Science Barge to Visit Manhattan

WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010

New York, NY —

Sustainable urban farming comes to the city this spring. Some local scientists are growing carbon dioxide-free tomatoes, lettuce and peppers on a barge off the West Side Highway.

REPORTER: The garden is entirely hydroponic. Ted Caplow, Executive Director of New York Sun Works, says this means there's no soil and the water is re-circulated.

CAPLOW: So we conserve water. And all the power that we need to run a greenhouse - which is essentially fans and vents to keep the temperature in the range so the plants are happy at - all of that power comes from renewable energy. So right there on the barge, we have solar panels, wind turbines, and a generator that runs on bio fuel.

REPORTER: Caplow says the Science Barge was created to get New Yorkers to think about sustainable energy. The sip opens for visitors and school trips at 3 different stops in Manhattan this May.

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