Vertical farms: a pyramid scheme?
I hate to bash the New York Times twice in one week, but this is such a stupid idea that I hardly know where to start. Some guy thinks we should build multistory skyscraper "farms" in New York City. He claims that:
For every indoor acre farmed, some 10 to 20 outdoor acres of farmland could be allowed to return to their original ecological state (mostly hardwood forest). Abandoned farms do this free of charge, with no human help required.What about the abandoned farmers? But I'm not really worried about them, because this is not going to happen, at least not on a scale that poses an economic threat to many farmers.
If hydroponics is as wonderful as claimed in this article, do you wonder why most farmers still grow stuff in soil, rather than covering their fields with hydroponic tanks? Hint: it's not because they're stupid.
Growing plants on the roof of a building -- a "green roof" -- poses various challenges, but at least a roof can get the same amount of rain and sunlight as a ground-level garden would, assuming no shading by nearby buildings. With a multilevel "vertical farm", however, water and light must somehow be divided among the levels. OK, if the tower is taller than anything nearby, it can get some sunlight coming in sideways, but consider the geometry...

