Since those in poverty would be gaining better nutrition, the social problem of obesity would decline. Besides providing fresh food to food deserts (areas where people rely on dry, prepackaged foods), gardens are proven to decrease the crime rate according to a 2013 study from UC Davis (Urban Vine 2015). High crime traps children indoors and prevents them from exercising which increases the obesity rate; gardens would counteract this. Furthermore, since plants consume CO2 green roofs and green walls will help minimize the social problem of pollution and the emissions of greenhouse gases. Likewise, producing food locally decreases the pollution from transportation. Moreover, hydroponics often time reuses their water source, which means less water is required compared to traditional growing. …show more content…
Finally, our solution can help with the social problems of a greying population and incarceration.
According to Psychology Today, gardening is proven to improve mental health and mental cognition (Rayner 2015). Gardening can help both the elderly and those incarcerated because it allows individuals to relax, remain connected, provides a sense of responsibility, decreases aggression, and releases endorphins which makes people happy (Rayner 2015). There are many successful green roof programs which incorporate the elderly, the Elmhurst Community is an example (Link for more info). Besides improving the elderly’s mental state, gardening is a form of exercise, improves their motor skills, provides social interaction and helps to improve their nutrition. According to Alliance Patient Nutrition, “one in three” elderly admitted into hospitals are malnourished upon admission (Biancato 2015). Overall, this initiative would provide a purpose to both the elderly and those
incarcerated. For this initiative to work, partnerships with private, public, and civil organizations are necessary. Support from private organizations is critical to financial success. For instance, organizations that are in the process of new builds could provide funding to build a green roof. Teaming up with all new build construction would help to minimize the costs of installation, would provide water and electricity access, and would increase the number of green roofs in the city. Moreover, this initiative could partner with organizations such as home Home Depot to gather supplies such as seeds, soil, wood, hoses, and other materials. Furthermore, private organizations may be an important factor when it comes to caring for these gardens. For instance, vocational schools and restaurants may be able to take responsibility for these gardens, while using these gardens for educational purposes. Convincing private organizations to be a part of this initiative would not be difficult. Rooftop gardens are very beneficial to businesses. The U.S postal service estimates it will save $30,000 a year in energy costs due to the fact that green roofs insulate the cool in the summer and heat in the winter. In addition, because these gardens would save the town money, a company may be able to receive a tax break. Besides saving on heat, electricity, and money, the Scientific American states, plants increase focus and attention span. Thus, a corporation could gain more productive employees as a result. Finally, a company would be able to improve their public relations. Consumers want to purchase from “good” companies, thus participating in the green roof initiative could increase sales. If this initiative were to be successful we would need the support from the public sector. In order to minimize many of the social problems listed previously, (i.e hunger, obesity, environment, and greying population), and well as cut down on energy usage, the town/state/country official would need to pass legislation that would require green roofs on all new builds above a certain size. Toronto and New York have both passed this legislation and has discovered they are able to save large amounts of money. According to Yale, In New York, the “municipal water system has been reduced by as much as 75 percent in summer and 40 percent in winter” because there is less runoff due to the green roofs (Stutz 2010). Moreover, a study from 2005 found that if “75 percent of the flat roofs in the city were greened, Toronto could reap $37 million a year in savings on stormwater management, energy bills, and costs related to urban heat island effects” (Stutz 2010). Taking widespread action is possible, but it begins by gaining local support. This is why the civil institution's involvement is critical. Civil institutions can help promote and raise the public’s awareness about hunger in the community. These institutions can gather support through the use of local activities such as a website, brochures, and emails. Institutions such as the Community Harvest Project, or Feeding America may be able to send emails to large corporations to gain donations or convince them to build a green roof on their buildings. Most importantly civil institutions can help gather support and sign a petition to pass a countrywide petition that requires green roofs or walls in all building over a certain square foot. Besides, increasing awareness, gaining support, and gathering resources, civil institutions can help to care for these gardens. For most large companies the cost of building these gardens is not the issue, but instead the energy it takes to maintain these gardens. Thus, institutions such, as the Community Harvest Project and those alike, can step in. Moreover, this is also how the elderly, those incarcerated, and even the homeless can help. Overall, if all public, private, and civil sectors partnered with one another to incorporate a green roof and increased urban farming the issue of hunger in developed nations would decrease, as well as minimize other social problems such as obesity, pollution, and a greying society. Although hunger is more prevalent in developing nations, developed nations have the tools and resources to eradicate hunger within their country. For this reason, hunger in developed nations is a greater issue because children and adults are suffering for no reason. System faults, economic failures, and lack of dedication are broad reasons why hunger still exist. However, hunger in developed nations is easier to repair than in developing nations, thus it only makes sense to tackle what can be fixed easier, first. Once there is a working system, this system can be applied to amend developing nations. Nonetheless, not only is everyone indirectly affected by hunger, it is a violation of basic human rights. Thus, there needs to be more initiatives such as this, to help end the fight against hunger.
However I believe that if I start planting many fruit trees in my yard that can be a problem for me. Nowadays the houses in the city of Houston have many cables on the land. I know that because one day my mother and I were making a hole in the yard to plant a fruit tree and because the tree was large, she made the hole deeper, and we saw some cables in the ground. So I noticed that we could provoke an accident like destroying the whole electric system of my house or my neighbor’s houses. So I think that growing my own food has some benefits, but I just have to make sure that the food I plant does not take extensive amounts of land. For example, planting tomatoes it is a good idea, and I notice that because my mom had planted some in the yard. Tomatoes do not take too much space, do not grow too much, we save money, time, and we eat healthy. Because we have grown our own tomatoes, we can eat them happy knowing that we are eating high quality of food. In addition, I believe that growing my own vegetables in the yard decreases the chances of having diseases like cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Therefore, I am interested on knowing the benefits that people could have if they eat more organic
The United States of America has always been held in high regards by immediate neighboring countries as well as a host of other countries. In comparison to a majority of other countries in the globe the US holds superior living standards, stronger economy and expert technology. This was case for mina Anderson who immigrated to the US in search of Green pastures in terms of better pay and better living standards in comparison to the condition back in her native Sweden. Based on the evidence from the assigned reading text, the conditions are ripe for the picking but success depends on a host of other factors. Mina Anderson found greener pastures in the United States of America subject to individual effort and other external factors. In the context of life
This is problematic because those in most need of nutritious meals to sustain health are those unable to access them. A simple change in zip code is the difference between a food desert and a food utopia. This finding furthers the text’s argument that “Place matters. Issues such as housing and income determine quality of life, especially among the low-income residents of urban areas.” Inequity of food selection at the Yale location can, in extreme circumstances, promote the failing health of a certain group- an action that is largely discriminatory in nature. To solve the food crisis, I suggest the implementation of more urban gardens. Similar to what the documentary on food deserts suggests, urban gardens no only create a sense of unity in a common goal, they provide the much-needed fresh and healthy food to those unable to access them. Since transportation to adequate grocery stores is also a barrier to must in food deserts, a free public bus whose purpose is to shuttle people to food availability would be beneficial. As discussed in class, grocery stores are serving to perceivably different populations based on zip code. However, all people shop with the same goal in mind and require the same access to affordable, healthy
Have you ever wondered why people in lawn service cut the grass so perfectly and beautiful? I figured out the best way to mow a lawn after mowing a lawn myself. It is very important to keep a consistent pace when cutting grass and take care of the equipment that is being used.
Reduce the cost of vegetables and fruits and bring local farmers into the equation over large corporations.
...ive in economical, sociological and environmental terms. Placed within an urban-scale landscape concept offering the host city a variety of lifestyle advantages and few, if any, unsustainable drawbacks. These city-traversing open spaces are running through the built environment, connecting all kinds of existing inner-city open spaces and relating to the surrounding rural area. Vegetation as well as people is able to flow into the city and out of it, partially helping the city become open and wild. Producing edible landscapes or consuming food where it has just grown establishes a healthy and sustainable balance of production and consumption. It is an effective and practical as well as self-beneficial way of reducing the energy embodied in contemporary food production. So what affects the growth of biophilic cities? Is food politics a global or a local phenomenon?
Growing food with Aquaponics is more efficient than growing food the traditional soil garden way. In a typical soil garden, growers end up spending hours of their time doing back breaking work on their garden, but not anymore, with Aquaponics the need for any tilling, digging, or weeding is eliminated. Aquaponics combines Aquaculture (Raising fish in tanks), and Hydroponics (Growing plants without soil). The outcome is a working system that provides plants with all the nutrients they need, while using a minimum of space, effort, water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Aquaponics allows farmers to use up to 90% less water than normal farming would use, so instead of watering your soil and having the majority of your water either lost by run off or evaporated by the sun, the water is recycled repeatedly through the system saving farmers hundreds of dollars on their monthly water bills. Also when growing with Aquaponics, much more food can be produced in a smaller space, in some cases growers have produced around twenty times the amount of produce in the same area a soil garden would. In addition, with the closed, controlled environment of the system, the need for the use of any pesticides a basically eliminated. Finally, Aquaponics enables growers to grow bigger, better and more quality produce.
Hogsmeadow Garden Centre is a popular tourist area of the UK, which mainly sells garden-related products in shops and high-quality food in restaurants. In the past few years, Hogsmeadow Garden Centre was expanded and the number of customers sharply increased. However, the sales revenue and profitability hadn’t grown as fast. The aim of this essay is to discuss the main micro-operations at Hogsmeadow Garden Centre and its main input resources, transformation process and outputs, the problems faced by Don Dursley in managing and developing his centre and the solutions to improve the profitability of his business.
Water Conservation: Aquaponics uses 90% less water than traditional farming. Water and nutrients are recycled in a closed-loop fashion which conserves water.
Hydroponics is a part of hydroculture; growing without soil, an advanced technique that allows a farmer to deliver precisely the nutrients a plant needs, beating traditional farming for flavor. There are many benefits of hydroponic cultivation: you can create good use of urban spaces. There is not a lot of space required to maintain a hydroponic farm (depending on the desired yield, of course) but when coupled with vertical growing methods the possibility of using
Another benefit of gardening is reducing the amount of energy required to heat and cool a home.
Hydroponic plants do not interact with soil and therefore do not negatively affect existing soil properties. Soil erosion due to irrigation and nutrient pollution are avoided altogether. The plant’s roots are submerged in an aerated nutrient solution instead, which allows for more efficient oxygen absorption within the root zone. This increases plant metabolism and growth, allowing for more frequent harvests. The chemical composition of the nutrient solution can be directly controlled and measured, allowing for the efficient use of fertilizers based on plant specific needs. There is minimal runoff or nutrient pollution associated with hydroponic farming systems, because the nutrient solution is constantly recirculated. Soil pests are avoided altogether, which minimizes the need for large amounts of herbicides and insecticides sprayed onto crops. Hydroponic systems also provide a greater yield in a smaller area. A case study was done in Arizona, which compared the growth and resource use of hydroponically grown lettuce versus conventionally grown lettuce. Hydroponic lettuce yields per area were found to be around eleven times greater than conventionally grown lettuce (Barbosa, et al.). As for water consumption, hydroponically grown lettuce used water more efficiently with approximately thirteen times less water demand than conventional (Barbosa, et al.).
The economy has forced some of us to grow gardens because the price of food has shot up and some people are also losing their jobs as a result of the failing economy. When a person looses their job, he/she have to do everything in their power to save money and be able to live so, they grow their own vegetables because it is cheaper to grow your own food than to buy it. Therefore, in the long run, it saves you money while at the same time making you healthier by eating fresh home grown vegetables. Also, the food that is grown in a home garden has not been sprayed with tons of chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides that are found in commercia...
Would you enjoy having fresh, delicious, luscious vegetables to eat all summer long that cost you almost nothing? I know I would. Well, now you can have your veggies and eat them too. Try building your own vegetable garden. It can fit all sizes of yards and decks. You just need to pick the location and type of garden. Next, you will prepare the garden site and work the soil. Finally, you will plan the specifics and plant your garden. With some care and patience, you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor in no time.