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New Industrial Revolution
The New Industrial Revolution has more to do with rectifying or even undoing some of the damage that resulted from the last Industrial Revolution. Rather than a call for industrialization, expansion of mechanization, or a broadening of global markets, the New Industrial Revolution is characterized by merging traditionally contraditory disciplines: environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness.
Ushered in by world-renowned industrial designer William McDonough, the New Industrial Revolution is viewed as a necessity in order to change the direction of the current industrial modality. The New Industrial Revolution will produce a world of abundance and good design - a delightful, safe world that our children can play in.
At the heart of the New Industrial Revolution is a quantum leap in the way that humans think of the products that we purchase and consume. The traditional “cradle to grave” product lifecycle must be changed to a system of “cradle to cradle” product flow. This alternative product flow can be characterized as “reuse": returning consumer products to the environment as biological nutrients, or to industry as technical nutrients that can be infinitely recycled.
Vertical Farming
Vertical farming is a conceptual form of agriculture done in urban high-rises. In these high-rises (variously called “farmscrapers,") food such as fruit, vegetables, fish, and livestock can be raised by using greenhouse growing methods and recycled resources year-round, allowing cities of the future to become self-sufficient.
The potential advantages of vertical farming are many. First, there would be no weather related crop failures. Second, continuous production of food (i.e., no seasons) would be the norm. Vertical farming could greatly reduce or even prevent further deforestation, desertification, and other consequences of encroachment for agricultural land use if employed on large scale. By producing food indoors within population centers, fossil fuel use would be greatly reduced (no plowing, planting, harvesting by farm machinery), and reduction of food miles means less pollution is generated transporting produce from the vertical farm to the market. The controlled environment of a multi-story greenhouse will obviate the need for pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Employing a combination of hydroponic, aeroponic, and other related growing strategies will allow most crops to be produced in large quantities indoors. As currently envisioned, the vertical farm would also be designed to make use of energy generated from wind power, solar power, and incineration of raw sewage and the inedible portion of harvested crops. Instead of producing agricultural runoff (currently the world’s most serious source of pollution), the vertical farm aspires to become truly self-sustaining. In that regard, the water of evapo-transpiration can also be harvested and re-used in crop production, or exported from the farm as a source of drinking water. Today, over 70% of the liquid fresh water on Earth is used for horizontal soil-based agriculture, and once used it is not usable for anything else due to the common use of agrochemicals and pesticides. Vertical farms will require significantly less water, and as mentioned, will have the option of re-cycling it.
Biomimicry
Biomimicry refers to the mimicry of natural systems of production and recycle that are found in nature. Translated to a dynamic system, biomimicry does the following:
1. Considers waste as a resource
2. Diversifies and cooperates to fully use the habitat
3. Gathers and uses energy efficiently
4. Optimizes rather than maximizes
5. Uses materials sparingly
6. Doesn’t foul our nest
7. Doesn’t draw down resources
8. Remains in balance with biosphere
9. Runs on information
10. Shops locally
Earthships
Earthships are earth-sheltered autonomous buildings made of tires rammed with earth, which are usually arranged in “U” or horseshoe shaped modules. Each tire is rammed full of earth manually using a sledge hammer. Windows on the sunny side admit light and heat. The open end of the “U” shaped structure faces South in the northern hemisphere, and North in the southern hemisphere, so that the house will catch maximum sunlight in the colder months. An Earthship is designed to interface with its environment wherever possible and create its own utilities.
The Earthship was designed as a structure that would exist in harmony with its environment and be freed from the constraints of modern shelters which rely on centralized utilities. It is important that the Earthship create its own utilities as well as use readily available and sustainable materials. In order to be entirely self sufficient the Earthship needs to be able to handle the three systems of Water, Electricity and Climate. While these systems are not exclusive to Earthships, a properly designed Earthship must have these systems.
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