Friday, May 21, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
TVP - Q&A - Isn’t it just decent people that we need in government?
It is not enough to criticize, point out the shortcomings of society, or advocate that people of high moral character be elected into office; this would do little to advance civilization. What is needed is the intelligent management of the earth´s resources, and a comprehensive and workable arrangement of environmental and social affairs that are in strict accord with existing resources and the carrying capacity of our planet. Even with the election of men and women of impeccable character into government, without available resources and advanced technology, war, poverty, and corruption will prevail no matter how many new laws are passed or treaties signed. It is not democracy that elevated our standard of living, it is our resources, water, arable land, and new technology. Rhetoric and paper proclamations are irrelevant in the management of human and social affairs.
Solar-powered rooftop garden to yield 40 tons of produce
Solar-powered rooftop garden to yield 40 tons of produce
Community gardens have been scattered around cities for centuries, but Gotham Greens is taking the concept, literally, to a higher place. They're building a 16,000 sq. foot hydroponic garden on a rooftop in Brooklyn, NY, scheduled to open this spring.
The urban garden uses solar energy to power the equipment and water collected from rooftop cisterns to feed the plants. Beneficial insects protect the plants instead of pesticides. The company is estimating a yield of 40 tons of produce. Most of it is headed, by bicycle or green vehicles, to Whole Foods grocery stores, but some will go to local restaurants and farmers markets.
There have been many conceptual farms proposed to use space in a new way, but why not use the rooftops of buildings that already exist?
Via FastCompany
Sunday, May 16, 2010
TVP - Q&A - Why do you feel that an approach as revolutionary as The Venus Project is necessary?
Our current system is not capable of providing a high standard of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the environment because the major motive is profit. Businesses aren't entirely to blame; they are forced to operate this way in order to retain the competitive edge. Additionally, with the advent of automation, cybernation, and artificial intelligence, there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by automated systems. As a result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist. This is well-documented in Jeremy Rifkin's book The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-market Era (Putnam, 1995). The Venus Project offers a fresh approach that reverses the negative aspects experienced in our current applications of automation and artificial intelligence. This project eliminates the disastrous consequences that such approaches can have on our society, i.e. the displacement of millions of workers, skilled and unskilled alike.
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