Columbia University professor of environmental health and microbiology, Dickson Despommier, coined the term “vertical farming.” He says that a 30-story building built on one city block and engineered to maximize year-round agricultural yield could feed tens of thousands of people.
Are wind turbines ugly? Some say yes while others argue they enhance the view by reminding us we are doing the right thing by the planet.
SPIN (Small Plot Intensive relay farming) downsizes traditional organic farming methods and combines them with a franchise-like business formula.
As agri-tourism and “locavore” movements boom, Eastern Maui in the Hawaiian islands offers multiple temptations for tourists and locals alike.
Woodbury County, Iowa became the first government in the U.S. to financially support organics when the board of supervisors voted last year to give a property tax rebate to farmers transitioning to organic. Since then, Woodbury officials have also passed a law that requires the county’s food service contractor to purchase organic food grown and processed within 100 miles of the county courthouse whenever available.
Cape Wind Associates’ plans to build a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts have been met with heavy opposition (see “Catching the Wind,” cover story, January/February 2005). Offshore wind projects received a boost from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which gave the Department of the Interior the authority to grant leases […]
A growing number of smart, ambitious people are rejecting the lure of lucrative careers for the promise of a simpler agrarian lifestyle. Many of those in the new crop of young farmers boast the kinds of diplomas typically found in Silicon Valley cubicles, Wall Street suites or Hollywood editing rooms. But instead of pursuing fast-paced careers, these members of the so-called "best and the brightest" class are choosing to spend their days weeding carrots and building compost.
Are hydrogen, ethanol or electricity on track to replace fossil fuels? Major challenges remain.
cut flowers are one of the world’s most pesticide-intensive crops. Flower workers, of which there are roughly 200,000 worldwide, pay the heaviest price.
While the organic food sector is soaring in the U.S.—it ‘s the fastest-growing segment of the food industry—the government has done little to encourage it.
