Hydroponics--A Global Perspective
As they gaze down upon the Earth, the Russian cosmonauts tend their little hydroponic garden. Spinning around the planet in their tiny habitat, the Mir Space Station, these are the first of our kin to live beyond planet Earth for extended periods. By cultivating fresh food, our friends keep in touch with the reality that though we are intellectual and spiritual beings, we are also living, breathing mammals with biological needs that must be satisfied.
Below, the planet strains as the human population explodes; natural resources dwindle with gross overuse; forests go up in smoke; the atmosphere and waterways become murky and tainted with poisons; and famine strikes human and animal populations alike. Meanwhile, climates change and farmland erodes.
Those of us with the ability, the will and the need, search for ways to sustain ourselves while we hope for an end to the destruction and decay. Basic needs must come first. Food production is essential, and with an increasing population and diminishing resources, new farming methods are a top priority.
Hydroponic farming is a tool of ever increasing importance.
