Vertical farming: how could we take advantage of our vertical growth in Spain?

International week 2011: Sustainable
engineering
Vertical farming: how could we
take advantage of our vertical
and dense growth in Spain?

Alex Rayón Jerez (alex.rayon@deusto.es)

April 6th 2011, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

DeustoTech Research Center - Vertical farming: how could we take advantage of our vertical and dense growth in Spain?

Table of Contents
 Introduction

 The problems: not everything is about demographics

 Time for solutions: within urban farming, the vertical approach

 What about using vertical farming in Spain?


Introduction
We will soon be 7.000 million, and in 2050?

DeustoTech Research Center - Vertical farming: how could we take advantage of our vertical and dense growth in Spain? 3

Introduction
Climate change is a crude reality


Introduction
Trend towards urbanization


Introduction
Trend towards urbanization (II)


Introduction
Facing the need for sustainability

Demographical changes
From 2007, there are more people living in cities than in countryside, although cities
only take world's 3% surface
Climate change
The effects of higher seas can range from erosion to permanent inundation
The severity of the damage depends in great measure on where you are → climate
change affects the poor via the agriculture sector
European Commission: Working Plan for 2050
“The cheapest energy is the one that is not consumed”
Urbanization trends
It’s not possible to compare city growth by poverty migration (a lot of examples in
Africa and South America) with Barcelona or San Francisco
We need to reinvent cities to reduce soil, energy and water consumption, promote
quality of live, knowledge and biodiversity

Introduction
Living a food crisis

History and the human race has been shaped by many forces
It has been a natural selection process, why not this time again?
Trying to face structural problems
Lack of investment on agriculture
Is it fair current WTO's free trade of food?
What about speculative food trade in forward contracts?
“Sarkozy wants transparency to tame food prices”
What about climate crisis? (droughts, floods, etc.)
What about food sovereignty? (revolts in North Africa)
International planning committee for food sovereignty


Introduction
Living a food crisis (II)

Some important aspects to consider prior to start
Productivity of urban living has been shown to be higher than that of suburban life
Urban living has a reduced environmental impact due to lower transportation and
distribution costs per person
Undeveloped land is critical to food production, biodiversity, protecting clean water,
carbon sequestering, and much more.
Population growth seems to be unstoppable → we need to focus on using the
earth's limited resources responsibly:
cities for people to gain higher productivity and real neighborhoods
not sacrificing land best used for farms, forests, and wildlife


Introduction
Urban Technology

Urban technology isn't just fun,
games, surveillance and mapping
But mostly, when we talk about urban
technology, we tend to focus on its
optimistic and entertaining uses
So many technological
innovation have come up from
gaming or military
This presentation presents a new
kind of relationship between cities
and technology
And, we are not talking about robots


Time for solutions
We have some problems, and we need solutions

The problems: demographics, Time for solutions: vertical farming as
climate change and urbanization trend a partial solution (not full yet)

More of a liability than an asset Using our buildings to grow our food


The problems
Some demographical data

Global population has grown quite fast during
most of our lifetimes
It took all of human history to around 1800 for
the global population to reach 1 billion
It will take a little more than 50 years for the
world's numbers to grow from 3.000 to 7.000
The population is expected to top 9.000 by
mid-century (or even more)
Demographic transition
Lower fertility rates
Lower child mortality
Longer life expectancy


The problems
Some demographical data (II)

Most of them will be born in poor developing nations, to parents already struggling to
support themselves
i.e. India only had 500 million people in 1966, today it has 1.2 billion, and it is
projected to have over 1.7 billion by mid-century (surpassing even China)
If 9.000 million people were spread out around the habitable parts of the planet, the
entire Earth would still have only 50% the population density of France
The fear (from Malthus to Ehrlich) is that we won't be able to support ourselves, that
there won't be enough food, water or energy to go around
i.e. China feeds its 1.300 million habitants with less than 10% of its land being arable
It's possible to produce even more food as population growths → Cornupocian view
But, it will be hard to achieve without exhausting some finite resources, such as
water
The key is to face poverty not superpopulation


The problems
Some demographical data (III)

Demographical boom is there... but, what about technology to improve intensive
resource consumption?
Energy, farming and many other sectors have a huge technology inertia
This is, is a huge challenge to deal with → demographical boom will be here sooner
than technological evolution
Due to great investment capital needed (both in production and distribution of
resources)
New scientific knowledge expected? Not at all!
Not mayor changes expected, as in Industrial Revolution


The problems
It's time for another Green Revolution?

Green Revolution: “research, development and technology transfer initiatives between
1940s and 1970s, that increased agriculture production around the world”
Some social movements ahead: Via Campesina's seven principles of food sovereignty
1) Food: A Basic Human Right
2) Agrarian reform
3) Protecting natural resources
4) Reorganizing food trade
5) Ending the globalization of hunger
6) Social peace
7) Democratic control
To summarize, if food is wasted in rich countries then the poor countries will produce
more to meet the demand of these countries, and this will cause the lack of land used to
feed the population of the poor countries


The problems
Horizontal vs. vertical growth


The problems
Horizontal vs. vertical growth (II)

The key word is density
The more dense is a city, the less environment it takes
Easier to build water and electric supply
Less use of private car and more use of public transport
The model: European compact city (10 or 12-storey buildings)
They are slightly more efficient (in energy consumption terms) than tower cities
The most sustainable city
Skyscrappers + European urban expansion areas
Rehabilitate + rebuild + reuse
“Cities are the abyss of our age” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
Sustainable architecture is not more expensive than traditional architecture


The problems
Horizontal vs. vertical growth (III)

The intelligent network
Disturbances created by urban sprawl are due to the fact that we tend to create
continuous urban fabrics by radial expansion
Why not structure their growth in the form of a discontinuous urban fabric?
A web of atoms (each being a 1 million people city or so) held together by
covalent links (a 20km high speed train connection) forming a larger molecule
(a 20 million people urban network)

Keep fertile land and forests between those cities
Mass public transport would make them work as one big pool of people and
resources


The problems
Growing but not investing

What about agricultural investment?
In 1980, 19% of the official aid for development was directed for agricultural
purposes → In 2011, it's just 5%
Trying to get back yo 1980's levels would mean to reach $44.000
millions/year → these levels allowed to skip famine in Asia and Latin
America during 1970's
Public expenditure over GDP should, at least, be around 10% (far from
what is nowadays)
Private expenditure should, at least, be around $200.000 millions/year (just
to compare, military expenditure is over $1.500.000 millions per year)


The problems
Cornucopian vs. Malthusian view

For centuries, pessimists have hurled apocalyptic warnings at the congenital optimists
These latter ones, believe humanity will find ways to cope and even improve its lot
History, on the whole, has so far favored the optimists
But, unfortunately, history is no certain guide to the future
Even science cannot predict the outcome of People v. Planet
All the facts depend on choices we have yet to make and ideas we have yet to have
Population biologist Joel Cohen: “see to it that all children are nourished well
enough to learn in school and are educated well enough to solve the problems they
will face as adults.”
That would change the future significantly


The problems
Uneven growth

We are growing globally but unevenly
Developing nations: a country like India will likely need to cope with 500 million
new people between now and mid-century
Developed nations: fertility rate is below replacement level and people live longer
and longer → need to cope with extreme aging
Just compare dependency ratio:
Japan, Italy, Germany, etc.: 3 to 1
Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East: 25 to 1
Inequality could even be larger than it is today
The developed world will lack young workers, and the developing world will have an
excess of that resource
Immigration could be a way to balance demographics and economics


The problems
Uneven growth (II)


The problems
Some green myths debunked

Going local for fruits and veggies
Myth: Buying local food is better for the environment
Reality: It depends on how your food was produced and delivered
“According to a recent Oxfam International report, a tomato trucked from Spain
to Britain may be more environmentally friendly than a tomato grown in a
greenhouse in Britain because that process needs energy-intense farming
techniques and more fertilizer and could degrade the soil.”
Problem is that our current food chains (industrial, organic or alternative food)
impacts not only in our own and our children’s health, but the health of the
environment that sustains life on earth
The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Michael Pollan)


The problems
Some green myths debunked (II)

Organic food
Myth: Organic foods are produced without pesticides
Reality: Organic guidelines need to be tightened up
The truth is, a great many pesticides are permitted in organic farming, and some
of them are considered lethal to humans in very small quantities
Nicotine sulfate and lime sulfur, both of which carry a "danger" warning from
the FDA but are permissible under organic-farming guidelines
A stealthy greenhouse-gas culprit
Myth: Cars are one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gas
Reality: Yes, but hamburgers are actually much worse
A report by the UN's FAO cited livestock, and especially beef, as a major source
of greenhouse gas, generating more than transportation
Meat accounts for 18% of the GHE the world produces every year, compared
with 13% for vehicles (other studies put that percentage even higher)


Time for solutions: vertical farming
Urbanization

Edward Glaeser, in his book: “The Triumph of the City, making the case that cities are
humanity’s greatest invention”
Countries that become more urban tend to become far more productive
The effect is even bigger for poor countries than rich ones
Those cities become giant incubators for economic growth → people learn to collaborate
and to compete, where they can take advantage of the skills they already have and learn a
Few possible strategies:
Be a consumer city → bread-and-butter urban issues (safe streets and short
commutes) and eliminating barriers to innovation in the entertainment sector
Make entrepreneurship easy
Get physical
Fiscal policy
Schools


What are we talking about?


What are we talking about? (II)

We are talking about another element of any smart city to kill three main challenges of
our era (population growth, climate change and urbanization) with one stone
Solar panels
Eolic generators
Smart gadgets and remote controllers
Plug-in for hybrid and electric cars Positive policies (rewards)
Local electric energy generators
vs.
Wireless communication systems
Negative policies (punishment)
Energy storage systems
Recyclable building materials
Urban farming
etc.


What are we talking about? (III)

Three main contexts consume energy with voracity → and those contexts converge in
the cities (specially in bigger ones), where the policies must address

Residential homes Transport networks Commercial homes

Some other birds that could be killed within the urban equation
Air pollution: sprawl growth needs private transport
Water pollution: poor supply infrastructure due to its vastness
Poverty-stricken slums: sprawl growth vs. vertical growth
Epidemic of violence: suburban cities due to horizontal growth
Epidemic of illness: poor sanitation systems due to its vastness
In 2006, 50% of the world's population was urban, but: they consumed 66% of the total
energy and they generated 70% of the energy-related CO2 emissions
Edward Glaeser: “Vertical cities are the engines of innovation and prosperity”


So, what are we proposing?

We are proposing making possible the ancient way of farming: urban farming


Urban farming

Growing crops in vertical farms in the heart of the cities
No need for green labels: “France to label up to 1000 products” (GHE, water,
biodiversity impact)
Let's take an example: a salmon salad (tasty, right?) eaten in Barcelona

Salmon: Norway,
Canada or Chile Tomato: Almeria
(south of Spain)

Lettuce: Greenhouse
In the South of Spain
Peppers: La Rioja


Urban farming (II)

What is more:
Feeding 9.000 people in 2050 needs an
increase in food production by 70% (FAO)
It can be achieved by higher crop yields and
an expansion of the area under cultivation.
Easy right? Well, not really
Land available for cultivation is
unevenly distributed (South Corea
and Madagascar deal)
Much of it is not suitable for long crops
So, why not create more agricultural land by
building upwards?
It is not nothing new: Hanging Gardens of
Babylon and Chinampa


Urban farming (III)

Just organic products smell bad when become waste
Just 30 or 40 years ago, we used to eat local food → we use cities just for industrial,
residential and commercial purposes, but never for agricultural ones
Spanish Slow Food movement: KM0 distinctive
Local organic produced food + threatened of disappearance
We are talking about environmental issues, not only agronomic
Agroecology → imitate nature, not the industry
Industrial agriculture → full chain, between 40-50% of GHE emissions
Not everything are fertilizers → knowledge of nice farming techniques, combining
plants, trees and animals can power productivity
Stopping deforestation → needed to augment agricultural surfaces + processing food
+ transportation → so helpful!
i.e. 44 projects in 20 countries of sub-Saharan Africa using ecological agriculture
techniques → 214% better performance

Vertical farming

Main idea: vertical growth in urban cities (not only skyscrappers, but also European
medium-tall buildings) filled with floor upon floor of orchards and fields
Producing crops all year round
Slashing transport costs
Slashing CO2 emissions
Spoilage along the transport
Summarizing: moving farms closer to where everyone will be living
Going backwards to the original civilization: building around food and not reversely
An alternative within urban (vertical) farming: hydroponic agriculture
Hydro (water) + ponos (work) → Crops do not need soil as itself, but its nutrients
(minerals, etc.)
Other alternatives (still not so proven): aeroponics or aquaponics


Vertical farming (II)

How does it work?
Something similar to
Food will be grown hydroponically
→ “solution of minerals dissolved Archimedes screw
in water”
The use of pesticides,
herbicides and fungicides
reduced to minimum
Soil erosion will not be a
problem
Clever recycling techniques
Only a fraction (10-25%) of
the amount of water and
nutrients will be needed
No problem with the
agricultural run-off


Vertical farming (III)


Vertical farming (IV)

Did you know that we are quickly approaching to
phosphorus peak?
From 2007 to 2008, phosphate rock (the raw
material) prices went up 700% (concentrated
supply), and the demand might continue to
rise 2,3% per year
It is quite hard to recycle → it ends up in the
oceans
Phosphate rock is becoming a strategic
material for many countries
Worldwide focus on production of biofuels is
not helping either
No single international organization
responsible for phosphate resources


Vertical farming (IV)

Can I build one at home? All you need already exists, is not a new technology
Glasshouse industry: more than 100 years growing crops indoor extensively
Indoor conditions: it is possible (even remotely) to tailor the temperature, humidity,
lighting, airflow and nutrient conditions to get best productivity
Anywhere in the world
Anytime around the year
The medium (sustrates): rock wool, polyurethane foam, clay spots, pumice, pearlite,
Irish peat, sand, etc.
Nutrient-rich water: roots are immersed not in soil, but in water → no need to any
medium where the plan grows, because its roots are directly linked to nutrients
Recycling is possible (rather than being lost into the soil)
Besides, some environmental aspects
Passive form of climate control
Makes a nice view

Vertical farming (V)

Some problems: artificial lighting
Without artificial lighting the crops will grow unevenly → plants closest to the
windows are exposed to more sunlight and grow more quickly
Artificial light for fresh and sustainable food? It depends on geography
Ideal for near Equator latitudes
Cheap and renewable energy in latitudes otherwise not viable. i.e. Amundsen-Scott
South Pole Station or Thanet Earth in the UK (it has its own power generator)


Vertical farming (VI)

Some problems: renewable energy in urban
cities
Generating enough electricity using solar
panels requires an area about 20 times
larger than the area being illuminated
This is, vertical farming will only work if it
makes use of natural light
Solution: vertically stacked hydroponic
trays that move on rails to ensure that
all plants get an even amount of
sunlight and air flow → Verticrop
Natural light from sides and above
PC energy consumption
Just for a single-storey greenhouse
What about multi-storey vertical farms?


Vertical farming (VII)

Chicago’s Willis Tower to Become a Vertical
Solar Farm
“Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formally the
Sears Tower) is set to become a massive
solar electric plant with the installation of a
pilot solar electric glass project. The high-
profile project on the south side of the 56th
floor will replace the windows with a new
type of photovoltaic glass developed by
Pythagoras Solar which preserves
daylighting and views while reducing heat
gain and producing the same energy as a
conventional solar panel. The project could
grow to 2 MW in size — which is
comparable to a 10 acre field of solar
panels — turning North America’s tallest
building into a huge urban vertical solar
farm.”


Vertical farming (VIII)

Some problems: multi-storey vertical farms
Solution: vertically integrated greenhouse
Plants growing around the edges of the
building
Sandwiched between two glass layers
Rotating on a conveyor
New problems: area available is much smaller
Less biomass in spite of having more
productivity?


Vertical farming (IX)

So, we must still have to invest more on R&D in order to improve it
The immediate opportunity is to take advantage of the space (spare or not) available on
urban rooftops → that is urban farming, but not vertical farming


Vertical farming (X)

And what about Aquaponics = agriculture + hydroponics?
Grow fish and plants together in one integrated soil-less system
Fish waste provides a food source for the plants
The plants provide a natural filter for the water the fish live in
In natural habitat, fish is an important dispersion vector for fertile seeds
Projects: NYC's Public School's roof (by BRIGHTFARM Systems)


Vertical farming (X)

Conclusions
Vertical farming still is not so productive
Rooftop farming (a kind of urban farming) is not either competitive with
other suppliers in a global market
People is not willing to pay an extra cost for fresh and local food
It is true that it is a down-to-earth approach and it could some day be
achieved
Urban farming is not the final solution, is part of the solution
A 30-storey-building could feed 10.000 people (University of Columbia,
NYC)
It could sum up to 20% gains in productivity using less water, reducing
transportation distances and energy costs


Vertical farming (XI)

Caltech
Ohio hospitals
Eurofresh, Inc. (Arizona)
Cornell University
Columbia University (Vertical Farm Project)

Manchester International
Festival Vertical Farm


What about vertical farming in Spain?
Introduction

A sustainable city model (such as Masdar City) is not always applicable → what could
we do in a country full of buildings?
Building customs in Spain: After the Civil War (1939) it became the popular alternative to
save + Pelotazo inmobiliario during the 60s
22 million of buildings → National Plan to rehabilitate up to 12 million of them
Nonetheless, sustainable building in Spain is a kind of joke
Between the elections for sustainable cities: rebuild, reuse or rehabilitate
“The most sustainable building is the one that already exists” (vs. China or Dubai)
From Chicago in the 18th and 19th century to Spain in 21th → from mechanical cities to
thermodynamic cities
Almost 33% of GHE in Spain are due to real state
Raw material transport by train in Spain it's only 4% (UE 15% or Germany 22%)
Railway transport investments have mainly been oriented to people transport
Environmental and economical costs


Hydrological problems in Spain

Spain lacks hydrological resources →
water is scarce in some regions
Besides, those regions (basically
Mediterranean arch) with fewer water
resources are the ones with the greatest
water consumption
Agricultural and touristic activities are
always debate topics
Droughts are at their top level in the last
60 years → biological experts have
started talking about environmental real
warnings → Spain is drying
National laws are not as much strict as
they should be


Lighting problems in Spain

Spain generates a lighting pollution above any
reasonable level
It generates even more lighting than its power
states
Public lighting spending growth from 1985 to
2007: 4,7% (2x 1990's levels)
However, population has just grown 0,7%
Spain, last in the queue of efficiency in Europe: 116
KW per year and citizen
France 91 KW/year and citizen and Germany
43 KW/year and citizen
None of the 52 Spanish provinces fits the goal of 75
KW/year and citizen
It was established in the Energetic Efficiency
Plan from 2004 to 2012


Real-state problems

From almost 3 million real-state workers to about 2 million (almost 40% of job losses)
Spain is currently the European Union's country with more buildings per citizen → 538
per 1000 citizens vs 432 as average in the UE (2005 data)
Financial entities and real-state agents do not have the know how to manage housing
stock → almost 1,4 million houses without any buyer
During real-state bubble there was an oversupply of buildings in the main cities
Problem is even worse for second residence → Mediterranean arch
What about rehabilitation to solve those problems at once?
IMADE: legal reform to allow rehabilitation and energetic improvement of full
neighborhoods → refocus home residential real-state sector towards a more sustainable
economic model
Rehabilitate between 250.000 and 350.000 buildings per year + save 13.000.000
GHE Tonnes within 3 years + 200.000 to 300.000 new jobs + 9.000 to 14.000 million
€ per years


Real-state problems (II)

Spanish economic model has been burst after real-state bubble
Economic consequences → total debt and budget deficit
Ecologic consequences → 5th largest cement consumer (quite above France and
Germany)
Social consequences → unemployment


Real-state problems (III)

Only buildings after 2007 (5%) fit Código Técnico de Edificación
Climate change will even become worse for the rest 95%


Farming problems in Spain

Spanish agriculture in danger of depopulation due to aging
Less than 20% of the population lives in 90% of the land
Rural population is marked by aging problems: more than 30% is older than 65
Problems: agriculture, environment and social structure
Some helps to fix agricultural problems in Spain
European Union funds: €630 million to incorporate young people to agriculture
10 years ago, it was possible to live with 40 hectares → now are needed over 300
€12.000 annual salary → 66% of what can be made, average, in urban cities
Gender problems (no women)
Digital breach → over 5.700 municipalities and 8.000.000 Spanish without broad band
Internet
Besides demographics, farming problems in Spain are also affected by the lack of
infrastructure (communications) and intermediaries
Cooperatives, wholesalers and retailers add even over 600-700% to final prices


Urbanization


Urbanization (II)

Spain’s physical footprints (its buildings and roads) were designed for a different age
Plenty of inexpensive real estate, much of it is poorly structured for the 21st
century
Declining cities shouldn’t be building new structures with public funds, but they
should make sure that private developers who want to remake urban spaces
They should also work to ensure that unoccupied structures are turned into more
attractive and usable urban space
Youngstown was an early mover in the shrink-to-greatness trend
There are three big anti-urban policy biases:
Pro-homeownership policies that push people from urban apartments into suburban
homes
The subsidization of transportation infrastructure in low-density areas
System of local schooling that pushes so many parents away from big-city school
districts → the great challenge of our era


Overweight problems


Let's do it!

Why not introduce vertical farming in Spain?
Emulating Detroit reconvertion
Emptied industrial facilities for green technology mainly focused to encourage
urban farming in abandoned spaces
Local projects: The Greening of Detroit, Detroit Eastern Market, Earthworks
Urban Farm, Urban Farming
Urban and community projects: seed, harvest and develop projects for
education and social purposes
Financed by Local Development Plans (in Spain we have analogous Plan-E) an
Obama's Recovery Act Funds
Interests: local communities, foundations, public sector and private sector
“Detroit could be the nation´s leading example of urban-faming and become a
destination for fresh, local and natural foods and become a major part of the green
movement”


Let's do it! (II)


Let's do it!

Some trends starting to appear in Spain
Slow food
Healthy food
Biologic diet
Downshifting
Sustainable supply chain
How could we mix all these trends? Is it easy to make a mixture of technology and
farmers? Is it easy to mix sustainable logistics with the final consumer?
Yes, it is. Two ideas:
1) Tech-retailers
2) Vertical farming


“I don't know what I may seem to the world, but, as to myself, I
seem to have been as a boy playing on the seashore, and
diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a
prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay
all undiscovered before me”

Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)


References

Books
Triumph of the City

Web sites
GapMinder http://www.gapminder.org/
Population: Is the World Ready for 7 Billion People? http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/12/30/population-is-the-world-ready-for-7-billion/#ixzz1E9AlsRe4
For Egypt, a Fresh Start, With Cities http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/business/economy/16leonhardt.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto
Rising seas threaten 180 U.S. cities by 2100: study http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rising-seas-threaten
Green myths debunked http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/technology/1003/gallery.green_myths.fortune/4.html
En España hay cerca de 1,4 millones de pisos invendibles http://www.finanzas.com/noticias/vivienda/2011-02-26/436572_espana-cerca-millones-pisos-invendibles.html
Ruina energética en edificaciones http://www.ecointeligencia.com/2011/01/ruina-energetica-en-edificaciones/
Cities & Buildings in Spain http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?countryID=13
The World Is Fat http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-world-is-fat/
Farmers markets up 16 percent http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/sustainable-food/farmers-markets-up-16-percent.html
El urbanismo español y sus raíces franquistas http://www.rebelion.org/noticias/espana/2011/3/el-urbanismo-espanol-y-sus-raices-franquistas-123862
La rehabilitación energética de viviendas como prioridad http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iInZ9s7gyUQ
El derroche energético en el alumbrado público de España ya es oficial http://astroseti.org/noticia/3672/el-derroche-energetico-en-el-alumbrado-publico-de-espana-ya-es-oficial
Does it really stack up? http://www.economist.com/node/17647627
On a School Rooftop, Hydroponic Greens for Little Gardeners http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/on-a-school-rooftop-hydroponic-greens-for-little-gardeners/
Producción Vegetal. Agricultura – Recursos http://www.educateca.com/manuales_cursos/vegetal_agricultura.asp
Scientists warn of lack of vital phosphorus as biofuels raise demand http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article4193017.ece
Ecoagricultura para comer más y contaminar menos http://periodismohumano.com/sociedad/medio-ambiente/ecoagricultura-para-comer-mas-y-contaminar-menos.html
The Omnivore’s Dilemma http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/
Sobre el sentido de erigir huertos verticales en ciudades http://faircompanies.com/news/view/sobre-el-sentido-erigir-huertos-verticales-en-ciudades/
Chicago’s Willis Tower to Become a Vertical Solar Farm http://inhabitat.com/chicagos-willis-tower-to-become-a-vertical-solar-farm/
Fruit-feasting fish fertilize faraway forests http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110323/full/news.2011.177.html
Can farming save Detroit? http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/29/news/economy/farming_detroit.fortune/index.htm
Environment: The disappearing nutrient http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091007/full/461716a.html


Copyright (c) 2011 Alex Rayón Jerez

Version 0.1 of the presentation edited on 5/4/2011 under the title: Vertical farming: how could we take advantage
of our vertical growth in Spain?

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* http://spectrum.ieee.org/image/1543594, http://www.dailygalaxy.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/18/climate_change.jpg, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomlobo/588525280/sizes/m/in/photostream/,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenmanning/2979574719/sizes/z/in/photostream/, http://www.houstontomorrow.org/images/uploads/sprawl/cache/suburb-325x294.png,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/images/2005/11/02/night01_430x313.jpg, http://www.madrimasd.org/blogs/universo/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/255/chinampas-tradicionales-mayas-fuente-blog-curioso.gif,
http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/ahd4/jpg/A4arcsM1.jpg, http://www.flickr.com/photos/30003321@N00/4560644340/sizes/z/in/pool-48843340@N00/,
https://qed.princeton.edu/getfile.php?f=Ancient_Civilizations_of_the_Old_World_3500_to_after_600_BCE.jpg, http://www.greenfudge.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/vertical-farm.jpg, http://www.treehugger.com/vertical-farm.jpg,
http://www.chelseapiers.com/green/GRAPHICS/science_barge.jpg, http://inspirationgreen.com/assets/images/Vertical%20farms/brightfarms%20UAE.jpg, http://www.valcent.net/s/HDVGS.asp?ReportID=266563,
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yiiPzeRfNBQ/TJAnaQy8JBI/AAAAAAAAAvA/Sz0sCfPFXa4/s800/090728_thanet_2.jpg,
http://www.calacademy.org/medialibrary/blogs/thelongview/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/20090114growthchamber2545-500x375.jpg,
https://mifdotcodotuk.s3.amazonaws.com/cache/b1/1d/b11d7f3116146df26f041a2b2154144a.jpg?Signature=LHxOlRhhjclBAttjpEEOBYS2/8s%3D&Expires=1300471270&AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIIBLHMTLXFTFPR2Q,
http://mif.co.uk/event/vertical-farm/, http://www.laciudadviva.org/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/urban_agriculture.top_1.jpg, http://www.diariolibre.com/showimage.php?typeid=3&imageid=16697,
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nSTO-vZpSgc/TQxiGn0vd2I/AAAAAAAAJ_Y/QZozCYzhQ9U/s400/spain+empty.png


Alex Rayón Jerez © 2011
Lecturer at Industrial Technologies Department in the Engineering Faculty at Universidad de Deusto
Researcher at Deustotech at University of Deusto
University of Deusto
Bilbao 48012, Spain

University of Southern Denmark, Odense, April 2011

Contact Alex Rayón Jerez

alex.rayon@deusto.es
To contact me, so many ways :-)
http://alexrayon.es/alex-rayon-20/


Vertical farming: how could we take advantage of our vertical growth in Spain?

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