Citations

"Ultrafiltration and Membrane Bioreactor." Water & Process Technologies: Water, wastewater and process systems solutions. http://www.gewater.com/products/equipment/mf_uf_mbr/index.jsp (accessed November 9, 2010).

Wikipedia contributors, "Membrane bioreactor," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Membrane_bioreactor&oldid=398277553 (accessed November 10, 2010).

Michelle Duong

facts about waste

the Clean Air Council has a lot of facts on the amounts of waste produced, and the ways it is processed, in the United States

Clean Air Council

here are some more facts about factory farming:

mindfully.org

the ones in the first section are the most relevant I think

egg-shaped chicken coop

Natalie found this and it's great! So I think we should have our chickens living in this coo stylish coop:

It was on this blog

sorry, here's the picture

maure digesters

One of the websites I originally looked at did say that manure digesters aren't overly effective, but considering the amount of information available on them I think the must have some merit. This was the link: Digesters

I also found some information, including a picture, on smaller scale digesters for private use.

Lazcano, Joy M.. "Cooking out of kitchen wastes." http://sntpost.stii.dost.gov.ph/NewPOST/JanMar2007/Cooking%20out%20of%20kitchen%20wastes.htm (accessed Dec. 9, 2010).

Lea Koch

Dec. 9, 2010

Pictures of Waste-Eating Pigs

Here are some photos:

There's more if you go HERE.

Citation:

"meat: pigs eating produce.." meat. http://ebeyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/pigs-eating-produce.html (accessed December 8, 2010).

Posted by Paniz Moayeri On Dec 8/2010

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/evil_egypt/

Natalie Bellefleur

07/12/2010

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RHvbEbk6knG7BWNH6BsiIw

Natalie Bellefleur

07/12/2010

What Happens to organic waste!?

This is talking about what happens to organic waste. I think we can use it to back the idea that you can feed it to the animals.

Organic Waste

Work Citation:

Muir, Wes. "What Happens to Your Organic Waste? | Earth and Industry." Earth & Industry - Sustainable and Responsible Business. http://earthandindustry.com/2010/12/what-happens-to-your-organic-waste/ (accessed December 8, 2010).


Posted by Paniz Moayeri on Wed Dec 8/2010

How will we feed the food facts

Here are some facts we can use to address our question of " how will we feed the food? "

ex. Currently about one third of cereals produced in the world go towards feeding animals for meat production.

how much human life can planet earth sustain?

Natalie Bellefleur

07/12/2010

November 21st Meeting

RED 2 Meeting 5 – November 21, 2010

In attendance: Evelyn, Lea, Michelle, Vantar

For our final slide presentation we need to cover 20 minutes. That’s anywhere from 80 to 120 slides, if they stay up for 10 to 15 seconds per slide respectively. Each one of us will focus on ‘answering a question’ (you’ll see what I mean when you keep reading) and we’ll come together next Tuesday, November 30 at 7:30 pm (please eat dinner first) in the studio to put it all together and go from there. Create slides using the suggested layouts below in whatever program you can and we’ll put it all in keynote at the meeting.

DESIGN:

Slide types:

1. TITLE (text + bleeding graphic)
2. FACT (all text, centered)
3. QUESTION POSED (text + graphic, centered, graphic bleeding like title)
4. INFO TO ANSWER QUESTION (combinations of minimal text, graphic, photo – see below)

WHITE BACKGROUND

BLACK KEY

Cycle of slides will be as follows:

TITLE > FACT > QUESTION > ANSWER > FACT > QUESTION > ANSWER … until we answer all questions

CONTENT:

Main question: WHERE WILL YOUR DINNER COME FROM?

Other Questions (not yet posed in question form):

1. growing vegetables in the city
2. keeping livestock in the city
3. reusing water and its cycle
4. treating the water
5. managing the waste

Since Don suggested we get rid of the history section, we will use any necessary facts in the FACT slides that pertain to posing a QUESTION and then we’ll ANSWER it.

THE NEXT STEP:

Please keep in mind that all slides should focus on our NARRATIVE, supported by your research; they are not slides OF your research. Also, if your original research doesn’t seem to fit into our narrative, don’t be reluctant to let it go.

Facts: Natalie and Kate

A: Alex and Evelyn

B: Stephan and Paniz

C: Vantar

D: Michelle

E: Lea

Final Layout: Kate

Our end goal is SUSTAINABILITY and not zero waste. Zero waste will be taken care of in the waste section.

Please voice any concerns at our next meeting and let us know if you cannot make it.

Thanks,

Michelle

Water For Irrigation

Hey guys,

I think the following (as opposed to my earlier research) is more specific to the narrative we are trying to tell. It deals with water treatment. I'm thinking of treating the waste water from our urban space with a membrane bioreactor. We should consider the waste from all the other elements in our kit and then tie it in with the water cycle Vantar is working towards, and in the end, aim for sustainability and zero waste.

THE GOAL: WATER FOR IRRIGATION

THE ELEMENT: THE MEMBRANE BIOREACTOR

Used in existing urban applications:

The Earth Rangers Centre, see http://my.cagbc.org/database/img_489c7680afef8.pdf(accessed November 9)

The Earth Rangers Centre is a wildlife facility that has implemented many 'green' aspects into the daily functions of the building. The membrane bioreactor that I speak of is used here. They use the ZENON brand. The water that they get from the filter doesn't seem to be good enough for drinking because they use it for applications such as toilet flushing, cleaning floors and cages, and filling waterfowl ponds. They also get extra water from collecting rain water from the roof. By using rain and treated water (treat on site) they save from using drinkable water. The LEED Consultant in this project was Enermodel Engineering and on their site,

Earth Rangers, they also discuss the wastewater treatment used at Earth Rangers, a bioreactor and ultra-filtration system.

"Canada Green Building Council." Canada Green Building Council. http://my.cagbc.org/ (accessed November 9, 2010)

Side Note: Natalie suggested we present our material in more imaginative ways. Here is an example of the "nutritional information" look.

<--example for presentation of final

Other locations recycling water:

http://www.financialpost.com/take+water+granted/3726569/story.html#ixzz14qQo3nXJ

In this article of Financial Post, examples are given of communities who use a "grey-water reclamation system", like Quayside Village in North Vancouver. Other locations, like St. Petersburg, Florida actually collect grey-water from houses and reuse it for irrigation. This is definitely something we should consider and employ in the water cycle aspect of our kit.

Companies offering this treatment system:

http://www.gewater.com/zenon.jsp

This is what they offer: "ZENON Environmental, now part of GE Power & Water, continues in the tradition of being a global leader in advanced membranes for water purification, wastewater treatment applications including membrane bioreactor (MBR), tertiary water filtration, drinking water treatment, industrial process water and water reuse. ZENON’s technology solutions are part of GE’s leading portfolio of advanced water equipment, chemicals and services."

What it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membrane_bioreactor

A membrane bioreactor can be used in a home to treat waste water to be good enough quality to be used for irrigation. As Vantar has eloquently explained, bugs in the filter eat all the 'solid waste' and clean water comes out the other side. More on feasibility and maintenance of this unit soon.

Michelle Duong, November 9, 2010.

City Farming

Here are some options

Chickens:

They are the easiest to farm in the city, anyone can do it. Chickens provide both meat and eggs and they eat kitchen scraps (this reduces waste) Their manure can be used to make a “tea” which is a good fertilizer (it can't be used 'raw' because it's too high in nitrogen.

There’s a great video on a chicken coop designed for use on patios and terraces, so you could even keep 2 or 3 chickens in a high-rise apartment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSbQF6AJLCo

also:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/dining/19yard.html

This is an interesting article in the New York Times about people keeping chickens in the city. It talks about some of the problems (it’s illegal in some cities) and advantages, and mentions several websites for city-dwelling chicken owners, including The Chicken City (http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/index.html) which is a great site for anyone who wants to raise chickens in the city; lots of information on breeds, coops, issues that may arise and how to solve them. Most of the information is for people who want to keep chickens in their backyard, focusing on chicken tractors (portable coops), but I also found the link to the above terrace coop on this site. Lots of great pictures

Manure digesters:

The manure undergoes an anaerobic digestion that produces methane and carbon dioxide which are then burned to make electricity. This produces heat. Any kind of manure (chicken, cattle etc.) can be used, and the manure can still be used as fertilizer after the digestion.Currently, they used only on large farms, but they could be adapted for residential use

Smalll Manure

Digesters

Energy Justice Network, "Anaerobic Digesters ." http://www.energyjustice.net/digesters/ (accessed Nov. 9, 2010).

Roberts, Guy. "SMALL-SCALE MANURE DIGESTERS: POTENTIAL FOR ON-FARM HEAT AND ENERGY." http://www.uvm.edu/~cmorriso/AltEnergy/smallmanure.pdf (accessed Nov. 9, 2010).

Lea Koch, Nov. 9, 2010

Revision Dallas

hey hey

this is the re:vision's website who put on the dallas green city block competition, it's more informative and I will be extruding more information from this sight.

Revision Dallas

natalie bellefleur

9/11/2010

November 8th Meeting

RED 2 Meeting 4 - November 8

Summary of the plan - see photo.

To keep in mind:
- this is still considered rough!
- overlapping elements will be sifted through for the final; don't get too attached to your element
- all research is to be posted on the blog only
- key points and element to be emailed to Evelyn to be included in the rough keynote

Fantastic job folks! I think we finally have a vision of our narrative and that we are heading in the right direction =)

Michelle Duong, November 9, 8:38 pm

November 7th Meeting

RED 2 Meeting 3 – November 7, 2010

Brainstorming:

- Urban Green Kit

- historical background that drives urban agriculture

- concepts already done

- the kit:

- angled garden plot

- bee hives

- domesticated pigs: waste management, heating, compost, fertilizing

- rain water collection: watering plants, flushing toilets

- heating/cooling with rain water

- grey water reuse: watering plants

- **picture, circular diagram, (cycle sustainability and zero waste: Evelyn – youtube example)

- concentrated agriculture within an urban environment

- elements that can be applied to any urban space

- natural water treatment system

- drip irrigation

Who's covering what topic:

Lea: residential agriculture: interior

Stephan: concentrated urban agriculture

Vantar: water cycle, reuse

Natalie: land for agriculture

Paniz: residential agriculture: exterior

Alex: residential agriculture: portable

Kate: history

Evelyn: residential agriculture: interior

Michelle: water, treatment

Next meeting, Tuesday 7:30

Email everything to either Evelyn or Paniz: evelyn.hofmann@gmail.com or panizmoayeri@hotmail.com

Dallas Competition

I think this illustrates the message we're trying to get across.

The following website reports on a green block competition in Dallas. There are projects of the three finalists and incorporate the ideas we discussed such as rain water collection, vertical farming, community garden, roof top live stock enclosures and more.

Dallas Project

Natalie Bellefleur

8/11/2010

Rooftop Gardens

Hey all, this is a fantastic page I found which talks of the urban farmer. It includes roof-top gardening, reducing pesticide use (green farming) and the necessity for locality.

Natalie Bellefleur

8/11/2010

Urban Farming

Revisiting Sustainable Urban Agriculture

"Urban Agriculture Blooms"

Science Barg:

This video is showcasing the only example of an urban farm in New York City, The Science Barg. It's a green house with recirculating hydroponic systems powered by renewable energy (solar panels, wind and bio diesel), irrigated by rain/river water. It produces a cycle of sustainability: unused plant material composted by worms, the worms feed the fish, the fish waste fertilizes the plants and the plants filter the water for the fish.

Sustainable Urbarn Agriculture:

In the video they talk about sustainable urban agriculture. It's a way to grow food in the city, either on buildings or vacant lots. It reduces food transport needs (grow food where people live). On the barg they aim to be carbon neutral and produce zero waste. They talk about reducing your impact on the environment with the choices you make. What you choose to purchase as a consumer really affects the market.

"The Vertical Farm"

"The Problem:"

By 2050 nearly 80% of the earth's population will reside in urban centres after the human population increases by about 3 billion! An estimated 10^9 hectares of new land will be needed to grow enough food to feed them. Today, over 80% of available farming land is already in use, 15% of that land is no longer useable due to poor farming practices.

"A Potential Solution: Farm Vertically"

Vertical farming is not a new concept, it has been used in hot house production of tomatoes, herbs and other produce. What is new is the urgent need to scale up due to our growing population needs and lack of renewable resources. This fact is advancing urban farming/vertical farming technologies. Vertical farms can be cheap to construct and safe to operate. If successfully implemented they can provide urban renewal, sustainable production of safe and varied food year round, and eventually give the earth enough of a break to repair its ecosystem that was sacrificed for "horizontal farming".

"Advantages of Vertical Farming"

Some advantages of vertical farming include: year round crop production, no weather related crop failures, organic growing, no runoff, allows farm land to naturally replenish itself, reduces infection diseases, converts grey water or potable water that would otherwise be wasted, adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting, reduces fossil fuel needs (no tractors, plows and less transport), new employment opportunities, may prove useful in refugee camps, and they'll change the face of the farming industry for the better!

"Urban Farm Prototypes Reveal the Future of Urban Agriculture"

Tray Farm: designed for standard hallways, doors and elevators, unused empty space

Sill Farm: Mixes a mini green house with an aquaponic aquarium, fueled by solar energy

Desk Farm: "Recent studies link a visual connection to nature with increased production inthe work place. A majority of people working in offices occupy windowless cubicles. Imagine the possibility of increased production in the workplace, coupled with harvesting lunch from your own desk."

Light Farm: "Elevated 8 feet above the sidewalk, these growing units would be maintained and harvested by an existing system of city employees who already maintain other green spaces, collect waste, and clean streets."

Evelyn Hofmann

November, 7th, 2010

Berlin Gardens

There's an article on The City Farmer about the gardens in Berlin. Probably the most useful information in the article i had on is a list of the benefits of having these gardens. They include: having a cooling effect on the city's climate, and filtering harmful particles out of the air, providing a refuge in the middle of the city for many species of birds, insects and wild plants, providing children who live in city-center apartments a chance to experience nature, offering a healthy and cheap way to get some exercise, and, maybe most importantly, allowing food to be grown near where it is consumed, thereby reducing climate damage caused by having to transport it over longer distances.

Schwägerl, Christian . "Popular Mini-Gardens in Berlin May Soon Be Paved OverSpiegel Online". (10/15/2009), http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,655343,00.html. (accessed November 7, 2010).

We could look at areas of small individual gardens, or one larger community garden. An interesting idea is for businesses to have community gardens for there employees. ex. Intel’s Jones Farm campus in Hillsboro

here's the link to an article about it: CityFarmer

I think we should also look into some kind of a greenhouse so the garden can be used year-round

Lea Koch, Nov. 7, 2010

Pig City

Here is a project by the dutch architecture firm MVRDV. They designed large tower blocks that would be filled with automated pig farms. By concentrating the pig farms, less land is used and there is more control over the pig's health. This project relates to the organic waste problem in Egypt and the other stories about urban agriculture.

PigCity

"Pig City," MVRDV, accessed November 7, 2010, http://www.mvrdv.nl/#/projects/181pigcity

Stephan Gaulin-Brown

Nov 7, 2010

Notes from Meeting Two

RED 2 Meeting 2 – November 3, 2010

Quick summary of the relevant topics in what each person found:

Alex: urban agriculture, angled plant boxes on buildings

Lea: garden in city, city farmers

Stephan: agriculture, fish farmer, linked to volcano explosion, increased plankton, more fish, returned, fertilization; swine flu: killed pigs in Egypt, waste management issue because no more pigs, potential for natural waste management system

Kate: much water used for agriculture, re-examine how we farm, water taxes; inedible fish, toxins in great lakes, lack of sewage treatment, agricultural runoff

Evelyn: sustainable urban agriculture, create method of zero waste, waste management; farming in the city, skyscraper with farming, farming prototypes

Michelle: grey water, reusing water, exporting water

Paniz: bees, agriculture, farming in Zimbabwe, political and economic issues

Natalie: prison farms in Kingston, shut down

Vantar: waste management

Conclusion:

Three topics will be:

Main: AGRICULTURE

Secondary: WATER, WASTE

Goal: To create a space, focused on agriculture, waste, and water in which we can apply our urban survival kit.

The next step: Go back to one of the entries you had, and pull out any elements and/or citations that we can apply to a space that will be a full manifestation of our urban survival kit.

Next meeting: Sunday, November 7, 2010. 6:00 pm. Meet in studio after handing in Project 4.

Michelle Duong. November 3, 2010. 10:45 pm.