Bill Text: HI SCR33 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Vertical Farms; Feasibility Study

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-29 - (S) Referred to WTL, WAM. [SCR33 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SCR33-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	33
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REquesting a feasibility study on establishing vertical farms in the state.

 

 

     WHEREAS, if climate change and population growth progress at their current pace, in roughly fifty years traditional farming practices will no longer be possible; and

 

     WHEREAS, the floods and droughts that have come with climate change are wreaking havoc on traditional farmland, including massive loss of crops and devastating loss of topsoil; and

 

     WHEREAS, the amount of arable land per person decreased from about an acre in 1970 to roughly half an acre in 2000, and is projected to decline to about a third of an acre by 2050; and

 

     WHEREAS, traditional soil-based farming claims seventy per cent of the fresh water used in the world for irrigation purposes, and the runoff is contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; and

 

     WHEREAS, viable alternatives to traditional soil-based farming practices exist and can be used in urban settings for vertical farming; and

 

     WHEREAS, hydroponics allows plants to grow in a water and nutrient solution, while aeroponics grows plants in a nutrient laden mist, and both methods use approximately ninety per cent less water than traditional techniques; and

 

     WHEREAS, a vertical farm would behave like a functional ecosystem, in which waste was recycled and the water used in hydroponics and aeroponics was recaptured by dehumidification and used again, these technologies are being used in controlled environment agriculture facilities but have not been integrated into a seamless source of food production in urban high-rise buildings; and

 

     WHEREAS, urban high-rise buildings, upper floors of apartment complexes, schools, and restaurants can house vertical farms to supply a continuous quantity of fresh vegetables and fruits to city dwellers; and

 

     WHEREAS, vertical farms would produce crops year-round that contain no agrochemicals, and reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the need for heavy farm machinery and trucks that deliver food from farm to fork; and

 

     WHEREAS, vertical farms would bring a great concentration of plants into cities which would absorb carbon dioxide produced by automobile emissions and give off oxygen; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of vertical farms in the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to consult with the counties in the development of the feasibility study; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture submit a report on its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture and the county mayors.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Vertical Farms; Feasibility Study