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Lots of Earth Observation data has become available at no charge in Europe and the US recently and there is a strong push for more open EO data. With precision farming, advanced agriculture using GPS, satellite observations and tractors with on-board computers, the farming process is performed as accurately and efficiently as possible. This is achieved by combining data from earth observations with other geospatial sources such as cadastral data, data on the quality of the soil, vegetation and protected areas. This enables the farmer to find the optimal trade-off in maximizing his yield with minimal use of fertilizers and pesticides while respecting environmental protection.

"Currently a single containerized unit can crank out several hundred heads of lettuce per day."

right ....... ok .......... so whats your point?

Point?? As a professional bullshitter I don't have a point. Just grouch, never critizise (freely translated from the Austrian principle "Nur raunzen, nie kritisieren!") :-) If I have sort of a point: I'd rather not try the vegetable they produce in this "vertical farming", Dutch experience was by far enough.

... better food?

I thought insects and bugs would be our (food) future, but maybe it's plants grown via vertical farming...

I doubt that the associated homogenization of food will turn out to be "better" ....

Australian government approved the construction of one of the biggest wind farms of the world

In Spain, 53% of the energy demand could be supplied by wind farms (during one weekend with quite strong winds)!!!!

Indeed! they have also among the biggest wind farms in Europe. For instance, if you drive from Algeciras (and Gibraltar) to Tarifa, you can see them rotating like hell!!

Ants found in the Pacific islands of Fiji behave as miniature farmers, carefully sowing and fertilising the seeds of at least six types of plant, a study said Monday.

Using a sophisticated weather model, environmental engineers at Stanford have defined optimal placement of a grid of four wind farms off the U.S. East Coast. The model successfully balances production at times of peak demand and significantly reduces costly spikes and zero-power events.

Google subsidiary Google Fiber, Inc. is seeking permission to place satellite antennas on land near its data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The antennas could be used to receive content feeds from broadcast networks that could be bundled with a high-speed fiber service.

an oddly similar story http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/20/apple-is-solar-friendly/ apple to build largest solar array in US

What he found was that wind turbines "could disrupt a hurricane enough to reduce peak wind speeds by up to 92 mph and decrease storm surge by up to 79%."

It seems the topic is getting more and more popular and is no longer considered fringe research, as this is a paper from nature climate change!

Vertical windmills based on fish fins and school swimming behaviour

interesting currently only for some of you .... sorry for the others

"environments that afford them a wide range of microbial exposures, such as traditional farms" == Noordwijk? In my former place we had horses and spiders but I don't know if that's enough to make it a farm...

forecasting to 2050 wouldn't recommend the executive summary but the collection of reports seems to be quite comprehensive across a range of relevant areas "The Project has involved around 400 leading experts and stakeholders from about 35 countries across the world. Drawing upon over 100 peer-reviewed evidence paper commissioned by the Project which can be accessed in full here (hyperlink). "

additional information: http://atelierdna.com/?p=144

isn't this a bit of a contradiction: on the one hand: "Based on rough estimates, said Núñez-Ameni the output would be comparable to that of a conventional wind farm covering the same area" and on the other: "After completion, a Windstalk should be able to produce as much electricity as a single wind turbine, with the advantage that output could be increased with a denser array of stalks. Density is not possible with conventional turbines, which need to be spaced about three times the rotor's diameter in order to avoid air turbulence. " still, very interesting concept!

some biomimicry used in energy systems... maybe it sparks some ideas

not much new that has not been shared here before ... BUT: we have done relativley little on any of them. for good reasons?? don't know - maybe time to look into some of these again more closely Energy Efficiency( Termite mounds inspired regulated airflow for temperature control of large structures, preventing wasteful air conditioning and saving 10% energy.[1] Whale fins shapes informed the design of new-age wind turbine blades, with bumps/tubercles reducing drag by 30% and boosting power by 20%.[2][3][4] Stingray motion has motivated studies on this type of low-effort flapping glide, which takes advantage of the leading edge vortex, for new-age underwater robots and submarines.[5][6] Studies of microstructures found on shark skin that decrease drag and prevent accumulation of algae, barnacles, and mussels attached to their body have led to "anti-biofouling" technologies meant to address the 15% of marine vessel fuel use due to drag.[7][8][9][10] Energy Generation( Passive heliotropism exhibited by sunflowers has inspired research on a liquid crystalline elastomer and carbon nanotube system that improves the efficiency of solar panels by 10%, without using GPS and active repositioning panels to track the sun.[11][12][13] Mimicking the fluid dynamics principles utilized by schools of fish could help to optimize the arrangement of individual wind turbines in wind farms.[14] The nanoscale anti-reflection structures found on certain butterfly wings has led to a model to effectively harness solar energy.[15][16][17] Energy Storage( Inspired by the sunlight-to-energy conversion in plants, researchers are utilizing a protein in spinach to create a sort of photovoltaic cell that generates hydrogen from water (i.e. hydrogen fuel cell).[18][19] Utilizing a property of genetically-engineered viruses, specifically their ability to recognize and bind to certain materials (carbon nanotubes in this case), researchers have developed virus-based "scaffolds" that

Nice animation to summarize the current over fishing problem. For example, I never knew that farm raised fish (like salmon) actually are carnivorous and 5kg of fish is needed to produce 1kg of this 'higher quality' fish.

YES YES YES! And good riddance! :)

can we use it for space :-) ?

- Smart Tractors?!?!? - "Guidance systems are enablers," said Mr James. "Farmers buy them with one job in mind and then realise they can use it for lots more."