant was completed in two months.
• The plant is located on the college’s main campus and consists of 122 SolFocus SF-1100S CPV arrays.
Green Jobs Training:
• The college will be developing curriculum within its existing academic and technical programs around this innovative solar technology, including installation, operations, and maintenance.
• SolFocus will be supporting the college in its curriculum development around advanced solar energy technology including materials, training, and instruction.
Quotes from Grand Opening Participants:
• “As we open this facility today, Victor Valley College boasts one of the largest and most innovative on-campus solar plants in North America. In addition to providing energy cost savings and a new revenue stream, these 122 arrays will provide the ideal testing ground for our students to build green careers that support the nation’s new energy economy.” – Dr. Christopher O’Hearn, Superintendant and President, Victor Valley College
• “The beauty of this project is that we can provide one megawatt of clean power in the desert with minimal land and water impact. At the same time, we can train the next generation of solar professionals with innovative technology. SolFocus believes such distributed generation projects will mobilize other colleges, communities, and organizations across the U.S. to incorporate renewable energy into their power supply on the path toward even larger utility-scale projects. When you add it all up, you have a clear vision for the new energy economy.” – Mark Crowley, President and CEO, SolFocus (technology provider)
The green movement is coming at us from all directions and from some unexpected sources. Googles’ investment in wind power is a sign; as is the US Department of the Interior’s plan to build a major solar power plant on public lands. Not long ago I reported a story about a 14 year old Ontario student who converted is grandfathers old Volkswagen into an electric vehicle. Even more recently there was the story of a college student from Purdue who has designed a functioning solar motorcycle…You know he’s probably getting more dates now that he’s getting all this attention. So now from North Carolina here’s 11 year old Birke Baehr who recently spoke a TED X conference.TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Seems Birke has been studying how Americas’ food structure is working and has some very clear ideas on how it can be transformed into a more effective and healthy system.
Despommier 
