Skyscraper Farm - A Potentially New Way to Farm

「摩天农场」--具有潜力的农耕新方法


By Hong Kong News Group (Originally in English)


Good news in a time of global warming! Columbia University professor Dr. Dickson Despommier envisions a potentially new way to farm that converts skyscrapers into crop farms! This could curb global warming and allow traditional farms to be returned to natural forests.

全球暖化之际的好消息！哥伦比亚大学教授迪克森.德斯波米尔博士（Dr. Dickson Despommier）想到了一个具有潜力的农耕新方法，那就是把摩天大楼变成农作物耕地！这个做法也许可以抑制全球暖化，并使传统农地回归成自然林地。


Dickson Despommier had the idea of putting a farm in a skyscraper about eight years ago. He asked his students to come up with ideas on urban sustainability, and design a building that could feed New York City. The envisioned 30-story “vertical farm” runs off of solar power, wind power, and inedible plant waste. Irrigation comes from the sewage. He believes that the use of a green building system could also help clean the urban environment. He estimates that more than 100 different kinds of fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, blueberries and even miniature banana plants, could be grown in the indoor farm and could provide enough food and water for 50,000 people year round. Despommier believes that the only way to stabilize climate and weather patterns is to change the way we grow crops, and allow forests to re-grow where crops are cultivated. He believes that the indoor farms would allow all the Earth’s farmland to return to forest.

约于8年前，迪克森.德斯波米尔就有了这个将农场设在摩天大楼的构想。他要求学生们提出城市永续发展的见解，并设计出一栋能供应纽约市食物的建筑物。这座构想中30层楼高的「垂直农场」，动力能源取自太阳能、风力及不可食用的植物废料，并用污水来灌溉。他相信环保建筑系统的使用也有助于城市环境清洁。他设想室内农场可以栽种像草苺、蓝莓甚至是小型香蕉等100多种不同的水果及蔬菜，每年可为5万人提供足够的食物和水。德斯波米尔相信，要稳定气候及天气型态最好的方法就是改变我们种植农作物的方式，并让被开垦为耕地的森林能再度成长。他相信室内农场将会使地球上的农地回归成林地。



In addition to increasing forest acreage to curb global warming, there is another reason to develop vertical farming: exploding population growth. By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban centers. According to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people in that time. More land will be needed to grow enough food to feed them if traditional farming practices continue.

除了增加森林面积以抑制全球暖化外，另一个发展垂直农场的原因就是人口暴增。到了2050年，约有百分之八十的全球人口会住在市中心。根据目前人口统计趋势来看，届时约将增加三十亿人口。如果继续采用传统耕作模式，将会需要更多土地才能栽种足够的食物来养活这些人。

Now, 60% of our population lives in cities. We humans are protected against the elements, yet we subject our plants to the rigors of the outdoors and hope for a good weather year. Due to the rapidly changing climate, floods, droughts, hurricanes, and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of crops. Don’t our harvestable plants deserve the same level of “comfort” and protection that we now enjoy? Maybe it’s time to start growing our food inside of environmentally controlled, urban buildings.

现今百分之六十的人口住在城市里。我们人类在对抗天候上受到良好保护，然而却使植物受到户外气候的严酷考验，只能期盼风调雨顺。由于气候快速变迁，洪水、干旱、飓风及连绵雨季每年都造成许多损害，摧毁数百万吨的农作物。难道这些可收成的植物不该同样享有我们的「舒适」及保护吗？也许是该开始将我们的食物栽种在环境控制下的城市建筑物中的时候了。


The concept of indoor farming has been in vogue for some time, and greenhouse-based agriculture already produces tomatoes, herbs, and other crops for market. Now the urgent need to accommodate another 3 billion people makes a grand approach to indoor farming especially attractive. The vertical farm must be efficient, cheap to construct, and safe to operate. Despommier is convinced the first vertical farm will exist within fifteen years. If successfully implemented, the new high-rise agriculture will supply enough food to feed all of humankind, and allow large tracts of land to revert back to their natural states. Finally, it will create an environment that encourages sustainable urban life and promotes a state of good health for all those who choose to live in a city.

室内栽种的概念早已流行一阵子，温室栽培也能生产西红柿、药草及其它农作物以供应市场需求。如今，要供应即将出现三十亿人口需求所产生的急迫性，必将引发室内栽种的加速进行。垂直农场必须效能良好、能以廉价方式建造且操作安全。德斯波米尔相信，首幢垂直农场将于15年内出现。若能成功实现，这种新的高楼农业将可提供全人类足够的食物，并让广大的土地回复到自然状态。最后将能创造出永续的城市生活环境，并让选择居住在城市里的人们更加健康。