So I've been thinking a lot about microclimate engineering as a way of making communities more resilient against climate change. This kind of thing can be pretty easily done on a small scale (bodies of water which passively cool the surrounding area, etc), but there's no reason to stop there.

there's also historic examples of local climate engineering being done on much larger scales. Admittedly, most of these examples were largely accidental and had pretty negative outcomes, but my point is that it can be done.

Iowa used to be cool and dry, but once all the prairie got replaced with corn, that corn started pumping out so much moisture that now the state is hot and humid. Maybe not the best thing to have happen, but very interesting!

There may be ways to replicate this that aren't so damaging to native environments. Most plants already have properties that regulate their local environments, managing temperature and humidity, aiding in soil health, filtering airborne particulates and toxins, the list goes on. And just like we bred corn and other subsistence plants to taste better and have higher calorie loads, we can breed plants to be better at absorbing humidity, or negating temperature shifts!


Honestly I don't know shit about horticulture but I bet even I could do this. All I would need is water, seeds and dirt, a place to grow the plants and some sort of setup for measuring the factor I want to increase. I know how the scientific method works, I can read books. Why not.

When I go back to school I should really consider minoring in horticulture. I feel like I would regret it if I didn't

@ELJ1 I'd strongly suggest looking into permaculture design principles. They're all about sculpting the landscape with dirt and plants to capture and slow down as much rainwater as possible so it can soak into the ground and allow for drought resilience and groundwater replenishment over time. Biggest name I've seen around is Geoff Lawton, and I agree with the vast majority of what he says regarding human habitation needing to integrate with existing planetary systems more fully & holistically.

Duly noted! I've heard about permaculture before but haven't really looked into it that much yet. Any books you could recommend?

@ELJ1 Alas, all my education's come from the fountain of youtube. Mr. Lawton has published a book, and I'm positive he can't be the only one. Would you like some videos instead? I can dig a few good ones up in a hurry.

a bolus of youtube links Show more

a bolus of youtube links, fin. Show more

a bolus of youtube links, fin. Show more

@ELJ1 Always glad to show new ideas to interested parties!

The biggest take-home to remember is that permaculture *basically* thinks of existing natural processes as APIs that humans can bolt together to be just as if not more effective than current agricultural farming standards on at *least* the small to medium scale.

@ELJ1 Also, on a personal note, I was *deeply* impressed by "The Power of Water" as a demonstration of how resilient medium-to-large scale permaculture farming practices can be in the face of natural disasters.

one more youtube video I *just* dug out of deep memory Show more

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