Reaction to Chapters 1, 2, and 4

Reading these chapters got me thinking about how we could use the information to tackle the task of answering our essential questions. The basics of what hydroponics, aquaculture, and aquaponics are could easily be translated into a series of simple diagrams, much like the one on page 2 that describes the aquaponics cycle. (I will work on a few drafts of these to bring for Tuesday's meeting) The section on hydroponics got me thinking that the information about the nutrients could also be translated into a diagram, specifically about their "lifecycle". This might show the energy that goes into extracting the nutrients from the earth, how far they travel, thus using fossil fuels, and the energy required to process them. Reading the chapter on world demographics and the projection of population growth got me thinking about spatial requirements. It would be interesting to see a ratio for current farming methods and methods such as aquaponics to be able to compare their ability to feed the world population. I viewed chapter 4, "Before You Start", as somewhat cautionary. It seemed to say, "Hey, remember there are a lot of things to consider before you go out and get all of the pieces. Think about them carefully."