MAX FaCTS
HyDROPONIC NEWS, TIPS aND TRIvIa
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air-cleaninG houseplants
Common houseplants such as philodendron, peace
lily, corn plant, Gerbera daisy, spider plant, golden pothos,
English ivy, Marginata and others can pull chemicals from the air and break them
down through their leaves, roots and soil.
Dr. Bill Wolverton, a retired NASA scientist, found in his experiments that plants
can remove up to 87% of the toxins in a room over 24 hours. All of the houseplants tested by Wolverton were able to remove formaldehyde, benzene and
trichloroethylene.
To clean the air in an average home or office, place one potted plant per 100
square feet of floor space. In commercial buildings, atriums of plants can help
filter circulated air.
(Source: scrippsnews.com)
Vertical farMinG retrofittinG to
Battle co2 eMissions
fewer winter honey Bee losses
According to the annual survey conducted by the USDA, the Bee Informed
Partnership and the Apiary Inspectors of America, total losses of managed
honey bee colonies were 21.9% nationwide for the 2011/2012 winter.
This represents a substantial drop in mortality compared to the previous
five years, when winter losses of 29 to 36% had been reported.
The unusually warm winter during 2011/2012 could be one possible contributing factor to the decline in colony losses, although no direct scientific
investigation of the weather connection has been conducted.
(Source: ars.usda.gov)
34
Maximum Yield USA | July 2012
Vertical farming and agriculture are usually focused on urban planning and architecture for food production; now, it’s also being looked
at for combatting CO2 production.
The latest phase in this trend has been heralded by architecture
firm Influx_Studio, who is looking at retrofitting buildings with green
areas and sustainable technology to lower CO2 emissions.
As part of a wider initiative called Decarbonize Chicago, the firm is
looking at retrofitting the Marina City’s Tower in Chicago with a range
of sustainable technologies, including farming areas, solar panels,
wind farms, hydroponics bays and an algae bioreactor.
The building hopes to take a three-pronged approach to tackling
carbon emissions. Firstly, carbon will be directly
taken from the air using the algae
bioreactor. Secondly, CO2 will
be absorbed by the algae
and vertical farms as the
plants grow. Finally, the
other sustainable-energy
technologies within the
building with further
reduce carbon emissions
because less fossil fuel
will be used to maintain
the building. Each element not only reduces
CO2 individually, but
they also work together—for example, the
wind turbines bring air
into the algae system—
to increase overall
effectiveness.
(Source:
hydroponicsguide.co.uk)