But if the cactus are Mexican, won’t they have to be sent back south across the border?

The fruit is the best part of that plant.

Not everything has to be science. But science has to be science.

I know, right?

That’s quite interesting. Although the plants get less light, there’s a lot of plants that don’t do well in direct tropical sunlight anyway.

People have noted problems with this, and another is the environmental damage the materials used to create the building cause.

Even if we’re able to boost yields immensely by upgrading photosynthesis, this isn’t going to be a silver bullet that ends any global food crisis, present or future. It’s important to bear in mind that the hunger problem facing our world today is largely a problem of distribution, not supply.

This entire thread is my favourite comment thread on io9 ever. Thanks to everybody who commented.

I’m just waiting for an octopus to figure out there’s free food hidden in the plastic bubbles...

I don’t think he’s proposing it as a way to sequester CO2, I think he considers it a way to grow food.

So much of the scientific method is craft - it doesn’t matter how much you study it takes a lot of practice to get any good at it, and having a knack for it helps.

OK, fair enough, but it’s “caring” in the same way you care that everyone has a basic understanding of the different fields. I guess it’s more accurate to say “I don’t put much weight on” rather than “I don’t care”.

I was more surprised by the 13% who don’t accept human-caused climate change.

That’s a very good point. Too many people/media promote “this is what scientists believe” without breaking down exactly what the scientists study. I don’t really care what a geologist believes about the human immune system, for example.

I didn’t realise this was still going - I bought (I think) the first edition when it came out...it was a good concept but we couldn’t make it work. Oh well.

I would suggest that learning how the brain heals itself should be classed as at least as “hard science stuff” as learning what happens when the brain gets damaged.

I don’t really give a shit if a cat got run over by a car - I care about all the animals it kills, and the fact that native species have a hard time avoiding extinction because people don’t control their pets.

Well, I guess I should engage with the community, even if I have nothing very interesting to say...

LOL! What are “introduced” mice?

“It’s a right, not a responsibility.” If you haven’t got enough space to build a decent sized cat run, including a fresh air component, don’t have a cat. If you can’t provide for a dog’s needs, don’t have a dog. If you can’t build a decent sized aviary, don’t have a bird. It’s really simple.