"Should We Start Growing Crops Underground?" Topic

Or, at least, start digging underground fields for later, since some claim that we have lost 10% of Earth's magnetic field in the last century?

CC

I can't find the source that said 10%, but here is one that says 5%:
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CC

I always knew there was something wrong about those rare earth magnets. They are taking them from Earth's magnetic field. :)

How the devil would they know 10% in the last century, the best measurements were taken by my grandfather in the 1950s!?! [PhD candidate George Kenny, CalTech.]

He's mentioned having to do his measurements late at night, after most of the Radio Stations had shut down for the night.

I'd assume that it's local interference from the massive RF noise that this planet generates, and not a real effect.

A few hundred years from now, they will make a Star Trek NG episode about this . . .

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we have lost 10% of Earth's magnetic field in the last century?

This AND global warming? What is the president doing about it?

It must be the rampant industrialism and society that is causing the problem.

Growing crops underground, now that is a good one. The only way that we survive is that in one day, the sun sends us more energy than all of the fossill fuel ever burned, added to all that will be burned in the future. I have NO idea how we can create that kind of light down-stairs. No, if we loose the vanallen belts, we are simply screwed. Don't try to survive. You won't like it.

And, actually, those magnetic changes are, luckily, well documented. The scientists studying this phenomenon determiend last year that it is 90% just a fluctuation that may result in a polarity shift. So, suddenly, the polarity of the planet would invert making the South pole, the north pole. That said, we can survive the short time that would take as the change might be as short as a few days.

Global warming is scarier as Mr. Martin smugly jests. But even that will not be the issue. If you really want to figure out what is going to destroy the world, read about "peak oil". That will give you something to worry about.

Cheers…

There are people growing crops underground right now… But the crop they are growing has a pretty high street value.

Why not – ants do it.

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Of course, the crop's not that appealing, but what the hell.

Doug

Norscaman – sun roofs over the underground fields!

What is the president doing about it?

Well, rampant industrialism will eventually lead us to the point that we have an industrial base large enough to build us a fleet of starships and flee the doomed earth once things get really bad. So maybe it's some kind of self-fulfulling prophecy, but this way it seems we have two choices – return to a pre-industrial society and eventually get scorched by cosmic radiation or go on industrializing and eventually get us onto a starship to find greener pastures…

You mean besides root vegetables?

what about mushrooms and other fungi.

commercially, mushrooms already are grown underground in some areas.

I guess the question is how nutritious are they if they were our only food source, like fungi are to harvester ants?

CC

Three words, gentlemen, invest in Soylent.

Forget growing fields of crops underground. Too resource intensive. Instead, with the wonders of "Intelligent Design" (aka genetic engineering) available to us, just build incubators for growing nice nutritious algea-slime. Some varieties could be harvested for protein, starches, etc. Have a small processing plant built next to it to convert said slime to a recognizable (and tasty) product, and viola`, bags of chips, bread, even something that passes as meat. Hey, if they can disguise tofu….

Um, why exactly are we moving the farms underground? I haven't run the order of magnitude calculations, but I really don't think we have the energy available for running farms as a closed system; at least, not on a 7 billion person scale.

I can see moving housing underground if radiation shielding was completely disappearing, but I think the plants can handle even that. At least, plant life in general has survived several pole flips, lah?

My understanding is that while there will be increased solar radiation hitting the Earth during the interchange period of a pole flip, with some precautions it won't affect us too much (elevated skin cancer and glaucoma rates, but manageable). Plants shouldn't really care less. Salmon and some birds might, though (they seems to have dealt with it before, too).

Even global warming won't affect agriculture other than forcing it to move to other areas. Believe me, it would cause social and political strife and wars will be fought and people will starve but humanity will live through it. Besides, at least locally no one seems to care about growing things — all the good agricultural land is being built up with office campuses, condos and subdivisions.

Norscaman- I've read up on "peak oil", you're right, that is pretty scary. The scariest thing about it is that it's not conjecture, it's happening. I'm going to have to get myself a load of solar panels and start growing my own food.

Growing crops underground is only feasable if you can sell the crops at about €10,- a gram.

Or free electricity for farmers only or something.