Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Sol Invictus... The invincible sun... Now that's a powerful statement. We wake up in the morning seeking it's light, it's heat. It's energy is the source of all life on earth, human, animal and plant life. It provides the photosynthesis necessary for plant growth, and plants are the beginning of the life cycle. The are eaten by herbivores, which are in turn eaten by carnivores, which then die, decompose, and through this process provide the nutrients necessary for the cycle to start over again. We have for long tried to harvest the power of the sun. Agriculture, solar ovens, solar panels, solar dryers. Even humans harvest the sun's energy and the vitamins it's rays provide. The sun is the single largest source of energy on this planet. A few hours of sunshine, if we knew how to propery harvest it, would provide all of the electricity we consume in one year on this planet. Oil compared to the sun is like a bicycle compared to the space ship we will be able to build a century from now. Photovoltaic technology is rapidly advancing and solar panels are way more efficient now than they used to be. But one form of solar panel has existed forever and is by far the most efficient; plant leaves. Plants are extremely efficient at transforming sun light into carbon mass through the process of photosynthesis. I'm a super cropper. Super cropping is the art of adding efficiencies where they did not previously exist. It's the art of creating methods to better exploit the energy provided by our main star. The art of spreading these leafy solar panels in such a way that they cover more space in any given area. Agriculture is going vertical. It NEEDS to go vertical. Going vertical means we start to think in cubic feet instead of square feet. It means we can grow more, and I mean much much more vegetal life than using conventional methods. Practically speaking, it allows us to bring farming back to the city, close to where the food is consumed, with the countless benefits associated with that. It opens the door to cultivating crops that were impossible to grow before. It also allows us to grow crops indoors during the cold season, using artificial sunlight provided by high intensity discharge lights. What was economically not viable using conventional methods now becomes profitable when we can grow multiple times the number of plants using the same light energy. It keeps jobs local. It keeps our food clean, pesticide free, herbicide free, gmo free, affordable, nutritious. It's a game changer. Such is the power of the invincible sun. Khaled

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