Last year I wrote a blog post about vertical farming and its futuristic promises of cities peppered with green-sided skyscrapers. It’s an intoxicating idea. You can see that post here. Last week, The Guardian published an article on the same subject. Here’s a quote: “So it’s easy to see the appeal of a system which, [...]
Vertical Green 2: A Fantasy or Our Future?
August 12th, 2010 by FrancesPress Release – Beyond Green: Taking the Long View Toward a Truly Sustainable Resort
April 19th, 2010 by FrancesCHICAGO, April 19, 2010 — Many luxury resorts and hotels are currently touting their green initiatives: recycling, laundering towels less often, or using compact fluorescent bulbs. While these are important efforts, some are embracing a concept bigger than green: sustainability. Alex Pettitt, host of TV’s “Mainstream Green,” contends that sustainability must be ingrained in a [...]
Bamboozled
November 12th, 2009 by BenThe WSJ journal has an article today about the sustainability of bamboo clothing; as it turns out, bamboo clothing really isn’t sustainable once you factor in all the chemicals and processing involved in its production, and claims that it is are probably close to fraudulent. One of these days I might get around to blogging [...]
Sustainable Forestry Solutions
October 1st, 2009 by DavidLast week I discussed some of the deforestation that is happening throughout Panama. The depletion of rainforest is a very real problem with powerful socioeconomic repercussions. For instance, the deforestation of the Darien Jungle would open passage by land from Colombia, and all of South America, through Panama all the way to Alaska via the [...]
Deforestation
September 23rd, 2009 by DavidThe provinces of Los Santos and Herrera are considered the heartland of Panama. Many Panamanians trace their roots to these strongholds of Spanish settlement. It is in these areas where ranchers and cowboys tend to their cattle, where the best tipico music and food originate, where some of the greatest sense of national pride is [...]
Vertical Green
September 22nd, 2009 by FrancesRecently I read about a very interesting vision of the future. One that sees traditional “soil-based” farming as unsustainable long-term, and puts forth the idea of urban “vertical” farming, or Sky Farms. Take a look at this op-ed piece by Dr. Dickson D. Despommier in the online New York Times here. Despommier has a book [...]
Orchard, Beachgoers, and Sea Turtles…Oh My! Notes From the Island
September 10th, 2009 by JerrodThree days on Palenque have quickly come to an end as I get ready to pack up and head back to “civilization.” My days were mostly filled with the typical pre-construction on-site task: walking property. I was deciding the ideal location for a potential model villa and making sure the area where we will have [...]
A “British gentleman farmer” in Boca Chica
December 17th, 2008 by BenOn my last visit to the site, I paid a visit to John Spragge, a farmer on Boca Brava: it’s a fascinating group of people hanging out in this unknown little corner of the world. I don’t know if he’d like the term, but the best way I can think of to describe John Spragge [...]
