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Type Paper
Cite as Citation reference for the source document. Kyle A. Alvarado, Aron Mill, Joshua M. Pearce, Alexander Vocaet, David Denkenberger. Scaling of Greenhouse Crop Production in Low Sunlight Environments. Science of the Total Environment 707, 2020, 136012 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136012 open access

Purpose During a global catastrophe such as a nuclear winter, in which sunlight and temperatures are reduced across every latitude, to maintain global agricultural output it is necessary to grow some crops under structures. This study designs a method for scaling up crop production in low-tech greenhouses to contribute to global food sustainability during global catastrophic conditions. Constructing low-tech greenhouses would obviate growing crops using more expensive and energy intensive artificial light. Methods A nuclear winter climate model is used to determine conditions for which greenhouses would need to compensate. The greenhouse structures are designed to utilize global markets of timber, polymer film, construction aggregates, and steel nails.

Results The limiting market that determines the growth rate of the greenhouses is the rate at which polymer film and sheet are currently extruded. Conditions under low-tech greenhouses in the tropics would feasibly accommodate the production of nearly all crops. Some supplemental lighting would be required for long day crops.

Conclusions The analysis shows that the added cost of low-tech greenhouses is about two orders of magnitude lower than the added cost of artificial light growth. The retail cost of food from these low-tech greenhouses will be ~2.30 USD/kg dry food higher than current costs; for instance, a 160% retail cost increase for rice. According to the proposed scaling method, the greenhouses will provide 36% of food requirements for everyone by the end of the first year, and feed everyone after 30 months.

Highlights[edit | edit source]

  • An alternative food production solution in a low sunlight catastrophe is greenhouse agriculture.
  • Required current global markets for timber, polymer film, steel nails, and gravel are analyzed.
  • The scaling rate considers the possibility of crop transplantation.
  • Rapid scaling of greenhouses could be useful in a range of scenarios from nuclear winter to abrupt climate change.
  • The economic analysis shows far lower cost for greenhouses than artificial light.

Keywords[edit | edit source]

Greenhouses; Low sunlight; Nuclear winter; Existential risk; alternative food; existential risk; global catastrophic risk; public health; sustainable food systems

See also[edit | edit source]

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Feeding Everyone No Matter What
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Additional Information[edit source]

Davos IDRC Conference[edit source]

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Authors Joshua M. Pearce
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 37 pages link here
Impact 328 page views
Created December 11, 2019 by Joshua M. Pearce
Modified July 14, 2023 by Felipe Schenone
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