20150804 Global Warming Food Production Decline
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:48 pm
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/unstoppab ... 37890.html
The article above is well matched to Dr. Dartnell's question for this forum category.
To try to counter the gloom and doom with an alternative suggestion, I'd like to call attention (once again) to a segment in the PBS special "humanity from space". A "vertical" farm was shown, and what I found most interesting was the use of ? pink ? LED lighting to eliminate the need for natural lighting. Thus, the challenges of trying to grow food in the "wild" can be alleviated by growing them indoors, just as would be necessary on Mars or the Moon.
A local hydroponics operation was featured in a recent issue of the local newspaper. The operator of the facility is apparently unaware of the option of using artificial lighting, and indeed, that makes sense from a purely economic point of view. Moreover, in our area, power is generated predominantly by burning coal, which is helping to cause global warming in the first place.
A better solution is to use renewable energy to power the indoor growing facilities, and (once again) that is a model for the Moon and Mars.
The investment in physical plant to move agriculture indoors, and to power it with renewable energy is significant, so it is unlikely to occur quickly or broadly.
(th)
The article above is well matched to Dr. Dartnell's question for this forum category.
To try to counter the gloom and doom with an alternative suggestion, I'd like to call attention (once again) to a segment in the PBS special "humanity from space". A "vertical" farm was shown, and what I found most interesting was the use of ? pink ? LED lighting to eliminate the need for natural lighting. Thus, the challenges of trying to grow food in the "wild" can be alleviated by growing them indoors, just as would be necessary on Mars or the Moon.
A local hydroponics operation was featured in a recent issue of the local newspaper. The operator of the facility is apparently unaware of the option of using artificial lighting, and indeed, that makes sense from a purely economic point of view. Moreover, in our area, power is generated predominantly by burning coal, which is helping to cause global warming in the first place.
A better solution is to use renewable energy to power the indoor growing facilities, and (once again) that is a model for the Moon and Mars.
The investment in physical plant to move agriculture indoors, and to power it with renewable energy is significant, so it is unlikely to occur quickly or broadly.
(th)