The Problem
We researched vertical farms. They are an alternative to traditional farming, and they could be an effective solution to world hunger. The reason they were created was to use up space in empty warehouses and other buildings to effectively fit as many plants in the small space as possible. Because there are so many plants, a lot of electricity was involved for the lighting, regulating the temperature, etc. More than 0.9lbs of CO2 is produced from one kilowatt in the lightbulbs used. In a worse case scenario, it can take about 10 hours for one light bulb to generate 1 lbs of CO2, times hundreds, if not thousands of lightbulbs. There are many farms out of warehouses in cities and other areas, but there is a lot transportation involved. Just one freight truck produces approximately 200 g of CO2 in one mile. These large companies can use dozens of trucks. Farming, both traditional, and vertical, can use fertilizers harmful to the environment and surrounding ecosystems. We wanted to recreate the low-maintenance and eco-friendly growing process, but making it accessible to everyone.
