The Rebirth of American Farming, Manufacturing and Values (Thanks to the Wonders of Technology)
February 2, 2010 in propaganda | Tags: cannabis, garden, hemp, law, marijuana, nebulizer, religion, soil-less, ultrasonic | Leave a comment
Most people would probably agree that, as a nation and as a planet, we face a tough road ahead of us. Some might even say that we have doomed ourselves through greed and corruption, and there is no alternative to future famines and mass starvation. Not all of us share that bleak outlook, but there is no way to deny that we are now collectively in a very precarious position.
We have, at the very least, dug ourselves (or perhaps allowed ourselves to be conned) into a very deep hole; and, by most accounts, it just keeps getting deeper. But all changes require a catalyst, and there are a whole lot of positive changes which can now be implemented thanks to our desperate situation.
Let us first start with a significant change which is already well under way: the reintegration of cannabis (marijuana if you are familiar with the racist slang term embraced by our gov’t and media) into mainstream American society. ‘Medical marijuana’ has already started bringing in tens of billions of dollars which might have ended up on the black market in the past, but this is just the beginning.
The laws have only begun to change and the first economic repercussions are just now beginning to be felt. Medical marijuana in California and other places has been likened to a gold rush, yet it has also created an insane amount of contradiction and gray area surrounding the plant and its permitted uses.
Thanks to the recent policy changes and favorable press, individuals claiming to use cannabis as part of their religious practice are now giving interviews to reporters instead of being laughed at and generally dismissed as some type of hooligan.
There is no doubt in my own mind that cannabis spirituality is genuine; even reinforced by the same scientific findings that prove the efficacy of ‘medical marijuana.’ There has also been precedent set by the Supreme Court (in 2006) acknowledging the legitimate spiritual use of the most powerful entheogen known to man–Dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
According to the Wikipedia definition, an entheogen “in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic or spiritual context.” The article goes on to mention that cannabis is indeed an entheogen, along with many other ’schedule I narcotics’ including Peyote, Iboga, Psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and Ayahuasca (the tea containing DMT which was the subject of the above mentioned court ruling.) Furthermore, the article makes the following assertion which can be backed up by scholars and literature the world over:
“Entheogens have been used in a ritualized context for thousands of years; their religious significance is well established in anthropological and modern evidences.”
Given that our federal government has now effectively recognized the use of cannabis as medicine, it seems impossible to deny that users have a legitimate claim to spirituality and, therefore, have a legitimate claim to protection from persecution according to the first amendment of the Constitution. And, more recently,these rights have been reinforced by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
In the past, the courts have argued that the presence of the ‘drug’ would be an unacceptable danger to the surrounding community, and on numerous occasions they have declared that the actual presence and use of the plant for rituals has been either unnecessary or just an excuse to “get stoned”, or both.
Why does it never dawn on some people that getting “stoned” is a spiritual act in and of itself, and has been used as such for thousands and thousands of years… Luckily, this may all soon be a mute point. If California opts for full legalization–which frankly is the only way to solve the ‘medical marijuana’ quagmire they’ve gotten themselves into, not to mention that it’d go a long way towards funding education instead of prisons–other states will be lining up to do the same thing. And, once again, Washington will respect the states’ decisions; due in no small part to crippling budget deficits and opinion polls which show a wide margin of support for the beleaguered plant.
Of course, President Obama could preempt all of this and come out looking like a hero to his overwhelming number of supporters who have been pushing for drug law reform if he is willing to take the initiative. But, either way, the cannabis plant is already being reintegrated into mainstream society.
During some of the toughest economic times since the Great Depression, the notoriously resilient plant has provided vital economic growth in a wide variety of affected industries. In turn, these investments and these same industries have now given us the tools with which to completely re-imagine our own realities.
Ultrasonic foggers make soil-less growing cheap,easy and productive
It has been widely agreed that aeroponic gardens–where the roots hang in the air and are misted by a combination of water and nutrients–are far and away the most efficient and effective way to yield bumper crops from a wide variety of plants. Typical results are said to be 50% or more larger than yields from either soil or hydroponics (where the roots are submerged in a water-nutrient solution.)
The only problems have been that the technique requires high water pressure (lots of energy) and expensive misters which frequently get clogged with nutrients. Ultrasonic foggers perform the same function as aeroponic misters, however they create much smaller water droplets (as small as two microns, which allows them to be instantly absorbed by the roots) and have none of the other problems associated with aeroponics. There is no need for any water pressure whatsoever, and the only moving part in the whole process is a small transducer (or nebulizer) that creates ultrasonic waves which transform water into what’s called a “dry fog”–providing an ideal environment for healthy root systems.
Cheap versions of foggers such as those designed for fountains and ponds are said to have problems with buildup when used in a nutrient solution, however companies such as NutraMist have begun offering a wide variety of foggers with replaceable teflon transducers specifically designed to be used in growing operations. Nutramist sells both complete systems and parts for people building their own systems. Click here to check out their selection at FutureGarden.com.
While this is good news for anyone looking to grow a few plants of their own, such as medical marijuana patients who want to save money; it should also prove to be good news for people looking to eat an affordable and nutritious meal in the near future.
For those of us who might be looking to work in a sustainable or “green” industry, ultrasonic foggers offer more than just a glimmer of hope. They offer entire new industries, along with an unprecedented potential to improve the overall health and well-being of our entire nation; not to mention providing a key function which may eventually lead to the end of our dependence on imported energy.
Produce currently travels 1700 miles on average “from farm to fork”, losing vital nutrients and adding to our pollution problem with every mile. Urban farming and even vertical farming are no longer new or completely untested concepts which offer a multitude of benefits over our current system, however their progress has been severely hampered in large part by the expense and problems associated with soil-less growing techniques.
A thirty-story building full of traditional aeroponic equipment would undoubtedly cost a fortune, but a similar structure employing ultrasonic technology should cost significantly less–and may also prove much easier to design, thus dropping overall costs even more. This factor alone may be enough to make many of these vertical farms, such as those proposed by Dr. Dickson Despommier, into a reality.
There is a great deal of potential which has now been opened up, however the necessary research and refinement will still require both time and money. As luck would have it, the medical marijuana industry–which has been legitimized and is now booming in fourteen states (and counting)–will serve as a perfect testing ground for using the foggers to grow plants. There has already been widely reported success using these devices for propagation purposes and/or in conjunction with various drip systems to produce full grown plants that yield even more than those produced using traditional aeroponic methods.
As I type these words, entrepreneurs interested in growing “top-notch” plants are no doubt experimenting with these foggers all over the country. This research may be looked down upon and possibly even disregarded entirely by a federal government intent on keeping it’s head buried in the sand, yet it offers to bring us far closer to a sustainable society than any proposal that has ever come out of Washington, D.C.
Even though wind and solar power generation are often touted as the most effective way to help the environment, the reality is that the most effective and personally beneficial way to “go green” is to buy a fogger or three and start growing your own food/medicine/whatever. Most plants will grow just fine in a moderately sunny window. Even if your crops do end up requiring supplemental lighting, the options have gotten much cheaper and more efficient in the past few years. Indoor farming has become affordable for the general public, and not a minute too soon.
Sustainability is a very big word
March 20, 2010 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
As your and my tax dollars continue to subsidize such “green” technologies as E85 and ‘clean coal’, our politicians and media pundits are rambling on about the need for a sustainable future. Most of these individuals would gleefully admit to having no idea what this will actually take to achieve, but so far everyone now agrees that “sustainability” is a very big word.
Every time I use a paper towel to dry my hands or wipe my ass with some toilet paper, I am using energy. Beyond energy, I am also using a limited natural resource which cannot be sustainably harvested using anything close to today’s methods; yet I am told that I am using a renewable resource which also helps provide jobs for other Americans.
While I will not attempt to deny that lots of families rely on logging in order to put food on the table, it does seem worth point out that there is no way these jobs can continue putting food on the table for much longer. My stance here is in no way, shape or form a condemnation of using trees as raw material for any number of fine products; but trees take a very long time to grow, and if we cut too many of them down then there will no longer be enough oxygen for animals such as ourselves to breathe.
In addition to creating oxygen, trees are also very effective at sequestering carbon (while they are alive, anyway.) Beyond this, trees and healthy forests have been found to have a large effect on surrounding weather patterns–i.e., places without trees are typically subjected to extreme temperatures and have little to no usable soil. This is because the roots of trees actually work to bring moisture up out of the ground and eventually back into the air.
In light of these and many other reasons, some lawmakers are now starting to see living, breathing forests as a worthwhile investment instead of just another resource to exploit. But we still need paper and the millions of other items now produced from trees. And, presumably, we still need jobs.
The creation of more “clean energy” jobs has been placed at or near the top of the Obama administration’s list of priorities. Subsequently, more and more people are attempting to cash in on this expanding industry–but there’s just one problem: many of these technologies, such as E85, are actually an environmental and economic nightmare being used to scam the good intentions of hardworking Americans.
While this is not exactly news to those who are familiar with the widespread criticism of E85, clean coal and carbon sequestration (to name a few); it does seem relevant now considering how much of my money which I haven’t even earned yet is being handed out to these snake oil salesmen as I type.
We could attempt to set up a government agency assigned with the task of verifying the validity of claims being made by the purveyors of would-be clean technologies, but this brings us to another very big word: accountability.
If those already in government offices were being held accountable for their actions, half of our problems involved with creating a sustainable society would evaporate instantly. But if I really think about who should be held accountable for holding those in public office accountable for their actions, then I am left once again with only myself to blame..
Valcent’s VertiCrop technology honored as one of top ten global innovations by group including NASA, USAID, the state department and Nike!
March 12, 2010 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
The video below showcases a High Density Vertical Growth (HDVG) system created by Valcent Products, Inc.
“LAUNCH, a global initiative whose Founding Partners include NASA, USAID, the U.S. State Department and Nike, which identifies and supports innovative work poised to contribute to a sustainable future, has selected Valcent’s VertiCrop™ vertical farming technology as one of ten global innovations from a field of 150 pioneering projects. As one of ten featured leaders in sustainability, Valcent will present their advances on large scale hydroponic agriculture at the premiere LAUNCH event at the Water at Kennedy Space Center on March 16th to 18th 2010.
Amidst the backdrop of shuttle launch mission STS-131, a distinguished group of leaders from government, business, science, engineering, communications and sustainability will convene to learn about Valcent’s vertical farming innovations in a collaborative forum designed to help accelerate the company’s progress. Along with the initiatives’ Founding Partners and Resource Partners which include The Pacific Institute, Sandia National Labs and The Water Center of the Earth Institute, LAUNCH was formed as a collaborative forum and incubator to engage and champion innovative ideas, companies, programs and technologies focused on a series of sustainability challenges.
“Our world’s balance between demand and supply of food is sensitive to climate change, fuel demands, access to water and our investments in research and infrastructure,” said Stephen Kennedy Smith, President of Em-Link LLC, the Boston-based Master Distributor for Valcent in the United States. ”We are honored to receive recognition from this esteemed panel of judges who recognize Valcent’s VertiCrop™ technology as vital to accelerating innovation for a sustainable future. We look forward to the panelists’ valuable input on our initiatives involving vertical agriculture using recycled resources and hydroponics, which is the practice of growing plants without soil and which allows for the production of fruit and vegetables in spaces outside of traditional farms…”
Click here to read the full article found at PR-USA.net.
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