I Heart the 80s…and Agrivoltaics
The Walkman, Madonna, and the mullet – the 80s brought to life its fair share of innovation. However, there is an often-overlooked contribution of this decade even more revolutionary than Pac-Man. The idea, which came on the scene in a journal article published in 1981 by two German scientists, Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow, is called agrivoltaics. “In this paper,” they wrote, “we propose a configuration of a…photovoltaic power plant, which allows for additional agricultural use of the land involved.” In other words, placing solar panels above crops – in the footprint of a solar cell, growing strawberries, squash, and more. The idea may not have seemed ground-breaking when the two scientists quietly conducted their research in West Germany, but fast forward 40 years, and their concept is integral to solving the crisis of food security and the energy transition.
October 4, 2024
Music Makes Plants Grow: A Fresh Approach to Agriculture
Imagine plants growing faster just by listening to music. A new experimental study shows that when we play songs for our crops, they listen—and grow. Devotional music encourages Mung beans to thrive. Through this genre of music, Mung bean growth accelerates… or something along these lines.
September 20, 2024
Climate wars or climate cooperation: Imagining our future in the age of scarcity
Climate change is relentlessly advancing. Climate models generate alarming projections for the near and distant future. But how do climate disasters, scarcity, and insecurity affect the foundations of our social relationships? Will there be more cooperation or conflict in the light of climate change? This piece traces the development of the field of climate conflict research to date and outlines the essential questions and answers in this important yet relatively understudied area of study.
September 13, 2024
September 6, 2024