Friday, July 6, 2012

What if You Had to Buy American?

Image from artandseek.net
From the article

"Moreover, a complete end to imports would actually hurt the U.S. economy, because consumers and domestic companies would lose access to cheap goods."

"But financial experts say that it's best for America if you buy the cheapest product you can find without sacrificing quality. Their explanation rests on the concept of efficient manufacturing. An efficient producer creates the most valuable goods with the least possible expense, selling those items at lower prices than competitors who are less efficient. A country benefits when its manufacturers become more efficient."

My opinion: I think this article's treatment of the issue (Buying goods made in the US) is somewhat superficial, but it does highlight some counterpoints that seem rarely to be mentioned.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

20-foot URBAN FARMS : Compact, Versatile, Aquaponic Systems


Using standard ISO shipping containers and  twenty foot long greenhouse you could have a tiny urban farm capable of feeding several families. By integrating the greenhouse with aquaponics and anerobic digesters a closed loop system with relatively good energy efficiency is able to placed almost anywhere.

Read more here: http://www.20footurbanfarm.blogspot.nl/p/genesis.html

Vancoucer's VertiCrop’s vertical greenhouse system


From the article

The patented technology can increase normal yields by 20 times and only requires 8% of the water used in conventional field farming.

This type of technology improves local accessibility to healthy foods, especially in urban environments where the ability to grow such foods is often constrained.