Over the last week there has been a mysterious dearth of interesting living architecture articles and stories. Perhaps people are holding back for April, international gardening month?
So in the meantime, we'll feature and revisit a Popular Science's feature from last August, 8 solutions for feeding over 9 billion people by 2050.. One suggestion that was unfortunately not on the list is using food more wisely. Estimates vary that more than 30% of food is actually wasted.
Speaking of waste, I'm sure many have heard about the strawberries being trashed in Florida. Hundreds of thousands of pounds uprooted and disposed of because they wouldn't fetch a fair market price. However at least one farmer is letting people pick for free and shipping to food banks.
-Permaculture websites in Spanish are gaining in popularity, but this may be the first in Porteguese that I'm aware of.
-Oh and I can't forget the City of Chicago's main portal for the green roofs open to the public.
-Okay, well, maybe one last thing.Five easy steps on how to start an eco-village.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The latest on legislation+ more
-Pittsburgh is looking to adpot legislation that would define a green roof and establish zoning height, meanwhile Detroit which is in every third urban agriculture article you read these days because of the "right sizing" looks to create a zoning code for urban farming. Hmm..after hearing Richard Heinberg talk on Monday, I think Detroit's fate, which was a source of embarrassment to many, I think, may be a true blessing in disguise.
Speaking of which, if you're in Philadelphia and you want to start farming there, an RFP just hit the interwebs.
Meanwhile San Francisco is full-steam ahead with their urban food gardens on and around public facilities. Even more inspiring is San Fran's highway turned garden.
-In honor of World Water Week, here's a great new invention
that offers a basic sanitation service, thereby protecting drinking water and providing fertilizer in nutrient-poor soil. It's called the Peepoo. Better than the name is the cost, 2-3 cents per bag! More info about composting toilets can be found further down the page.
-A roundup of the latest New York City rooftop farms, present and future. I'd like to know more about the large commercial farm that successfully raised and sold vegetables on a Bronx rooftop in the 1980s referenced in the article.
Speaking of which, if you're in Philadelphia and you want to start farming there, an RFP just hit the interwebs.
Meanwhile San Francisco is full-steam ahead with their urban food gardens on and around public facilities. Even more inspiring is San Fran's highway turned garden.
-In honor of World Water Week, here's a great new invention
that offers a basic sanitation service, thereby protecting drinking water and providing fertilizer in nutrient-poor soil. It's called the Peepoo. Better than the name is the cost, 2-3 cents per bag! More info about composting toilets can be found further down the page.
-A roundup of the latest New York City rooftop farms, present and future. I'd like to know more about the large commercial farm that successfully raised and sold vegetables on a Bronx rooftop in the 1980s referenced in the article.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Vandana Shiva hits Hogtown - April 6
On Tuesday, April 6 at 7 p.m. the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) presents a free public talk by environmental activist and sustainable agriculture and biodiversity advocate Dr. Vandana Shiva as part of its President’s Speaker Series.
From the OCAD press release:
"A renowned environmental activist, philosopher, eco-feminist and interdisciplinary researcher, Dr. Shiva is celebrated for her work supporting people-centred, participatory processes towards sustainable agriculture and genetic resources. Trained as a physicist at the University of Western Ontario, Shiva is now based in Delhi, India. After leaving Canada, she became a researcher working in the fields of science, technology and environmental policy at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India. In 1982, she formed the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy, an informal network of researchers working to articulate the knowledge and environmental struggles of Indian farmers. Through this foundation, Shiva established Navdanya, India’s largest network of seed keepers and organic producers aiming to conserve indigenous seeds, biodiversity and food sovereignty.
For more than 15 years, Shiva has campaigned on the ethical and ecological impacts of genetic engineering. She has also organized campaigns on bio-safety and helped to formulate a citizens’ response to the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture. Shiva, who started her work on biodiversity with the Chipko Movement in the 1970s, sees biodiversity as intimately linked to cultural diversity and knowledge diversity. To that end, she has campaigned nationally and internationally against “biopiracy” — the patenting of indigenous knowledge. Her book on the subject, Biopiracy, deals with the emerging corporate monopolies on the living resources of the poor.
Shiva’s book Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival (Zed, 1989) has had an international impact. She was a co-chair of the 1991 World Congress on Women and Environment, and she edited “Women, Ecology and Health: Rebuilding Connections,” in Development Dialogue (1993), the publication of the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation. Shiva has also launched a global movement called Diverse Women for Diversity, for the defence of biological and cultural diversity.
Shiva has written extensively, both to form and address the agenda of development debate and action. Her most recent publications include Earth Democracy; Justice, Sustainability, and Peace (South End Press, 2005); Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed (Ed., South End Press, 2007) and Soil Not Oil (South End Press, 2008).
In 2003, Time magazine called Shiva an environmental hero, and Asia Week described her as one of the five most powerful communicators of Asia. Among her many awards are the Right Livelihood Award, the Order of the Golden Ark, the United Nations Global 500 Award and Earth Day International Award (1993), the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace (2008), and the Save The World Award (2009). She serves on the boards of many organizations, including the World Future Council, the International Forum on Globalization and Slow Food International."
Dr. Vandana Shiva: "Soil not Oil: Earth's design in times of climate change"
Tuesday, April 6, 7 p.m.
Ontario College of Art & Design
Auditorium (Rm 190), 100 McCaul Street, Toronto
416-977-6000 | www.ocad.ca
From the OCAD press release:
"A renowned environmental activist, philosopher, eco-feminist and interdisciplinary researcher, Dr. Shiva is celebrated for her work supporting people-centred, participatory processes towards sustainable agriculture and genetic resources. Trained as a physicist at the University of Western Ontario, Shiva is now based in Delhi, India. After leaving Canada, she became a researcher working in the fields of science, technology and environmental policy at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India. In 1982, she formed the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy, an informal network of researchers working to articulate the knowledge and environmental struggles of Indian farmers. Through this foundation, Shiva established Navdanya, India’s largest network of seed keepers and organic producers aiming to conserve indigenous seeds, biodiversity and food sovereignty.
For more than 15 years, Shiva has campaigned on the ethical and ecological impacts of genetic engineering. She has also organized campaigns on bio-safety and helped to formulate a citizens’ response to the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture. Shiva, who started her work on biodiversity with the Chipko Movement in the 1970s, sees biodiversity as intimately linked to cultural diversity and knowledge diversity. To that end, she has campaigned nationally and internationally against “biopiracy” — the patenting of indigenous knowledge. Her book on the subject, Biopiracy, deals with the emerging corporate monopolies on the living resources of the poor.
Shiva’s book Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival (Zed, 1989) has had an international impact. She was a co-chair of the 1991 World Congress on Women and Environment, and she edited “Women, Ecology and Health: Rebuilding Connections,” in Development Dialogue (1993), the publication of the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation. Shiva has also launched a global movement called Diverse Women for Diversity, for the defence of biological and cultural diversity.
Shiva has written extensively, both to form and address the agenda of development debate and action. Her most recent publications include Earth Democracy; Justice, Sustainability, and Peace (South End Press, 2005); Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed (Ed., South End Press, 2007) and Soil Not Oil (South End Press, 2008).
In 2003, Time magazine called Shiva an environmental hero, and Asia Week described her as one of the five most powerful communicators of Asia. Among her many awards are the Right Livelihood Award, the Order of the Golden Ark, the United Nations Global 500 Award and Earth Day International Award (1993), the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace (2008), and the Save The World Award (2009). She serves on the boards of many organizations, including the World Future Council, the International Forum on Globalization and Slow Food International."
Dr. Vandana Shiva: "Soil not Oil: Earth's design in times of climate change"
Tuesday, April 6, 7 p.m.
Ontario College of Art & Design
Auditorium (Rm 190), 100 McCaul Street, Toronto
416-977-6000 | www.ocad.ca
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Toronto's secret green wall + more
Question: If a green wall goes up in Toronto and no one knows, does it exist?
-So I'm puttering around the Toronto Reference Library (TRL) yesterday when I stumbled upon this on the 2nd floor.
WOW! Not that I know everything, but, I hadn't heard much about this at all. And I googled it, only a couple of brief notes on it's existence. What gives TRL??? This approximately 50 square foot beauty we should all know about. Especially, because it's one of perhaps five in the Toronto Metro area...and third biggest to my knowledge!!!
Here's what I could glean without being too intrusive. It has some pretty good lighting for the top portion. All the plants (including several different kinds of ivy) look healthy. The plants (about 100) seem to be randomly placed in synthetic felt and there's ample room in the bottom drainage basin. At first I wondered why it's back here where no one can see it, but because of the way the library is constructed it couldn't be anywhere else. One might think these are just so-so pictures, but it's obscured from the front by a huge pillar so it's impossible to photograph head on.
I talked to a couple of librarians to learn more...I'm wondering who put it up and when. One librarian said it went up about 6 months ago and had no idea how rare they were. Hopefully I'll find out more soon.
-Got a tip today on a new website. Anyone who has a green job to fill or is looking for a green job knows that there are WAY too many websites to search. It's nice that everyone has a piece of the pie, but surely, can't there be a better way? Behold... Green Job Spider. Look, even jobs in Mexico and Canada! I wonder, is this the only green job spider out there???
While we're at it, here's a rare PAYING permaculture summer gig in Cleveland, Ohio.
-Speaking of Ohio, the Lucas County Arena in Toledo appears to be the first LEED certified sports arena. Can't find any pictures of their 900 square foot green wall, but we've got this 7 month old rendering. Dudes, you have the FIRST LEED CERTIFIED SPORTS ARENA IN THE WORLD...you deserve major kudos and the whole world should know!!! What's with folks not wanting publicity???
-Brad Lancaster and David Spicer are headed to the West Bank to lead the world's first permaculture design course in June 2010. You also get some skype visits by other heavyweights. Green the deserts indeed!
-Wickedly long article from The Age featuring most of the really progressive present and future vertical farming. A great primer.
-Top 10 lists are the best. Here are a few green roof homes not normally profiled. The house OUTrial
looks great.
-So I'm puttering around the Toronto Reference Library (TRL) yesterday when I stumbled upon this on the 2nd floor.
WOW! Not that I know everything, but, I hadn't heard much about this at all. And I googled it, only a couple of brief notes on it's existence. What gives TRL??? This approximately 50 square foot beauty we should all know about. Especially, because it's one of perhaps five in the Toronto Metro area...and third biggest to my knowledge!!!
Here's what I could glean without being too intrusive. It has some pretty good lighting for the top portion. All the plants (including several different kinds of ivy) look healthy. The plants (about 100) seem to be randomly placed in synthetic felt and there's ample room in the bottom drainage basin. At first I wondered why it's back here where no one can see it, but because of the way the library is constructed it couldn't be anywhere else. One might think these are just so-so pictures, but it's obscured from the front by a huge pillar so it's impossible to photograph head on.
I talked to a couple of librarians to learn more...I'm wondering who put it up and when. One librarian said it went up about 6 months ago and had no idea how rare they were. Hopefully I'll find out more soon.
-Got a tip today on a new website. Anyone who has a green job to fill or is looking for a green job knows that there are WAY too many websites to search. It's nice that everyone has a piece of the pie, but surely, can't there be a better way? Behold... Green Job Spider. Look, even jobs in Mexico and Canada! I wonder, is this the only green job spider out there???
While we're at it, here's a rare PAYING permaculture summer gig in Cleveland, Ohio.
-Speaking of Ohio, the Lucas County Arena in Toledo appears to be the first LEED certified sports arena. Can't find any pictures of their 900 square foot green wall, but we've got this 7 month old rendering. Dudes, you have the FIRST LEED CERTIFIED SPORTS ARENA IN THE WORLD...you deserve major kudos and the whole world should know!!! What's with folks not wanting publicity???
-Brad Lancaster and David Spicer are headed to the West Bank to lead the world's first permaculture design course in June 2010. You also get some skype visits by other heavyweights. Green the deserts indeed!
-Wickedly long article from The Age featuring most of the really progressive present and future vertical farming. A great primer.
-Top 10 lists are the best. Here are a few green roof homes not normally profiled. The house OUTrial
looks great.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Urban Ag Tax Incentives in MD.
-"Where’s the food security when foods representing more than 70% of our diet—the bulk of what we eat” come from across the world?
In 2008 the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative (APFC) was formed, dedicated to building a replicable system for regional staple foods. Recently they opened a processing facility called the Shagbark Seed and Mill Co. As the collaborative grew, they discovered that growing staples is relatively easy; harvesting and processing them into dry beans, milled flour, or pressed oils, and then transporting and storing those foods is the complicated part, requiring investment in infrastructure and equipment.
Here's a short video and for the full shebang, get this month's Permaculture Activist.
-House Bill 1062 was introduced last week in the House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee that would allow for local jurisdictions to give tax exemptions to landowners for
urban agriculture use!
-The Kiwanis Club in Olympia, Washington grows vegetables for the local Food Bank. Not just a little, 24,000 pounds last year. With another 13,000 square feet planned, they are going full tilt.
-Ever wanted to find a good permaculture podcast? How about a really good one? How about 25 exceptional ones?
In 2008 the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative (APFC) was formed, dedicated to building a replicable system for regional staple foods. Recently they opened a processing facility called the Shagbark Seed and Mill Co. As the collaborative grew, they discovered that growing staples is relatively easy; harvesting and processing them into dry beans, milled flour, or pressed oils, and then transporting and storing those foods is the complicated part, requiring investment in infrastructure and equipment.
Here's a short video and for the full shebang, get this month's Permaculture Activist.
-House Bill 1062 was introduced last week in the House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee that would allow for local jurisdictions to give tax exemptions to landowners for
urban agriculture use!
-The Kiwanis Club in Olympia, Washington grows vegetables for the local Food Bank. Not just a little, 24,000 pounds last year. With another 13,000 square feet planned, they are going full tilt.
-Ever wanted to find a good permaculture podcast? How about a really good one? How about 25 exceptional ones?
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