Year-round farming in Braddock and year-round snow in Florida
The discussion about climate is leading to some very interesting innovations and it is this kind of activity that perhaps will provide some of the answers to the problems the planet faces in the future. Our growing world蘑菇视频 population will certainly put tremendous pressure on our food production and supply. Just in our own country water shortages in California and Arizona along with heavy use of pesticides and contamination from E. coli are regular news features.
Hatched out of Carnegie Mellon University, 鈥淔ifth Season鈥� a brand new start-up company is building a 60,000-square-foot indoor farm that will produce annually 500,000 pounds of lettuce, spinach, kale and other leafy greens that will be sold locally to grocers and restaurants. The new farm is being constructed on a vacant lot of one of the old steel mills in Braddock, Pennsylvania just a few miles down the river from Fayette County.
The farm is brand-new and will use artificial intelligence, robotics and data analysis to tend to each plant蘑菇视频 individual needs and provide the perfect light, nourishment for healthier produce, higher yield and better flavor. Despite the automation, the new farm will operate around the clock employing some 60 people in manufacturing type jobs. Since the 1920s, Braddock has lost about 90% of its population and today is a town of about 2,000. The owners wanted to plant our roots in the shadows of the old industry. They are committed to this new way of producing food without the use of pesticides and the need to ship across the country. Imagine what this can do to lower our carbon and help our area and the country and provide some tasty fresh greens right in our own back yard. I am excited!
Another interesting new business that is planning to open in the fall of 2020 in Dade City, about 30 miles north of Tampa, Florida and not too far from Disney, is the new 鈥淎lpine Adventure Park鈥� that will feature snow. Many people who live in Florida have never seen snow and the owners plan to have a snow covered tubing run and play area where visitors can build snow forts, along with snow men and women.
The park will be open from November through April and will make all the snow using a new technology that can make and keep snow even with the warm Florida temperature. The cut off temperature will be 80 degrees and the new technology is secret. You will be able to play in the snow in shorts and sweaters instead of all the clothing needed in our area.
Speaking of snow, the past couple of weeks have been great for area ski resorts as our nighttime temperature have been in the teens and twenties perfect for making snow in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The days have been sunny and pleasant and great ski conditions exist even with the lack of a lot of natural snow. The past 10 days have been sunny and pleasantly mild; a bit unusual for December in our area.