Fish and Salad In Situ Ville: NY Times on Aquaponics

New technology has enabled smaller scale livingry systems. (That is a Bucky Fuller word.)

Fascinating overview. Fish-Sun-Water-Plants

The New York Times discusses aquaponics as practiced in the US, with a ton of Australians in the mix. See http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/ for more on that. I just discovered the Australian site and am gleeful from the experience. The Times article mentions also Aquaponics Journal, which has doubled subscriptions every year for the last five years.

The Spotless Garden

By MICHAEL TORTORELLO

Published: February 17, 2010

Aquaponic gardens use fish, water and no soil — and may be the future of food growing.

This technology/approach dates at least to the early 1970s - see New Alchemy Institute's innovations in bioshelters. I had mentioned New Alchemy Institute in November 2005 in the context of Sustainable Architecture at http://techneblog.blogspot.com/2005/11/sustainable-architecture.html

More New Alchemy materials at The Green Center http://www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/ which includes reports on aquaculture, bioshelters, and agriculture.

Good stewardship + good eats.

Strawberries: High Margin Greenhouse Food

Perfect example of in-situ agriculture yielding ~ $20/pound. Systems. Systems. This is what physicists do when they change jobs: geek and eat.

Readily tweakable for other environments and economies. From Smithsonian Magazine.

High tech greenhouses in the desert, physicist. Lovely. "In 1991, a French nursery called Marionnet introduced Mara des Bois, a deep red strawberry with soft, melting flesh and a fantastically intense perfume... it fetches a premium price, and accounts for about a tenth of the nation's strawberry harvest." Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/strawberry-side.html?c=y&page=1

What Matters Most: NY Times dot earth blog

Andrew Revkin writes:

Ecoartspace, an organization that focuses on addressing environmental issues through the visual arts (the image below, from a 2009 exhibition, is by Nils-Udo), got in touch with me recently about a planned spring exhibition of small works on paper devoted to a simple question: What matters most?

Lovely selection of thinkers at http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/what-matters-most/

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com

Jamie Oliver has a record of good works. He founded Fifteen

"Fifteen is a commercial business with a purpose – a global social enterprise with young people at its heart. Fifteen has four restaurants worldwide - Amsterdam, Cornwall, London and Melbourne – all of which operate a pioneering apprenticeship scheme for young people, between the ages of 18 and 24, alongside the day-to-day running of the restaurants."

Starting working in his family's pub at an early age, he later became famous as The Naked Chef, and has a direct, wonderful approach to food and sensible nutrition. He's recently won the TED Prize.

"Sharing powerful stories from his anti-obesity project in Huntington, W. Va., TED Prize winner Jamie Oliver makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food."

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com

Strongly recommend his books and his elan for great simply prepared food. (Pizza crust: water. flour. bash it about. EZ PZ Bob's Your Uncle.)

TechCrunch The Long Tail of Video

From the five cents a glance validation crew:

The Long Tail Of Video Sites Capture Half Of All Viewing Minutes

Back to writing here...

Environmental Restoration in Texas from All Things Considered

Wonderful interview long on practical stewardship.

Texas Rancher An Unlikely Environmentalist: NPR

"David Bamberger converted 5,500 acres of some of the most badly damaged and overgrazed hill country in Texas into a showpiece of environmental restoration. Bamberger has been hailed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and has won the state's top voluntary land stewardship award.

A visit to Bamberger Ranch is like a trip back in time. Instead of cedar brush and barren limestone breaking the soil's surface, large hardwood trees surround grassy meadows. Wild turkey and deer wander in the open, and bobcats lurk in the hollows hunting game"