Sustainable Food Production

Cityscape Farms, based in San Francisco, has designed a new model for sustainable urban farming. The “aquaponic” design combines hydroponics and aquaculture in a closed-loop or permaculture system. Hydroponics refers to soil-less farming that only requires air and nutrient inputs while aquaculture is essentially the cultivation of farmed fish. The system would use the fish waste as nutrients for growing produce in an indoor setting. Cityscape CEO, Mike Yohay, believes that this model is a potentially viable way to provide organic and local food to vast urban populations around the world.

Read more: Good Blog

Net-Zero emissions coal-fired power plant

Mattoon, Illinois is the site of a new net-zero emission coal-fired power plant currently under construction. The FutureGen project will produce hydrogen end electricity but will also sequester carbon dioxide underground, hence the net-zero emission designation. The US Department of Energy is helping to fund the project that has a roughly $1.5 billion price tag. The plant will also use an integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology, which turns the coal into a gas. Before the gas is burned, harmful impurities such as sulfur dioxide, particulates, and mercury will be removed.

Read more: Environmental Leader