CleanTechnica » Agriculture http://cleantechnica.com Clean Tech News & Views: Solar Energy News. Wind Energy News. EV News. & More. Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:48:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1 Daisy Takes Plant Care Into The New Millennium http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/daisy-takes-plant-care-new-millennium/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/daisy-takes-plant-care-new-millennium/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:13:47 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76698 Meet Daisy — the new sensor and smartphone app that will allow you to better take care of your plants, and allow them to “communicate their needs to stay in optimum health.” A month ago I wrote about the Blossom smart sprinkler system, and started the article thus: Over the years of writing for the Important

Daisy Takes Plant Care Into The New Millennium was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/daisy-takes-plant-care-new-millennium/feed/ 0 COP20: Two Days To A Climate Chorus In Lima? http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/11/cop20-two-days-climate-chorus-lima/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/11/cop20-two-days-climate-chorus-lima/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2014 12:35:16 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76179 The UN’s Lima COP20 conference stands up very well in its final days against those who doubt or scorn international efforts to reduce climate impacts. It’s not just a lot of hot air. The congruence of international climate experts and decisionmakers is allowing organizations public and private, worldwide, to focus on exploring new solutions and

COP20: Two Days To A Climate Chorus In Lima? was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/11/cop20-two-days-climate-chorus-lima/feed/ 5 Jellyfish Barge: Biomimicry At Its Best http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/10/jellyfish-barge-biomimicry-best/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/10/jellyfish-barge-biomimicry-best/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:52:44 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76135 The Jellyfish Barge, if you have not heard word about it, is one potential worldwide food and water solution, which deserves high praise. Here is what the designers an biologists at the think tank Pnat set their stage, citing World Bank population projections. “The World Bank predicts that the world population will grow to almost

Jellyfish Barge: Biomimicry At Its Best was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/10/jellyfish-barge-biomimicry-best/feed/ 20 Win A Trip To Masdar City, Abu Dhabi — Write About Your Ideal City http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/09/win-trip-masdar-city-abu-dhabi-write-ideal-city/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/09/win-trip-masdar-city-abu-dhabi-write-ideal-city/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2014 07:57:37 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76098 Masdar* has launched its third annual Engage Blogging Contest, which offers an excellent chance to visit Abu Dhabi, and, of course, Masdar City, during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The winner will have an all-expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi the week of January 17, 2015, and will be Masdar’s guest blogger during this important event

Win A Trip To Masdar City, Abu Dhabi — Write About Your Ideal City was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/09/win-trip-masdar-city-abu-dhabi-write-ideal-city/feed/ 4 Can Solar Thermal Desalination Make Sustainable Agriculture Possible? http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/05/can-solar-thermal-desalination-make-sustainable-agriculture-possible/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/05/can-solar-thermal-desalination-make-sustainable-agriculture-possible/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2014 06:57:26 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=75904 The jury is still out on solar thermal, which is certainly efficient but has its critics because of its costs, both financial and ecological. The International Energy Association (IEA) is still bullish about its future, and projects such as the Solana Generating Station in Arizona show potential. Large projects such as Masdar’s Shams 1 and

Can Solar Thermal Desalination Make Sustainable Agriculture Possible? was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/05/can-solar-thermal-desalination-make-sustainable-agriculture-possible/feed/ 32 Origins Movie: “The Planet is an Ecosystem of Life, and We Are Part of that Ecosystem” http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/19/origins-movie-planet-ecosystem-life-part-ecosystem/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/19/origins-movie-planet-ecosystem-life-part-ecosystem/#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:33:16 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=75185 The title of this article is a quote from Tom Malterre, co-author of the Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, which is online for only a few days (link at bottom or article). This is a movie about how we have left the natural connection to the planet. The movie investigates how this has happened, the incredible

Origins Movie: “The Planet is an Ecosystem of Life, and We Are Part of that Ecosystem” was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/19/origins-movie-planet-ecosystem-life-part-ecosystem/feed/ 56 North America’s #1 Urban Cultivator http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/12/north-americas-1-urban-cultivator/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/12/north-americas-1-urban-cultivator/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2014 20:20:46 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=74885 Urban Cultivator is a Surrey, BC, company that helps customers grow microgreens & herbs in the kitchen. They've grown into an industry leader

North America’s #1 Urban Cultivator was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/12/north-americas-1-urban-cultivator/feed/ 11 Cleantech Open Honors Innovators At 5th Midwest Summit http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/30/cleantech-open-honors-innovators-5th-midwest-summit/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/30/cleantech-open-honors-innovators-5th-midwest-summit/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2014 15:59:45 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=74227 The Cleantech Open, a 501(c)(3) nongovernmental organization, catalyzes global cleantech. It runs a rigorous one-of-a-kind accelerator program for start-up cleantech companies over a period of five months per year. Rooted in the efforts of volunteers (many of whom are top professionals in their fields), the organization has fostered over 900 emerging businesses since 1996. This week I

Cleantech Open Honors Innovators At 5th Midwest Summit was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/30/cleantech-open-honors-innovators-5th-midwest-summit/feed/ 0 Fracking Wastewater Spoils California Drinking, Farm Supplies http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/14/fracking-wastewater-spoils-california-drinking-farm-supplies/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/14/fracking-wastewater-spoils-california-drinking-farm-supplies/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2014 07:00:18 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=73352 Central California, already painfully stressed by the worst drought in 50 years (which the US Drought Monitor designates as “extreme or exceptional drought,” the most serious category on the agency’s five-level scale), has another problem with its water supply. Aquifers that supply drinking and irrigation water have recently had to swallow almost 3 billion gallons

Fracking Wastewater Spoils California Drinking, Farm Supplies was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/14/fracking-wastewater-spoils-california-drinking-farm-supplies/feed/ 14 World Biodiversity Plan Shows Progress, But Not Enough http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/10/world-biodiversity-plan-shows-progress-enough/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/10/world-biodiversity-plan-shows-progress-enough/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2014 11:00:52 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=73115 It’s not just about the polar bears and the honeybees. Sustainable development, and increasingly the stabilization of climate, depend more on biodiversity than we realized even a decade ago. Extinction, deforestation, overfishing, and pollution all restrict human abilities to nourish the planet. Knowing that uniformity and paucity of species drain the world’s shared wealth and

World Biodiversity Plan Shows Progress, But Not Enough was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/10/world-biodiversity-plan-shows-progress-enough/feed/ 0 Urban Ag Grows Up: World’s Largest Rooftop Farm In Chicago http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/08/urban-agriculture-grows-into-worlds-largest-rooftop-farm/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/08/urban-agriculture-grows-into-worlds-largest-rooftop-farm/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2014 12:22:09 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=73132 A gigantic new urban agriculture operation in Chicago will blow everything else out of the water with a rooftop farm on Method's new manufacturing plant

Urban Ag Grows Up: World’s Largest Rooftop Farm In Chicago was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/08/urban-agriculture-grows-into-worlds-largest-rooftop-farm/feed/ 17 The Only Grid-Independent Village In The World? http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/02/grid-independent-village-world-feldheim/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/02/grid-independent-village-world-feldheim/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:23:25 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=72493 A little village in Germany, Feldheim, claims to be the only 100% grid-independent village in the world. It is a rural community that switched to renewables for financial reasons, but is now visited by thousands and thousands of people. The tour guide who showed us around noted that his most interesting group was when he had

The Only Grid-Independent Village In The World? was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/02/grid-independent-village-world-feldheim/feed/ 14 Catalyzing Action At The September 2014 UN Climate Summit http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/29/catalyzing-action-september-2014-un-climate-summit/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/29/catalyzing-action-september-2014-un-climate-summit/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2014 09:57:05 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=72416 Almost everyone in the media has taken a stab at summarizing, if not snap-judging, the results of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s one-day UN climate summit last week. The meeting had a real name, but Robert N. Stavins in his New York Times runup to the conference was the only writer I observed using it: “Catalyzing Action.”

Catalyzing Action At The September 2014 UN Climate Summit was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/29/catalyzing-action-september-2014-un-climate-summit/feed/ 1 White House Announces $68 Million For 540 US Renewable & Energy Efficiency Projects http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/20/white-house-announces-68-million-540-us-renewable-energy-efficiency-projects/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/20/white-house-announces-68-million-540-us-renewable-energy-efficiency-projects/#comments Sat, 20 Sep 2014 14:27:12 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=72228 US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $68 million in funding Thursday for 540 US renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the nation’s rural communities. This legislation is part of the “Swiss Army knife” of tools for jobs, innovation, infrastructure, research, and conservation President Obama has been talking about. Of these projects, almost half are

White House Announces $68 Million For 540 US Renewable & Energy Efficiency Projects was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/20/white-house-announces-68-million-540-us-renewable-energy-efficiency-projects/feed/ 10 Polish Town Gets 100% Renewable Electricity http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/18/polish-town-100-renewable-energy/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/18/polish-town-100-renewable-energy/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:43:02 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=72057 The Polish town of Kisielice has received the European Commission’s ManagEnergy Award 2014 for its clean energy leadership. It is 100% powered by renewable energy (wind and biomass, to be specific). The prize is to award outstanding local and regional sustainable energy projects. Kisielice’s submission was titled, “Energy self-sufficient Commune of Kisielice.” Mayor Tomasz Koprowiak of the small community

Polish Town Gets 100% Renewable Electricity was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/18/polish-town-100-renewable-energy/feed/ 2 Solar Farms Popular With UK Farmers http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/14/solar-farms-popular-uk-farmers/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/14/solar-farms-popular-uk-farmers/#comments Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:00:26 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=71832 What a lovely sight to see the sheep among the solar panels. Modern farming is becoming dual purpose. The land between and underneath rows of PV models is accessible for grazing of small livestock, such as sheep and free-ranging poultry. Simultaneous farming results in ecological and economic benefits. Home-grown power is the trend according to

Solar Farms Popular With UK Farmers was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/14/solar-farms-popular-uk-farmers/feed/ 8 World’s Largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Project Commissioned In India http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/12/worlds-largest-single-rooftop-solar-power-project-commissioned-india/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/12/worlds-largest-single-rooftop-solar-power-project-commissioned-india/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2014 06:00:43 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=71830 As a part of the national push to build our solar capacity, the Indian state of Punjab is building the world's largest rooftop solar power project

World’s Largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Project Commissioned In India was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/12/worlds-largest-single-rooftop-solar-power-project-commissioned-india/feed/ 6 NCES 7.0 Summary Report (+ Full Speeches From Hillary Clinton & Harry Reid) http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/08/nces-7-0-summary-report-full-speeches-hilary-clinton-harry-reid/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/08/nces-7-0-summary-report-full-speeches-hilary-clinton-harry-reid/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2014 20:38:41 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=71699 The 7th Annual National Clean Energy Summit was just held September 4th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV. You ask why Mandalay Bay is significant? Well, its convention center, where the event was held, has a huge roof and they have loaded it up with solar panels. Photo Credit: JD Mumma You can check

NCES 7.0 Summary Report (+ Full Speeches From Hillary Clinton & Harry Reid) was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/08/nces-7-0-summary-report-full-speeches-hilary-clinton-harry-reid/feed/ 23 Years of Living Dangerously Reprise Starts Tomorrow Night http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/04/years-living-dangerously-reprise-starts-tomorrow-night/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/04/years-living-dangerously-reprise-starts-tomorrow-night/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2014 21:52:12 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=71530 The powerful cable television series Years of Living Dangerously, a remarkable view of the human impacts of climate change that we reviewed several times earlier this year, returns to television in rerun form this weekend. If you missed the compelling series the first time, you really owe it to yourself (and to all of us) to

Years of Living Dangerously Reprise Starts Tomorrow Night was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/09/04/years-living-dangerously-reprise-starts-tomorrow-night/feed/ 5 Transparent Solar Cells, Solar Powering Bayern Munich… (Solar News Roundup) http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/30/transparent-solar-cells-solar-bayern-munich-solar-news/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/30/transparent-solar-cells-solar-bayern-munich-solar-news/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2014 11:17:36 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=71302 Here’s some more solar energy news from around the interwebs: Michigan State University researchers have made some progress on transparent solar cells, a technology we’ve been covering for years but is yet to make it out of the lab. Michigan State’s transparent solar cells aren’t going to be commercialized anytime soon, but maybe they will

Transparent Solar Cells, Solar Powering Bayern Munich… (Solar News Roundup) was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/30/transparent-solar-cells-solar-bayern-munich-solar-news/feed/ 15