A Hydroponic Greenhouse Grows in Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with approximately 2.5 million residentsBrooklyn is part of New York City, which means you’re not going to find acres of farmland.

And yet, some people who dine at New York City restaurants eat fresh vegetables grown in Brooklyn, thanks to a company called Gotham Greens and a concept called hydroponic farming.  Don’t know what that is? Here’s a hint: they use the rooftops of city buildings. Watch and be amazed.

United Nations says Air Pollution is Deadlier than AIDS, Malaria

Air pollution is deadlier than people think, according to the United Nations, which says that air pollution kills far more people than AIDS and malaria.

“Air pollution is causing more deaths than HIV or malaria combined,” a UN official told a recent conference in Oslo, Norway, according to this Reuters story.

If you are like us at Earth Preservers, you’re probably shocked that more people don’t think of air pollution as a deadly killer.

Both indoor and outdoor sources of air pollution are equally responsible for making air pollution so deadly.  Indoor pollution from wood fires and primitive stoves, coupled with outdoor pollution from power plants and tailpipes, cause killer diseases such as cancer and pneumonia, the UN said.

Get ready to be sick: air pollution kills nearly 7 million people a year, according to the UN.

Locally Sourced, Organically Grown Chickens Sound Good, But . . .

What if those chickens lived next door to you in some suburban neighborhood. 

The zoning board in suburban East Brunswick, New Jersey just ruled that a woman could keep her egg-laying chickens (five in all) on her property over her neighbors’ objections. The neighbors had complained about safety, sanitation and a potential decline in property values.

As this NJ.com story notes, more such turf battles lie ahead, as the trend of keeping chickens and other farm animals on residential property grows. East Brunswick settled nothing, deciding just to give the woman a variance to local zoning laws.

Put yourself in the position of those neighbors.

Would you object if your next-door neighbor wanted to keep chickens in his backyard?

View poll on GoPollGo

Contrary to Media Reports, Wind Turbines Really Don’t Make You Sick

There’s been a lot of talk recently about something called “wind turbine syndrome.” People opposed to having a wind power plant near where they live have made a big deal out of how the noise turbines emit makes people sick, such as by giving them headaches.

New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean near Australia.But new research from New Zealand says it is far more likely that people are feeling sick in response to stories in the media by anti-wind groups intended to scare people into thinking they are sick.

University researchers divided test subjects into two groups. Both groups listened to turbine noise, but it was only the group that was told that the noise can make them sick that subsequently reported a large number of health concerns. 

You’ll find more about the researchers worker in this RenewEconomy.com.au article.

‘Breathing’ Bike Fights Beijing Air Pollution

Beijing, ChinaLiving in Beijing, China is a good way to die young. That’s because the city has disgustingly high levels of air pollution. People fight back by wearing masks, but masks can only do so much. Enter a chap named Matt Hope. As you’ll see in this video, Matt has pieced together something he calls the “breathing bike.” Matt’s bike converts the energy he expends as rides into electricity. The electricity cleans air that he then breathes in using a pilot’s helmet. Hopefully, this is NOT the future we all face.