FAA Says Drones May Be Used For Fun... But Not For Profit

from the because-how-dare-we-allow-innovation dept

Earlier this year, we wrote about a court saying that the FAA's rules that banned the use of drones for anything commercial were overstepping the FAA's mandate, and making it clear that such drones should be considered legal. The FAA has appealed, and in an attempt to drive home its point that not a single potential commercial use of a drone is legal, the FAA has doubled down by clearly laying out what's not allowed. Lots of people are pointing out that the FAA's claims are likely to ground the high profile plans by Amazon to deliver packages by drone, but it's some of the other things that are on the prohibited list that strike me as even more ridiculous: I can almost, kinda, barely, sorta see the rationale for saying that package delivery is not allowed, since you could see how that might interfere with other things or cause problems. And, in case you're wondering, the footnoted "6" after that "delivering packages to people for a fee" clarifies that "free shipping" on a purchased product doesn't count.

But... the rest of the items in the list all seem very troubling to me. None of those seem like cases where there's likely to be any interference with aircraft or any other kind of problem. Drone use for real estate videos is increasingly common and something that actually seems like a very good idea. Here's an example of one such video: Can anyone explain any reason why this should be illegal? Same with the use of drones to determine if commercial crops should be watered. That sounds like a really good idea. But it's not allowed. Because the FAA appears to basically want to control absolutely everything. This seems like a massive overreach in so many ways.

Filed Under: commercial use, crops, drones, faa, real estate, regulation, tacocopter

DailyDirt: Better Tasting Fruits And Vegetables

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

If fruits and vegetables tasted even better, maybe people would include more in their diet. Part of what researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are trying to do is to improve the taste and nutritional profile of specialty crops like fruits and vegetables, in the hope that Americans will adopt a healthier diet. For generations, humans have been inadvertently breeding the nutrients out of fruits and vegetables, by selecting varieties that are more palatable (i.e., higher in sugar and starch). Then, somewhere along the way, appearance became important, and farmers began breeding aesthetically pleasing varieties, often at the expense of taste. So, now we're stuck with some pretty bland products. Here are some more tasty links.

• For the past 70 years or so, people have been breeding tomatoes for a uniform red color, but in the process, a gene that increases sugar content in tomatoes was inactivated. The gene, SlGLK2, increases the formation of chloroplasts, which are responsible for producing sugars through photosynthesis. Researchers have shown that by re-inserting an intact copy of the gene into tomatoes, they could increase the amount of glucose and fructose by up to 40%, while still retaining the uniform color ripening trait. Too bad they weren't actually able to taste them (federal regulations prohibit sampling experimental crops). [url]
• Researchers have found that today's Fuji apples are mealier, less flavorful, and more susceptible to disease than they were in the 1970s. The culprit: climate change. Studies in controlled temperature environments have shown that higher temperatures have been linked to a decrease in taste and texture in apples. Who knows what other crops might also have been changed due to global warming? [url]
• University of Florida researchers have discovered that they can improve the taste of fruits by exposing them to far-red light. They were able to use specific wavelengths of light to manipulate the production of volatile compounds that control aroma and taste in fruits like tomatoes, strawberries, and blueberries. Imagine your produce tasting even better after being stored in your far-red-light-equipped refrigerator! [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: apples, breeding, climate change, crops, diet, farming, food, fruits, gmo, taste, tomato, vegetables
Companies: usda

DailyDirt: The Disappearing Bee

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

People usually don't think too much about how important bees are to the quality of human life. As pollinators, bees play an important role in the survival of crops that depend on them. The mass die-off of bees, also known as "Colony Collapse Disorder," can have detrimental effects on economies that depend heavily on pollinator-dependent crops. Scientists are just starting to figure out what might be causing these mass die-offs, while others are working on alternatives to using bees for pollination. Here are a few links related to the disappearing bee.

• A new study has found that pollen contaminated with a wide variety of pesticides and fungicides could be responsible for the mass die-offs of bees. Bees that ate contaminated pollen were less able to resist getting infected by a parasite called Nosema ceranae, which has been implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder. On average, the contaminated pollen contained nine different pesticides and fungicides. [url]
• The once-common-but-now-rare Western bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) has been spotted in Washington state for the first time since the mid-1990s. This particular bee species has a very unique "white butt" that makes it instantly distinguishable. A queen and a few other bees were also spotted, and they may be the only population of Western bumblebees in the state. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is hoping to conserve and help rebuild the population. [url]
• University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources is looking at using leafcutter bees as an alternative to disappearing honey bees for pollination. While leafcutter bees are more expensive and management intensive, they're as good as or even better than honey bees at pollinating certain crops, such as alfalfa seed, strawberries, and melons. [url]
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying the use of blue orchard bees (aka orchard mason bees) as a replacement for honey bees. Blue orchard bees can pollinate a variety of crops, including almond, peach, plum, cherry, and apple, and they're extremely efficient. For fruit trees, it takes only 2,000 blue orchard bees to do the work of 100,000 honey bees. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: bees, blue orchard bees, colony collapse disorder, crops, environment, farming, fruits, fungicides, honey bees, insects, leafcutter bees, pesticides, pollination
Companies: usda

DailyDirt: Farming In The Future

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

So far, we've mostly avoided a Malthusian catastrophe, but the human population is likely to grow to about 9 billion by 2050 (or somewhere between 7.5 and 10.5 billion, depending on your estimates). By that time, huge cities could house enormous populations, but the resources to feed all those people might need to be shipped in from vast farmlands. Who knows, maybe there will be some suburban middle ground where billions of people live near locally-produced agriculture. Vertical farming technologies could make it possible to grow food without acres and acres of land. Here are just a few links on some futuristic farming techniques.

• Organic farming is great, but it often produces lower yields of crops compared to conventional farming techniques. Organic farming yields are actually comparable for some fruits, but for vegetables and cereals, conventional farming has the upper hand. The score isn't settled yet; organic farmers might be able to increase their productivity if they can find better sources of organic nitrogen. [url]
• Singapore has a commercial vertical farm in operation that could bring back more agriculture to the tiny nation-city. Sky Green Farms is selling its crops in Singapore supermarkets, and it's looking to license its technology to other countries that might also need small-footprint farming. [url]
• VertiCrop is another vertical farming technology company based in Canada which grows vegetables hydroponically with a fraction of the water and land usages of a standard farm. The mechanized farming can be managed by as little as 3 people and still process 10,000 plants every 3 days. [url]
• Some architects are creating "farmscrapers" -- super tall buildings that contain agricultural features. Growing trees on the sides of a skyscraper probably has a few problems, but the designs look cool. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: crops, farming, farmscrapers, food supply, organic farming, singapore, vertical farm
Companies: green sky farms, verticrop