May 28, 2009 by Robert.

 We’ve passed a historic milestone with more than 50% of North America living in cities.  That number is expected to grow — some say to 80% or more.

 Here’s a thought: instead of gobbling-up farm land, cutting-down forests, and plowing-up pristine wilderness… why not combine urban renewal with urban farming? Why not use poorly-planned sections of a city, under-performing commericial real estate projects, empty shopping malls and retail storefronts for farming?

Does the idea of a farm in a shopping mall sound silly to you?  This video may change your thinking:

I suspect that if we’re shipping fresh California produce across the Pacific Ocean to Japan and elsewhere, and bringing tomatoes in from Mexico and grapes from Chile… there has got to be a pretty good profit margin on organic produce that can be reliably grown year-round near or directly within

• densely-populated 
• residential areas
• downtown and retail centers (with offices and restaurants)
• airports, railroads, and ocean ports

The recession is hurting shopping malls and the recent string of big-box store closures have blighted otherwise high-traffic areas across America.

One draw-back to urban farming — the creative re-use of retail or warehouse space for farming –is job density. Indoor farming is not very labor-instensive (not like a retail store, anyway).

But a farmer’s market does provide some jobs.  And it could enhance a community, and it could help to revive foot-traffic in an otherwise sluggish strip-mall or shopping district.

So, despite minimal job creation, a suburban farm supplying organic produce to local stores, restaurants, and food services could help to increase the tax base of a community.  And the location might also be used for adult education or recreational gardening classes.

Is there a big empty warehouse or stand-alone building in your town that might make a good indoor farm?  Would you like to turn a portion of your property into a demonstration farm?  Are your solar panels generating more power than you can use?  Please let me know.

 If you’re interested in the latest on this topic, or if you’d like to educate me on this topic, please follow @grownupfoods on Twitter.

Posted in city planning, community development, urban renewal, public policy, social ventures, suburban infill, infill development, ag tech, agriculture, organic farming, redevelopment, ventures, jobs, development, nonprofit, investing, politics, Linkedin, finance, energy, small business, stimulus, schools, renewable energy | No Comments »

May 20, 2009 by Robert.

Jacqueline Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor. In her new book, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, she tells stories from the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid.

Posted in energy, shelter, small business, ventures, social ventures, public policy, health, stimulus, finance, philanthropy, CSR, investing, nonprofit, Linkedin, development, politics | No Comments »

April 30, 2009 by Robert.

I just heard a radio report on NPR in the Global Health section:

Egypt To Slaughter Pigs As A Flu Precaution by Peter Kenyon    

(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103642533)

The growing Swine Flu epidemic has got a lot of people scared.  But knee-jerk policy decisions can sometimes have dangerous consequences.

In Cairo, where the Muslim population does not eat pork (or even touch pigs), hogs are farmed by the Coptic Christian population, a small minority.  So it’s not a tough political decision for Egypt to simply say “kill all the filthy animals” before Swine Flu breaks out.

‘Problem is… many of these pig-farmers in Cairo are the garbage collectors – they go from house to house and busines-to-business collecting garbage, bringing it back to their homes, separating it, and feeding the food scraps etc. to the hungry hogs.  That’s their livelihood.

Without the hogs, they will certainly not want to bring the garbage back to their homes.  The pig-farmers warn NPR that the garbage will quickly pile-up, and Cairo will be a filthy place (er, even filthier).

But of course, Cairo won’t let that happen, will they?  They’ll burn their trash.  They’ll pile up the trash, pour kerosene on it, and light it up.  Somebody will.  If the government won’t do it, civilians will.

Swine Flu is an immediate public health issue in other countries, and is threatening Egypt.  But Egypt’s reaction is creating a different urgent public health issue in Cairo.  And they may soon export an even bigger environmental issue in the form of pollution and noxious fumes.

Instead of simply burning trash and putting filth into the air, they could use the trash to generate electricity while at the same time getting rid of all kinds of municipal waste.  It’s called Waste-To-Energy (WTE or W2E).

Envirepel™ gasification uses a brick oven design which is not new: it was patented over 100 years ago. They do not burn the trash — they heat the trash to the point that everything melts, all the microbes and disease “bugs” are cooked.  They use the waste heat from the process to generate eletricity.  And they use the gases that come off of the trash to fuel the system and to produce methane, ammonia, and other good stuff.  The “ash” that comes out the other end can be used for making bricks, concrete, roads, roof shingles and other useful products.

Now there’s a good thang!  See http://envirepel.com/

Posted in jobs, energy, small business, ventures, social ventures, public policy, health, finance, Linkedin, philanthropy, politics, investing, nonprofit, development, P2P, renewable energy | No Comments »

April 28, 2009 by Robert.

“The key is fuel: The more of it a base uses, the more soldiers are exposed to deadly roadside bombs on fuel convoys.” (Source: LA Times article, Doug Smith and Saif Rasheed, Nov 22, 2007)   

I love how crowdsourcing innovation can lead to unexpected benefits.  The military expected to get some high tech, expensive gadgets.  But instead, they got barrels of goop.OK, so “barrels of petroleum-based goop” is not such “green idea” and it’s not cheap.  But it’s innovative.How could it be improved?  Maybe use lightweight re-inforced concrete foam instead of “plastic” foam.  Maybe use materials that are readily-available onsite.  Or, sink the tents 4 ft. down into the ground (i.e. in rows, with the excavated dirt/sand piled at both ends).  Prefab steel-reinforced concrete walls (poured onsite) could provide quick snap-together construction.The temperature is usually more mild underground, providing passive cooling during the day and heating at night.  Keeping a low profile provides added protection from flying shrapnel/debris.

Posted in affordable housing, shelter, energy, HVAC, military, development, Linkedin, design | No Comments »