[C11T1P1]Crop-growing Skyscrapers
By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth's population will live in urban centres.
到2050年，地球上接近80%的人口都将集中居住在城市。
Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about three billion people by then.
如果用最传统的人口统计学方法来测量，到那时全世界的人口将增加30亿。
An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% larger than Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming methods continue as they are practised today.
如果我们继续延续传统的农耕方式，预计将新增10⒐公顷的耕地(比巴西还要大20%)才能有足够的粮食来养活这些人。
At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use.
目前世界范围内80%适宜耕种的土地都在使用。
Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices.
而在过去，大概15%的土地都因为管理不善而被荒废。
What can be done to ensure enough food for the world's population to live on?
为了让世界人民有饭吃，我们应该做些什么呢？
The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes and other produce has been in vogue for some time.
室内耕种的概念并不新奇，因为室内种植的西红柿和其他温室农作物已经流行好一段时间了。
What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion people.
而我们现在最急迫的需求是如何将这种技术量化，让室内种植养活这新增的30亿人口。
Many believe an entirely new approach to indoor farming is required, employing cutting-edge technologies.
很多人认为我们其实需要的是一种使用尖端科技的全新的室内种植方式。
One such proposal is for the ' Vertical Farm'.
其中就有一种叫做“垂直农场”的项目。
The concept is of multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown in environmentally controlled conditions.
根据这种理论，人们在多层建筑里种上各种农作物，而室内的生长环境是可以严格控制的。
Situated in the heart of urban centres, they would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to bring food to consumers.
这些农场位于市中心，从而可以大幅度降低将食物送达客户所需的交通成本。
Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cheap to construct and safe to operate.
垂直农场必须是高效能的，而且建筑成本低廉，操作安全。
If successfully implemented, proponents claim, vertical farms offer the promise of urban renewal , sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (through year-round production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.
支持者们声称，如果可以成功实施垂直农场的话，我们将迎来城市发展的新时代，而且能建立一个可持续的﹑安全而多样性的食物供应链条（可以通过年产各种农作物来实现），最终垂直农场的普及也将弥补水平农业所带来的生态破坏。
It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now take for granted.
人类花去了一万年的时间才学会耕种我们今天习以为常的各种农作物。
Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant , natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts.
而在此过程中，这些土地中的大部分都被过度开垦，从葱翠的自然生态区变成了半荒芜的沙漠。
Within that same time frame, we evolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population now lives vertically in cities.
与此同时，人类已经进化成了城市物种，60%的人口都垂直聚集在城市生活。
This means that, for the majority, we humans have shelter from the elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigours of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year.
这意味着，对于大多数人来说，我们从大自然处获取了可以遮风挡雨的居所，但却把那些为我们提供食物的农作物扔给了室外的大自然之力，而我们为它们能做到的，仅仅是渴求风调雨顺。
However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, that is not what happens.
然而，大多数时候，因为瞬息万变的气候因素，往往是事与愿违。
Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.
长期的洪涝灾害、飓风、剧烈的季风兴风作浪，年复一年地摧残着成千上万吨珍贵的粮食。
The supporters of vertical farming claim many potential advantages for the system.
垂直农场的倡导者们认为这一体系有很多潜在的优势。
For instance , crops would be produced all year round, as they would be kept in artificially controlled, optimum growing conditions.
例如，这样一来我们就可以一年四季都种粮食，因为我们能人工调节出最佳生长环境。
There would be no weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods or pests.
不会再出现由于洪涝灾害或害虫导致的粮食慌。
All the food could be grown organically , eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers.
所有的食品都是有机培植，除草剂、农药和化肥都不需要了。
The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface .
这一系统会大幅降低传统农业不能避免的各种传染性疾病的病发率。
Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting non- edible parts of plants.
尽管也耗能,但通过将植物的不可食用部分降解成沼气它还能生产出能源。
It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping.
同时,它还能大幅度减少尾气排放,因为对拖拉机、播种机和船运的需求也减少了。
A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light.
然而,垂直农场也是有缺点的,因为植物需要人造光源。
Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to more sunlight and grow more quickly, reducing the efficiency of the system.
没有了人造光源,那些长在最靠近窗户的植物就会接收到更多的自然光，也就长得更快，这样一来就会降低整个系统的效能。
Single- storey greenhouses have the benefit of natural overhead light: even so, many still need artificial lighting.
单层温室拥有自然光的先天优势，但尽管如此，很多温室还是需要人造光。
A multi-storey facility with no natural overhead light would require far more.
而缺乏自然光的多层温室则需要多得多的人造光。
Generating enough light could be prohibitively expensive, unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future aspiration than a likelihood for the near future.
而生产这些人造光的成本非常高，除非我们能找到便宜的可再生能源，其实短期内我们也找不到，只能期待将来。
One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails.
垂直农场的衍生产品已经研发出来了，就是在移动的轨道放置托盘，在里面种粮食。
Moving the trays allows the plants to get enough sunlight.
托盘的可动性让植物能得到充分的阳光。
This system is already in operation, and works well within a single-storey greenhouse with light reaching it from above: it is not certain, however, that it can be made to work without that overhead natural light.
这一体系目前已经在运行，而且对于有自然光的单层温室来说效果也不错。但是如果没有了自然光就不知道会怎么样了。
