As the concrete jungles of our world continue to expand, the need for innovative solutions to combat climate change and food insecurity becomes more pressing. Each minute sees more and more plants and trees being steered out of their natural habitats to create room for our own “jungles” to take their place. As humans, we envision the future of advancements in technology and human progress, but what we fail to picture is the burning pit that could become of the planet we call home. 

Our atmosphere consists of a multitude of gases spearheaded by nitrogen and oxygen which both make up around 99% of our atmosphere. Among the remaining 1% lies a small group that constitutes 0.04% of the air that surrounds us — the greenhouse gases. Some important greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide.Greenhouse gases are crucial in Earth’s regulation of temperature, as they possess a unique ability to absorb radiation in a process commonly referred to as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect occurs when the solar radiation re-radiates off the surface of the Earth and is captured by greenhouse gases. Although this does allow our surface to stay warm and enables life to prosper, human activity has led to excessive production of these gases, resulting in an amplified greenhouse effect that induces numerous consequences: melting glaciers, rising sea levels, loss of habitats, and perilous weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

However, amidst this chaos, lies a glimmer of hope — sustainable solutions that can still be implemented. Among them, one stands out: urban agriculture.

Urban agriculture describes the use of agriculture in urban or suburban areas. Although urban agriculture is already fairly common in many towns, an overlooked subdivision - vertical planting — offers an encouraging solution to combat global warming.  Vertical planting is a hydroponic, without soil, technique where plants are planted in an upright manner and fed necessary nutrients through mineral-rich water. Although unusual, the benefits for human production as well as atmospheric conservation is vast. 

This technique allows for an efficient use of space and a reduction in the use of pesticides. Vertical planting doesn’t require a whole field of soil to help gather nutrients for plants but rather is able to directly convey their nutrients through the water it receives. As a result, only 1% of land is used in vertical planting than in actual farming. In real world terms, 700 acres of land worth of crops can be condensed to about the size of a big box retail store. Such a small area allows us to easily regulate the temperatures and conditions to the optimal environment for each plant. A 700% increase in yield is able to occur as a result of the conditions they are grown in as well as the increase in oxygen flow to the roots because they are not simply confined to the ground. In the otherwise unpredictable world, unprecedented storms or floods could easily destroy thousands of acres whereas here we are able to control all elements. 

This solves our problem, but what for the environment? By growing these plants in a controlled indoor environment, the system is able to manifest an almost completely renewable water cycle. Simply put, when water is sent up a tube to be distributed among the plants, it is absorbed into their roots and is transpired up. The water vapor then gets sucked into air handling units where it’s condensed and put back into the system. This process saves 1 million gallons of water per week and thus helps mitigate the greenhouse effect as well. By not allowing the water vapor to escape, it can’t enter the atmosphere and participate in its role as a greenhouse gas. Moreover, vertical planting’s mobility enables these “growth stores”  to be located near the city, reducing the amount of transportation required to deliver crops. Consequently, carbon sequestration occurs which hides away carbon from the atmosphere, thus diluting the capacity of the greenhouse effect.

Vertical planting lays us a clear path to the beginning of a sustainable world. Yet the choice lies with us to begin the journey, or wait long enough to see our home go beyond fixing.

Sources:

https://land8.com/vertical-gardens-a-brief-introduction/

https://www.trees.com/gardening-and-landscaping/vertical-hydroponics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ww2TP_tU7o&ab_channel=USATODAYLife