Growing in the City Without Water or Sunlight, Say What?

Since Ed Harwood first began thinking about how to feed the population of New York City in the year 2050, vertical farming has become the most recent buzz in food and farming (along with hydroponics and aquaponics). The problems of climate change and an ever-increasing industrialization of our food system has prompted innovators like Harwood and his team to start working commercially yet altruistically.

There are certainly many opinions when it comes to vertical growing and hydroponics, vs growing vegetables organically in the soil, but I do think we can all agree that it is better then the chemically driven, commercial agricultural system we have now. I also think we can agree on the below statement;

“What I think we should do is find as much common ground as possible to: i) fight chemical ‘poisons’ in the farm and food system globally, ii) support family farms and farm workers globally that practice true sustainability, environmental stewardship and social justice, iii) work toward eliminating food deserts in our poorest communities both urban and rural.” – Concerned Advocate from Soil4Climate

Trump and White House Appointees May Have Backed Fossil Fuels But Renewable Energy Investments Will Continue to Rise Rapidly Says Science and Business Experts

“As the new year begins, the global clean energy transition is progressing much faster than most people realize, and is probably irreversible, writes Jeremy Leggett. President-elect Trump’s prospects of revitalizing the US coal industry, and giving the oil and gas industry the expansionist dream ticket it wants, are very low.” – The Ecologist 

“Solar power, for the first time, is becoming the cheapest form of new electricity” – Bloomberg

Northeast Leading Distributor of Fresh Produce Eliminates Food Waste

“Baldor Specialty Foods, the Northeast’s leading distributor of fresh produce and specialty foods, announced that it has successfully diverted 100 percent of its organic food waste—achieving the company’s goal set in December 2015 to eliminate food waste by 2017. ” – Food Tank

Indian Point Nuclear Site to Shutdown by 2012

New York State and Entergy have reached an agreement for the shutdown of the two aging nuclear reactors north of New York City at the Indian Point Energy Center by April 2021. Cuomo confirmed this earlier in the week, recalling publicly that he’s been trying to shut the “ticking time bomb” down for nearly 15 years.

Additionally, to compensate for impacts on the Hudson River during the closure period, Entergy will establish a $15 million fund for river restoration and remediation as well as projects providing public benefits to the community. Yay!  Environmental funding will prioritize dam removal, wetlands protection, control of invasive species and habitat surveys. Find more out on Riverkeeper.org.

Dan Barber’s Book Review of ‘The Case Against Sugar’

Feeding Your Children Peanuts Early and Allergies May Decline