DICKSON DESPOMMIER By Tayma Ali Dickson D Despommier

DICKSON DESPOMMIER By Tayma Ali

“Dickson D. Despommier is an emeritus professor of microbiology and Public Health at Columbia University. In recent years, Despommier has received considerable media coverage for his ideas on vertical farming. He developed his concept of vertical farming over a 10 -year period with graduate students in a medical ecology class beginning in 1999. ” [1] [2]

“Vertical farming is the practice of producing food and medicine in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces and integrated in other structures such as in a skyscraper, used warehouse, or shipping container. The modern ideas of vertical farming use indoor farming techniques and controlledenvironment agriculture (CEA) technology, where all environmental factors can be controlled. These facilities utilise artificial control of light, environmental control and fertigation. Some vertical farms use techniques similar to greenhouses, where natural sunlight can be augmented with artificial lighting and metal reflectors. ” [3] [4]

“Dickson Despommier argues that vertical farming is legitimate for environmental reasons. He claims that the cultivation of plant life within skyscrapers will require less embodied energy and produce less pollution than some methods of producing plant life on natural landscapes. He moreover claims that natural landscapes are too toxic for natural, agricultural production, despite the ecological and environmental costs of extracting materials to build skyscrapers for the simple purpose of agricultural production. Vertical farming according to Despommier thus discounts the value of natural landscape in exchange for the idea of "skyscraper as spaceship. ” Plant life is mass-produced within hermetically sealed, artificial environments that have little to do with the outside world. In this sense, they could be built anywhere regardless of the context. Although climate control, lighting, and other costs of maintenance have been posited as potentially stifling to bringing this concept to fruition, advocates have countered that an important feature of future vertical farms will be the integration of renewable energy technology, be it solar panels, wind turbines, water capture systems, and probably some combination of the three. The vertical farm is designed to be sustainable, and to enable nearby inhabitants to work at the farm. ” [5]

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REFERENCES 1. Venkataraman, Bina (July 15, 2008). "Country, the City Version: Farms in the Sky Gain New Interest". The New York Times. 2. Walsh, Bryan (December 11, 2008). "Vertical Farming". Time. Hix, John. 1974. The glass house. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. 3. Pati, Ranjan; Abelar, Michael (27 May 2015). "The Application and Optimization of Metal Reflectors to Vertical Greenhouses to Increase Plant Growth and Health". 4. Journal of Agricultural Engineering and Biotechnology: 63– 71. Venkataraman, Bina (2008 -07 -15). 5. "Country, the City Version: Farms in the Sky Gain New Interest". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011 -01 -05.