Dive into the archives.
- Farming the Desert
[In Toshka farm,near Egypts border with Sudan, the Egyptian goverment hopes to grow 2 million acres of wheat, alongside fruits such as the grape fields as above.]
As recently chronicled in the NY Times, Global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a dilemma: grow more crops to feed expanding population or [...]
- Vortices, Heaps, and Enzymes
[The streets of Naples have been inundated with garbage since last summer.]
Or, Three States of Waste…
We have been following the Naples "trash crisis" for almost a year now. Unbeknownst to us, as of a few days ago, the problem has apparently been declared “resolved” by Berlusconi.
It began more than 14 years ago, but flared up [...]
- Breaking Waves
[Boscombe Surf Reef in Bournemouth, UK]
A new project in Boscombe (near Bournemouth, UK) proposes an artificial wave-breaking ridge located about 210 meters from shore. Not exactly a surfer's paradise yet, Boscombe hopes to raise its profile with the new £2.7million surf reef. Sculpting the seabed, the ridge will be made of two layers of geotextile [...]
- The Advantages of Being Salty
[Interior of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, NM]
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) first opened in 1999 with the ambitions to permanently bury transuranic waste in our post-nuclear production age. Located 26 miles from Carlsbad, New Mexico, WIPP houses barrels of waste 2,150 feet below the surface. This site was chosen not only [...]
- The End of Air Travel
[Ho-Yeol Ryu, Airport, 2005.]
As the issue of global warming takes on increasing urgency, and as fuel costs continue to sky-rocket, the universality / ubiquity of inexpensive air travel is increasingly being called into question.
George Monbiot, Guardian columnist and author of “Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning” wants to ground plane travel immediately, [...]
- Tidal Turbines
[Severn Tidal Fence]
The idea of a tidal fence / barrage has been kicking around for almost 100 years as a means for flood control, transport, and potentially tidal power. The last 20 years years has seen an increase interest in tidal energy harvesting, though many countries, such as Canada, have completely sworn it off. One [...]
- Fertilizer Factor
[Potash mine for Mosaic in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan.]
It seems only logical, with the increased frenzy of food shortage, biofuels, and other increased agriculture interests, that there would be a significant increased interest in fertilizer. Saskatchewan's potash production has emerged as the global leader of potash exports. PotashCorp is the leading producer in the region, which has [...]
- Catfish, Waffles, Cods, and Kiwis
[a drained pond in catfish country Mississippi]
Cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, then shipped back to Norway for sale. Last year, Britain both imported 14,000 tonnes of waffles, and exported 15,000 tonnes. In the United States, FreshDirect proclaims kiwi season has expanded to “All year!” now that Italy [...]
- Burying CO2
[Ideal spots for sequestering CO2 off the coast of Oregon.]
Many have viewed "carbon sequestration" — taking the CO2 produced by burning coal and burying it underground — as a major component of combating climate change. However, there are many questions about the plan — most notably, just where a major emitter like the US could [...]
- Vert.Farms
08_07_15_vert_farms
Vertical Farms get coverage in the New York Times science section, curiously enough. Not in the Architecture section, nor in the Food section. Apparently when architecture meets food (agriculture) it becomes science. Dickson Despommier, a professor of public health at Columbia University arguably claims authorship of farms in the sky, though that could be attributed [...]
