Precision Irrigation

Food Security and Drought

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What are the food security implications of the ever worsening drought?   “Increasingly intense droughts in California, all of the Southwest, and even into the Midwest have everything to do with human-made climate change.” So says climatologist James Hansen, who co-authored one of the earliest studies on this subject back in 1990. The food security … Read more

A Place of Warmth for a Continuously Productive Garden

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An affordable and effective alternative to glass greenhouses is the walipini (an Aymara Indian word for a “place of warmth”). Also known as an underground or pit greenhouse, it was first developed over 20 years ago for the cold mountainous regions of South America, this method allows growers to maintain a productive garden year-round, even in … Read more

Collapsable Photobioreactor

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“We scaled up our novel photobioreactor design and conducted independent functionality tests that confirmed the unit’s robustness,” said Proterro CEO Kef Kasdin. “The modular photobioreactors, which are made from off-the-shelf materials, including polyethylene, can withstand category 1 hurricane winds,” she explained, adding, “Because of the materials used and the innovative design, we also have been … Read more

Gardens in Space

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Sustaining Life with micro-algae and flat panel reactors. This is where so-called life-sustaining circulatory systems come into play. Already, on the International Space Station (ISS), researchers have started reconstituting all kinds of things. But the ISS has it easy: it’s relatively close to Earth. Several times a year it receives fresh provisions of food and … Read more

Does Anyone Wanna’ Go Dance Upon the Roof?

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Humans have grown plants atop structures since antiquity. The ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia (4th millennium BC–600 BC) had plantings of trees and shrubs on aboveground terraces. An example in Roman times was the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, which had an elevated terrace where plants were grown. A roof garden has also been discovered … Read more

Precision Irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa

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Large, centralized irrigation schemes, often built around big water storage dams, were a major component of the Green Revolution that helped boost food production and reduce famine risks for millions of people, especially in Asia. But they have often proven environmentally destructive and, especially in Africa, expensive. By contrast, decentralized irrigation – small individual systems … Read more

East Africa’s Pending Famine

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An unfortunate mix of drought, failed harvests and rising food prices have brought severe food shortages to the east and the Horn of Africa. The severe food crisis is already affecting around 10 million people in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Rains have failed over two seasons, with a strong La Niña event … Read more

Case Study — New Home for Apple

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Does the growing family have anything to learn from a growing business seeking new accommodations? We think so. This post kicks off the new home case study for Apple Computer. The company wants to build one building that will hold 12,000 Apple employees. “There’s not a single straight piece of glass in this building,” according … Read more