A forest in a box?

For some, the industrialization and commodification of agriculture over the last 100 years or so has not been a good thing.  Even if you fall into that camp, it can still be good to keep an open mind about the value of industrial engineering.  Often, just a shift in goals and attitude can make a big difference.  Check out this talk by Shubhendu Sharma

Week 2 video blog

Water Blues

There is a great documentary series that has recently been produced called Water Blues Green Solutions.  It covers many of the topics that we touch on in this course, with an emphasis on the various ways that folks are coming up with real and tangible solutions to the many water related issues that we face.  The full documentary is being broadcast on Public Television; check your local listings.

But most of the content and more is available on their website here: http://waterblues.org/explore/stories

Week 1 Video Blog

Solar Freakin' Roadways

Check out this great example of innovation.  Solar roadways!

Evolution's motto: neccesity is the mother of invention

Evolutionary biologist Chris Thomas (above) takes a long view of the biological tumult being exerted by humans on the biosphere.  Chris argues that biological systems are incredibly resilient to change....even the profound changes we are causing.  From a scientific perspective he thinks this is just incredibly interesting to watch.  But he also thinks that maybe we need to take this dynamic resiliency more into account as we develop ways of negotiating our eponymous mass extinction.  Check out his interesting ideas here on this episode of Living on Earth: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=14-P13-00019&segmentID=6

Save Money, Live Better, Save the Planet?

There is growing concern  about the environmental costs of and threats to the sustainability of our food systems.  You can see this increased awareness reflected in the efforts of large retailers such as Walmart.  This story http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Walmart-s-organic-push-could-alter-California-5396629.php describes Walmart's drive to increase the number of organic options they provide.  Other retailers such as the supermarket conglomerate, Tesco have pushed their suppliers to provide various sustainability metrics that they share with consumers.  As the story points out, any changes that such large food sellers enact can have large impacts on the entire food system.  It also brings up some interesting questions about what a "sustainable food system" looks like.