Wednesday 25 June 2014

Podcast #53: US power plants, Farm in a box + Great Barrier Reef



This podcast includes the following stories:
  1. US Environmental Protection Agency's bid to curb emissions from power plants
  2. Inventor in Kenya wants everyone to become farmers
  3. My web picks
  4. UNESCO and Leonardo DiCaprio warn Australia over Great Barrier Reef
Listen to more CoolGreen episodes here

The Smallest Farm in the World
Satao - A Legend (Mark Deeble)
Armadillo of the World cup (BBC - Science in Action)

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Farm in a box

An inventor in Kenya has come up with a farm kit he claims can grow enough plants and livestock to feed a family in a space the size of a small car.

The 'aquaponic' system combines growing beds with a tank for rearing edible fish or shrimps. The two systems work in harmony using minimal amounts of energy and water.

If this sounds like the stuff of science fiction, its creator assures me the idea has been around for centuries and is beguilingly simple. That said, he has little doubt about its potential to revolutionise the way food is produced in the future.

I meet Heino Dahmen in a sprawling garage on the outskirts of the port city of Mombasa. He has run this business and an adjoining shipyard on the Mtwapa Creek for 20 years, but now devotes almost all his time to a bewildering array of engineering projects.