Futurist Foresight

An interesting vision for vertical farming.

staceythinx:

Architect Vincent Callebaut’s take on vertical farming is as interesting to look at as it is beneficial.

About the project:

The cities are currently responsible for 75% of the worldwide consumption of energy and they reject 80% of worldwide emissions of CO2. The contemporary urban model is thus ultra-energy consuming and works on the importation of wealth and natural resources on the one hand, and on the exportation of the pollution and waste on the other hand. This loop of energetic flows can be avoided by repatriating the countryside and the farming production modes in the heart of the city by the creation of green lungs, farmscrapers in vertical storeys and by the implantation of wind and solar power stations. The production sites of food and energy resources will be thus reintegrated in the heart of the consumption sites ! The buildings with positive energies must become the norm and reduce the carbon print on the mid term.

Read more…

(via climate-changing)

An interesting green building.

climate-changing:

getinthehandbasket:

neuromanticism:

abluegirl:

Living Wall

These vegetated surfaces don’t just look pretty. They have other benefits as well, including cooling city blocks, reducing loud noises, and improving a building’s energy efficiency.What’s more, a recent modeling study shows that green walls can potentially reduce large amounts of air pollution in what’s called a “street canyon,” or the corridor between tall buildings.

For the study, Thomas Pugh, a biogeochemist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and his colleagues created a computer model of a green wall with generic vegetation in a Western European city. Then they recorded chemical reactions based on a variety of factors, such as wind speed and building placement.

The simulation revealed a clear pattern: A green wall in a street canyon trapped or absorbed large amounts of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter—both pollutants harmful to people, said Pugh. Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.

Full Gallery

This is what progress looks like.

OH GOD CAN THEY DO THIS IN SAN FRANCISCO PLEASE?

San Jose too, although we don’t have nearly as many street canyons…

Awesome…

Sustainability: A novel way of implementing carbon capture.

quantumaniac:

Capturing CO2 with Tomatoes

A California farmer is finding a unique way to capture emissions of carbon dioxide — piping the climate-altering gas from a power plant into his massive greenhouse, spurring more plant growth and tastier tomatoes.

This carbon capture and tomato storage project is the first of its kind in the United States although similar ones exist in Europe.

The new $13 million combined heat and power co-generation plant opens Aug. 22 at Houweling’s Tomatoes in Camarillo, Calif. The two GE-built engines will burn natural gas to keep the greenhouse warm, while generating some extra electricity that is sold back into the local grid. At the same time, the 8.8-megawatt plant feeds its waste carbon dioxide directly into Houweling’s giant 150-acre greenhouse.

“All the electricity (power) plants out there are putting CO2 into the atmosphere and heat which are two big consumptions,” said owner Casey Houweling. “If we use our energy wiser we would have impacts from two sides, reducing cost and becoming more efficient.”

Houweling says the co-generation plant is a big investment but he expects it will pay off in the long run. ”There will be a big benefit because we won’t be exposed to energy prices because we are selling the electricity,” Houweling said. “Long-term we believe this will stabilize our production costs.”

The power industry has looked at many types of carbon storage projects over the years as a way to reducing atmospheric emissions of the heat-trapping gas. Some firms have tried injecting it underground to abandoned mines or salt deposits, others have tried bubbling CO2 through ponds of microscopic algae. But Houweling says that the extra CO2 is a perfect fit for his greenhouse. He already has to purchase the gas anyway from an industrial supplier to makes his plants grow.

“In a greenhouse, if we don’t add C02,” Houweling said, “the plants will pull down the level so much they will stop growing.”

Houweling says the addition of the co-generation plant makes his greenhouse facility almost 100 percent energy-efficient. He recycles 90 percent of his waste, captures rainwater for irrigation, and has deployed five acres of solar panels. The greenhouse-grown tomatoes also use less land than traditional row farming. That is a further energy savings, according to Scott Nolen, product line leader for General Electric.

“He can grow as much food on 150 acres as his neighbor in 5,500 acres,” Nolen said. Nolen said that until renewable sources of energy pick up the slack, there are still ways of making fossil fuel plants have less of an environmental impact. ”We’d all like to be in world where we don’t burn hydrocarbons,” Nolen said. “That’s not possible yet but in the meantime, we want to make sure every molecule of hydrocarbon we burn for fuel is as efficient as possible.”

(via climate-changing)

Wind energy: The increase in wind power.

jtotheizzoe:

Winds of Change for U.S. Electricity

This is what an innovative energy policy looks like. Wind energy was second only to natural gas in new energy projects in 2011. This is just fantastic news for green energy and shows real progress in moving toward clean electricity and trying to reduce our impact on the climate.

Be sure to check out the full report from the Department of Energy, with lots more infographic goodness.

Wind Turbine: Wind turbines are often so much bigger than we think.

8bitfuture:

World’s biggest wind turbine constructed.

Most wind turbines produce around two or three megawatts of power, but this huge turbine will provide up to six megawatts thanks to its 75 meter (246 foot) long blades.

The turbine is being installed in Østerild, Denmark.

(via scinerds)