Touch the Soil News #1421 (Feature photo – The Bedford House – courtesy of Project Renewal) Through a collaboration of public agencies and private donors, a homeless housing building is being constructed in the Bronx. The 118 unit building will include a rooftop aquaponics greenhouse and construction will exceed LEED Gold standards. The goal is…
The Connection Between Food and Deforestation
Touch the Soil News #1420 (Feature photo – Deforestation in Bolivia – NASA) Some estimates are that 80 percent of deforested land ends up being used for food production. Phil Lempert (https://www.supermarketguru.com/) explores new tools which can measure areas of deforestation around the world. Food companies can then locate where the farms they buy food…
Is Rotofarm for You?
Touch the Soil News #1419 (Feature photo – micro greens – USDA ) De Zeen journalist Rima Aouf brings us the story of Rotofarm. Built in Australia, the circular and rotating indoor farm appliance is the latest in counter-top food. You can read the full story here: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/08/15/rotofarm-bace-rotary-hydroponics-garden-sustainable-source-vegetables/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Fh5zN6MdU
The Micro EVs
Positive Future #554 (Feature photo – The Microlino – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license – Alexander Migl) CleanTechnica journalist Jennifer Sensiba brings us the story of micro-EVs. The takeaway is that they could sell more if they didn’t look so funny. While this makes sense, is there more to the story. Interestingly they…
Wildlife Bridge – An Environmental Sensitivity Breakthrough
Positive Future #553 (Feature photo – Mountain Lion – courtesy of the National Park Service) We’ve all seen countless animals that have died along highways trying to cross. It is hard to imagine that highways have so materially dissected the national landscape that it creates a threat to national wildlife population. Inhabitat journalist Debbie Sklar…
Nature’s Strange Healing
Positive Future #552 (Feature photo – Pumice Rock – By Benjamint444 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5712319) New Atlas journalist Michael Irving brings us the story of a large pumice raft – a large flotilla of light pumice rock from and underwater volcano. Covering an area of 58 square miles, the pumice flotilla is…
Paris, France – Planned Site of World’s Largest Rooftop Farm
Positive Future #551 (Feature photo – Agripolis Rooftop Farm – courtesy of Agripolis) BrightVibes journalist Fino Menezes brings us the story of a planned rooftop urban farm in Paris that will be the world’s largest. At peak production season, the rooftop farm will not only produce 1 ton of fruits and vegetables each day, but…
Getting the Checkbook Out
Positive Future #550 (Feature photo – Green New Deal Supporters – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license – IntoTheWoods7) CleanTechnica journalist Steve Hanley brings details about Bernie Sanders’ costs to implement the Green New Deal. The cost is put at $16 trillion over 15 years – slightly over $1 trillion a year or a…
Is This the Dumbest Thing You Ever Heard?
Touch the Soil News #1417 (Feature photo – President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license – Isac Nobrega) Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, has publicly stated that to save the environment, the people of Brazil should eat less so they poop only every other day. Inhabitat Journalist Teresa Bergen…
88% of Children’s Foods Don’t Meet World Health Standards
Touch the Soil News #1416 (Feature photo – Children Eating – courtesy of USDA) Food Dive journalist Cathy Siegner brings us news about the nutritional value of food targeted to children. The news is not good. In addition to lacking nutrition, many of the foods contained too much sugar. You can read the full story…
