The Living Skyscraper by Blake Kurasek

As I got older, I watched the farms and orchards disappear, replaced with cookie cutter communities. Houses that all looked the same and were close enough to scratch your neighbors back while they were in the shower cluttered the horizon and slowly took over the entire area. By the time I moved out of town at 18, there were no more farmers in the area, the suspenders were gone and the soccer moms had moved in.

Now 30, I have seen more and more farms disappear as land is annexed to squeeze in more people. Where I currently reside, there are still many farms in the surrounding areas, and as I drive the back roads to work, I cringe at the though of the roof-tops that will consume the beautiful land over the next 20 years.  So what are we going to do when all the farms are gone? Where will we grow our food? What will happen to the green in the concrete jungle?

Enter The Vertical Farm Project from Columbia University. The idea came about in 1999 when an environmental sciences professor mentioned the idea to his students. In 2001, they actually began researching and outlining the idea, and it has continued to grow since then (Pun intended!).

According to Dickson Despommier, the professor of environmental sciences and microbology that started this ball rolling, vertical farming could provide many benefits around the world. Aside from adding additional green space in overpopulated urban areas, the avoidance of deviated weather conditions such as flood

s or droughts would be a major asset. Growing crops indoors in well maintained conditions will assist in optimal growth rates year round. One acre of vertical farm could produce the same amount of 15 acres of soil-based farmland.

Unfortunately, these farms are still in the proof of concept phase as they figure out ways to reduce the costs of creating the massive structures. If costs are brought down, maybe we could see some of these farms created in highly populated urban areas by 2020! Keep our fingers crossed. Some additional advantages:

Advantages of Vertical Farming

• Year-round crop production
• Eliminates agricultural runoff
• Significantly reduces use of fossil fuels (farm machines and transport of crops)
• Makes use of abandoned or unused properties
• No weather related crop failures
• Offers the possibility of sustainability for urban centers
• Converts black and gray water to drinking water
• Adds energy back to the grid via methane generation
• Creates new urban employment opportunities
• Reduces the risk of infection from agents transmitted at the agricultural interface
• Returns farmland to nature, helping to restore ecosystem functions and services
• Controls vermin by using restaurant waste for methane generation

My father was a very handy guy, but he didn’t know everything, and he certainly didn’t look into future requirements and costs when he put stuff together. For instance, one year, he decided to take the empty spot under one half of our deck and create a storage area out of it. Sounds like a plan right? It’s not being used, let’s put it to use. Of course, he wanted to make it accessible from the basement in the house so we could put firewood in there and access it without going into the blistering cold winters.

He decided that it would be best to enclose the outside foyer at the back door, essentially extending out basement hallway by about 10 feet, to give us more room there and provide an area to access the new storage area he was planning. It was a great idea, and it sounded sane at the time, until winter hit.

Because he extended the basement hallway into the garage, and did not make the wall standard width, we ended up having to close this area off from the rest of the house due to the added cold that was coming in from this area. It didn’t really seem like an issue in the middle of summer, but it sure came back to frost-bite us during November!

While we saved money on the initial construction costs, it cost more than the original quote from a contractor in the end when we had to go back and redo things (It was still done DYI, but with more insight and costs). My new motto for DIY is ‘Whats is going to cost me later?’. If I think I can do it myself, I look at all the possible problems and costs I could incur in the future before making a decision.

Saving money is great, but you always have to weigh the professional costs against the DIY costs from all angles. Don’t stop doing it yourself… unless it will cost you more in tools and resources than to hire a professional!

It got me to thinking about how many other people had similar shelves in their houses, and how many thousands of books were out there, just waiting to be read. Then I remembered that people tend to join Book clubs! So I thought, why couldn’t they use BorrowMe.com for their group?

They can, very easily! Think about it. If you have 5 avid readers, each with 20 books listed, that’s 100 books to go through (80 not counting your own!), now think about the avid readers you know who only have 20 books. Most people who like to read have 50-100 books on their shelf EASILY, if not more. I had one friend who had 3 full bookshelves in their living room, plus 15-20 boxes in their basement.

Imagine the opportunities to read that many books, without having to shell out $10, $30, $100 to read it! You can fulfill your minds need and craving for knowledge, at a fraction of the cost (If any!). Here are a few examples of the different types of books you might have on your shelf that would be of interest to others:

• How To Books
• Horror Fiction
• Recipe Books
• True Crime
• Photography
• Historical Accounts
• Romantic Novels
• Childrens Books
• Autobiographies

There are so many different types of books out there for every kind of reader, it’s time we started opening our bookshelves to others and see what else is out there for our imaginations!

Unplug Your Unused Appliances – A lot of people don’t realize that many appliances and chargers are still drawing power when they are not in use. From your office printer, to your bread maker and Xbox, they are all suckling at the power teat while sitting idle. By plugging these items into an energy star rated power bar, you can stop these watt sucking vampires from upping your monthly bills. While it may not seem like much, you can easily save $200/yr on your power bill.

Ditch the Bottled Water - Even though the great BPA scare made many people switch to reusable water bottles, millions of bottles of bottled water is still sold every year. Most people don’t think about all the trucks it takes to deliver all that water around the world to the grocery and convenience stores. Not only can you save a bundle buy purchasing an in house filtration system, but you are reducing the amount of bottles that go into the trash or have to be recycled. This way you can have convenient, fresh filtered water anytime you want, but you help to reduce green house gases (Sorry, it won’t help with your ’significant others’ gasses).

Buy Local, Go Organic – In the same vain as bottled water, it takes millions of gallons of gas to deliver fresh produce and other food products around the globe. By buying locally grown, organic produce you are not only supporting and investing in your local economy, but you are helping to reduce carbon emissions from large trucks barreling down the highways.

Resource Sharing – Take a look around your garage and basement. How many of these things did you ‘have to have’ at the time, and now they are collecting dust. How many items do you own that are used once or twice a year, and sit idle the rest of the time. Why can’t your friends or neighbors borrow or rent these items from you for a small fee? Why do we have this crazy idea we need to own EVERYTHING when there are surely 5-10 of them within blocks of your house. Save some money, save some space and get to know your neighbors!

Ditch the Credit Cards – While many will say that this is more money saving than reducing your carbon footprint, think again. Of course you will save money, but since credit cards make over-spending so much easier, you end up contributing more waste from all those products you bought. And as with other items in this list, they had to get to the store somehow! You will be reducing greenhouse emissions.  A few tips to keep from spending: Leave the credit cards at home unless you absolutely need them. If you have a serious credit card addiction, you might want to put your assets on ice, literally. Put yours cards in a Tupperware container filled with water and put it in the freezer, that way if you have a sudden urge to spend, you have time to walk yourself down while the cards are defrosting (Don’t try putting it in the microwave either, it will melt your cards!)!

These are just a few of the things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and your spending. What tricks do YOU use in your day to day life? Post additional ideas to share in the comments.

The boss actually ran into this problem himself a few weeks ago when attempting to acquire a washer and dryer he got from some friends. While they only needed to travel a few kilometers, loading up the BorrowMe Mobile (Smart Car) was out of the question. At a loss, he posted a Wish on BorrowMe for the assistance of a pickup-truck for an hour or so. Once listed, he chose to also post to Facebook with our usefull ‘Post to Facebook’ option, which turned out to be a smart choice.

Because he has well over a hundred people on his Facebook Friends list (Which greatly outweighs his 30-ish friends on BorrowMe.com), the post was seen by many more people. While he did not get a response from his friends on BorrowMe, he had 3 responses from different people within 24 hours from people on Facebook! Some people think that because BorrowMe doesn’t have a million members, they won’t get their wish or won’t be able to get rid of an item they have. Turns out they were wrong!

The power of BorrowMe’s social integration with Facebook allows you to get your wishes and items out to a much larger group of people you know, or people you know through somebody else (One of the people that responded to his plea was actually a friend of a friend). This goes to show that using the Post to Facebook feature on the site will get more eyes on your stuff, but that there are many people that are willing to help out another human being, even if it’s a friend of a friend.

BorrowMe is a way for people to get to know their friends and neighbors better, to build better communities and to use that closeness to help reduce the amount of stuff that goes to landfills, make some return on those seldom used big ticket items and to save money! It’s a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction. The more people see that the system works, the more likely they are to use it. The more friends they have doing it, the more chance they will get on board as well. So the next time you are in need of something, even if you think it’s small, try posting on BorrowMe and see what you can get!

Think of all the unused stuff in these apartments.

Think about this. A majority of condo and apartment complexes have anywhere from 50-100 units. For arguments sake, let’s say you live in one of those complexes with 50 units – that leaves 49 units of other people. How many people do you know in those 49 other units? For most people, it’s one or two, though with only slightly more interactions that the previously mentioned waves. Now think about this. How many of those units (And storage units) are filled with books, blenders, punch bowls, back-packs, strollers, stud finders, sleeping bags, videos games, bikes, movies… I’m sure you get the idea.

With just a minimal bit of effort, a hello or some minor chit chat, you can start to build relationships with your neighbors, start building a community! Is it really so bad to get to know your neighbors? Sure, there are a few bad apples out there, but why should that spoil everything for everybody else.

Why not start a group for your building and get people involved. Start with a few people you see or talk to on a regular basis. Tell them what you’re doing, explain that it’s not just a way to get to know your neighbors; but a way to save money, consume less and send less waste to the landfills. We give you the tools to lend, rent, sell or gift your items to others (And keep track of it all!). Start small, lend out a book, or a movie and see where things go, people might actually surprise you!

What are you waiting for? Start your own group today!

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]]> http://blog.borrowme.com/borrowme-for-condoapartment-complexes/feed/ 0 http://blog.borrowme.com/cant-find-what-youre-looking-for-let-us-help/ http://blog.borrowme.com/cant-find-what-youre-looking-for-let-us-help/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:25:27 +0000 Kray Mitchell http://blog.borrowme.com/?p=591 More >]]> In some of my upcoming posts, I will be covering some features on BorrowMe that you may or may not be aware of. This will help to bring awareness to these features, but also to make life easier for the users (That’s you!).

This week, we talk about Wishes!

First, what is a Wish? A wish is something that you are looking to borrow, rent, receive or buy. Maybe you would like to borrow a ladder to clean your eaves over the weekend, perhaps you want to rent a pressure washer to clean off your driveway. Regardless, you stop by BorrowMe and do a quick search that returns no results. Don’t get discouraged, post a Wish!

When you post a Wish on Borrow me it not only get’s added to the site, it lurks. It watches what other people are posting to see if it will match what you are looking for. If somebody in your area posts what you’re looking for then you will receive an email from our system to let you know. How cool is that!

You can get better exposure for your Wishes by posting them to Facebook. When you finish posting your wish, we will give you the option to post it to your wall as well (Of course, you don’t have to). Most of your friends don’t know when you’re looking for something, so if they see it on Facebook they can connect to BorrowMe with a few clicks and offer to lend/rent/sell it to you.

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]]> http://blog.borrowme.com/cant-find-what-youre-looking-for-let-us-help/feed/ 0 http://blog.borrowme.com/new-year-new-ways-of-thinking/ http://blog.borrowme.com/new-year-new-ways-of-thinking/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:29:52 +0000 Kray Mitchell http://blog.borrowme.com/?p=586 More >]]> It happens every year, another digit is added to the calendar and people set lofty goals of how they are going to change or better themselves this year. By February, a majority of them have forgotten their resolutions and life is back to normal. This year, set yourself some goals that you can actually implement, be a better neighbor, be a better tenant on earth.

BorrowMe gives you the tools to reduce spending, reduce clutter, reduce waste and bring together community. Christmas is gone and a lot of clutter has been left behind. How many of these items will you use on a regular basis?

• Put your Stuff on BorrowMe to let your friends and neighbors borrow or rent them.
• Save money by renting and borrowing little used items.
• Create a resource sharing group for your office or organization.
• Create Wish lists to help non-profits get items they require.

The sooner we start to make changes in our life, the sooner others will see the benefit and jump on board. Big changes take small steps to achieve, we may not be able to change the world, but we can make a dent!

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]]> http://blog.borrowme.com/new-year-new-ways-of-thinking/feed/ 0 http://blog.borrowme.com/low-impact-sustainable-living-aka-the-hobbit-house/ http://blog.borrowme.com/low-impact-sustainable-living-aka-the-hobbit-house/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:04:45 +0000 Kray Mitchell http://blog.borrowme.com/?p=560 More >]]> Ever since I saw The Lord of the Rings, I wanted a Hobbit hole (Albeit a bit larger to accommodate my 6′5″ frame). Built into the landscape while not destroying the scenic beauty, the epic residence of Frodo and friends are the things eco-dreams are made of. But would the concept really work? Could it be done efficiently and effectively without forfeiting to developers that want nothing more than to rape and pillage the land for microlots and mini-mansions?

Turns out, the dream is not that far from reality.

Simon and his family at their woodland home in Wales.

Photographer and fine artist Simon Dale had a dream for a low impact woodland home that was not only family friendly, but eco-friendly as well. With their decision to be full time parents to their children, purchasing a mass-produced monstrosity with an over-inflated mortgage was out of the questions.

With some past experiences and a lot of self-belief, the family embarked on an incredible journey of sustainable living. They camped under canvas tarps during the construction of their house with no facilities and no electricity, a feat that some would call crazy. Crazy or not, you can’t deny the beauty and sustainable nature of this magnificent home.

They started by digging into the hillside and created a foundation and retaining wall from dry stone (Recovered from the hole). The initial framing was erected using small trees and logs. The roof and walls were assembled with bales of hay and shaped via chainsaw and covered in lime plaster (Which also kept the rodents at bay). The floor was a series of palates covered with hay and planks. They used the dirt and mud they dug from the ground to seal the roof (Along with some plastic), patch holes and level where required.

Some key points on design and construction:

• Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
• Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring…)
• Woodburner for heating – renewable and locally plentiful
• Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.

The end result is an awe inspiring home that is completely sustainable, and a beauty to look at. There are many more photos, plans and overviews on their website for your viewing pleasure. If you have any interest in eco-friendly homes, then this is a must see! Congratulations to the Dale family for taking the initiative and building a work of art to live in, fantastic work.

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]]> http://blog.borrowme.com/low-impact-sustainable-living-aka-the-hobbit-house/feed/ 2 http://blog.borrowme.com/xmas-is-almost-here-have-you-rented-your-tree-yet/ http://blog.borrowme.com/xmas-is-almost-here-have-you-rented-your-tree-yet/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:09:13 +0000 Kray Mitchell http://blog.borrowme.com/?p=555 More >]]> No, that’s not a typo! Los Angeles based Living Christmas Co. has embarked upon the ingenious idea of renting live trees for the holiday season! Inspired by the sheer sadness he felt while navigating the Post-Christmas carnage lining the streets in his neighborhood, landscape architect Scott Martin took it upon himself to ensure some trees would see many a Merry Christmases.

Customers can visit The Living Christmas Co. website to place their order for trees ranging in size from 3–8 feet in a range of festive flavors (Aleppo Pine, Blue Cedar, Leylandi Cypress, Little Sequoia and Monterey Pine). The tree will be delivered to your home via bio-diesel truck and picked up on a scheduled date, while costing around the same as a cut tree − whose future is not so merry. As an added bonus, you can choose to Adopt-A-Tree and watch it grow with your family, year after year.

They even offer the largest variety of Fair Trade, locally made and environmentally sensitive holiday products to help decorate your tree. For eco-friendly families, saving another tree from certain death and avoiding the tragedy of a fake fir in their living room is more than enough incentive to enjoy a Green Christmas this year.

“This is not your grandmother’s tree; this is your children’s tree”

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