Short Synopsis
Imagine a world where every town has its own local food source, grown in the safest way possible, where no drop of water or particle of light is wasted, and where a simple elevator ride can transport you to nature's grocery store—imagine the world of the vertical farm.

Full Synopsis
When Columbia professor Dickson Despommier set out to solve America's food, water, and energy crises, he didn't just think big—he thought up. Despommier's stroke of genius, the vertical farm, has excited scientists, architects, and politicians around the globe. These farms, grown inside skyscrapers, would provide solutions to many of the serious problems we currently face, including:

—Allowing year-round crop production

—Providing food to areas currently lacking arable land

—Immunity to weather-related crop failure

—Reuse of water collected by dehumidification of the indoor environment

—New employment opportunities

—No use of pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides

—Drastically reduced dependence on fossil fuels

—No crop loss due to shipping or storage

—No agricultural runoff

—And many more

Vertical farming can be located on abandoned city properties, creating new urban revenue streams. They will employ lots of skilled and unskilled labor. They can be run on wind, solar, tidal, and geothermal energy. They can be used to grow plants for pharmaceutical purposes or for converting gray water back into drinking water.

In the tradition of the bestselling The World Without Us, this is a totally original landmark work destined to become a classic. With stunning illustrations and clear and entertaining writing, this book will appeal to anyone concerned about America's future.

"Narrator Sean Runnette inflects his soft voice in response to the meandering message.... He demonstrates a skillful sensitivity to the information, much of it sobering." ---AudioFile

"[Despommier] is compelling and concise." ---Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Bestseller

Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book