An exciting possibility for 3D-printed food is its ability to be customized. Inks can be formulated with extremely high precision to create foods with specific nutrient content for individual needs. Textures can also be modified so the food is easier to swallow.  That’s according to a recent article on ASME.org

“Various foods, including pork, chicken, potatoes, pasta, and peas, are first cooked and then pureed before they are extruded and printed into recognizable shapes,” reports GE on its website. “3D printing allows for food presentations that are visually appealing and therefore appetizing.”

3D-printed food may have an impact on relieving hunger around the world, using abundant and easily sourced food types such as algae, which are rich in protein and antioxidants.

The reach of 3D-printed food is even out of this world: NASA is developing a 3D food printer for deep space that will create meals from powdered proteins, carbohydrates, macronutrients, and micronutrients.

This has a couple of implications.  The first is the opportunity to affect the methane in the Greenhouse gas recipe.  According to the ASEM website, the company “Modern Meadow bioprints 3D-printed meat without killing animals. The process starts with a draw of stem cells from a cow via a biopsy. The cells are stimulated to produce muscle cells, which are then deposited in multiple layers on a special surface by a 3D bioprinter. The cells fuse together, forming muscle tissue, or meat.”   While methane accounts for approximately 10% of greenhouse gases, it is 30 times more potent at trapping heat.  Reducing livestock mega-farms can play a role in greenhouse gas emissions. (not to mention the deforestation that comes with mega livestock farms).

The second implication is hunger.  If managed correctly, this technology could literally diminish world hunger as we know it today.

This presents the perfect solution to being good stewards of our earth.

What if we cared for our planet as much as we cared for our possessions?   What if we changed the conversation away from climate change and pollution arguments to how we can be better stewards of our Earth?  There are no right or wrong arguments for stewardship.  Either you are a good steward or you are not.

What if local communities and cities took it upon themselves to be good stewards?  There are so many technologies available now that could revolutionize how communities impact our stewardship.

1.) Why not incentivize cities in the Southern belt to add non-reflective solar panels to the roofs of all high-rise buildings?  Cities in the Northern climates would add rooftop gardens and rain collecting systems.  When solar windows become more readily available, require that all future high-rise buildings use this to supplement energy usage.  The savings from energy bills would pay for the technology in a relatively short time.

2.) What if a “three ring approach” to carbon capture was a reality?  Think of the center ring being the inner city.  Within that ring are public art sculptures that are really carbon capture units?  Just outside the city, in the middle ring are carbon capture trees.  These trees could be made to serve as advertising billboards while collecting carbon.  Imagine now, further out from a city, in the open space are carbon capture and recycling units.  Minimizing carbon emissions from concentrated areas would certainly be good stewardship of the air we breathe.

3.) What if every city managed a healthy recycling program?  For every trash can on a street corner, there would also be a recycling can next to it.  Some cities have already adopted this approach and in Plano, Texas, trash cans are available on medians of intersections to encourage drivers not to toss their trash when they stop.  Why is this important? A lot of the trash you see floating in the ocean came from litter that made its way into storm drains, rivers and eventually oceans.

4.) What if we returned to the Pollution Prevention curriculum popular in the 1970’s that taught children about the real impact of littering?  Yes, we have those today, but what if it was a real ongoing program that was taught year round, not just on Earth Day.  We have Health classes, why can’t we be as committed to the health of our Earth?

5.) What if car tailpipe technology was accelerated so that all cars could receive a free emissions capture unit and minimize the particulate that goes into the air every time you drive?

These are just a few ideas and there are many, many more that each of us can make.  Ask yourself, how can I be a Good Steward to my Earth?

Imagine, every minute of every day our air is being cleansed by Trees. That already happens, you say? After all, trees do that all the time. However, thanks to deforestation, population growth and a host of other factors, there are fewer trees to compensate for human activity, especially in dense urban areas.

Enter the “Carbon Capture Tree.” This independently standing structure can be placed just about anywhere and once in place, silently begins to clean the air around it.

While some of the current designs look quite practical, others are down right works of art. Imagine city parks and Art Districts featuring beautiful sculptures that are not only easy on the eye, but easy on the environment.

Think of it, forests of capture units outside of every major city and more esthetic, artistic options in the heart of the cities.

While all of this is great for the environment, many could see it as a tax burden. What if it was sustainable? A comprehensive article on Herox.com provides a great outline of Carbon Capture options including “Enhanced Oil Recovery” or EOR. The article describes how “CO2 is pumped into old oil wells as a solvent to scour lingering hard-to-get oil from the ground. EOR currently boosts US oil output by 10 percent a year, and the US government estimates that state-of-the-art EOR with carbon dioxide could add 89 billion barrels of oil to the nation’s recoverable oil resources – which is more than four times the country’s existing reserves.”

There’s more to learn and maybe it will inspire local communities to consider making their next piece of public art, a carbon capture unit!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2009/08/090827_artificial_trees_wup_sl.shtml

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/13/carbon-capture