About ten years ago, when I first began researching this project, I Googled “what is the biggest source of pollution in the world”. The article that appeared in the first position was written by Live Science and suggested that energy production, food production, and transportation were the primary culprits. Their findings were based on eleven studies in a special edition of the Yale Journal of Industrial Ecology that examined the environmental impacts of major product groups.

As I continued to research, typing various related words, phrases, and sentences into my Google search box, my findings were largely what I already knew. An article by the Union of Concerned Scientists states that coal-fired power plants are among the most significant sources of pollution worldwide.

I had difficulty determining the exact number of coal-fired power plants currently in operation worldwide. According to Wikipedia, 196 coal-fired power plants produce over 2,000 MW of power. Those are large plants, meaning there are likely thousands of sub-2,000 MW plants currently in operation as well. This blog post by Ailun Yang, published in 2012, reports that 1,199 additional coal-fired power plants were proposed at that time. F.

The bottom line is, there are thousands of coal-fired power plants in existence, puking out an insane amount of pollution every single minute of every single day.

Food production. This article, posted on the Food Empowerment Projects website, is a good summation of pollution issues surrounding commercial food production. While I’m not a vegan and don’t intend on becoming one anytime soon, I get it. Chemicals, waste, fuel emissions, and other pollutants generated by factory farming and industrial food production pose a significant threat globally.

Back to power. I won’t bore you by giving you detailed results of the hours and hours of research I completed. Suffice it to say that, of all the ways to generate power today, the most efficient, cost-effective, and cleanest is gas-fired cogeneration. This cogeneration power plant in Klamath, Oregon, is a great example.

Back to food again. The cleanest, most efficient way to produce high-quality, non-GMO, chemical-free, naturally fertilized, real food, with ZERO pollution, is through aquaponic greenhouse farming with an added poultry component. Simply speaking, it works like this… Fish are raised in large, freshwater tanks. Organic produce is grown in hydroponic grow trays. Free-range chickens are also raised on-site. The waste from the fish nourishes the plants, the plant waste feeds the chickens, and the chicken waste feeds the fish.  As a bonus, plant waste is converted into fuel for the power plant. Note that the waste from power plants (heat and CO2) facilitates significant plant growth.

The result is high-quality, pesticide- and chemical-free, naturally fertilized, organic produce, fish, poultry, and eggs that are grown year-round, with none of the pollution associated with conventional farming methods. It produces more food per square foot than any other type of farming. One acre can provide enough food to feed 1,000 people perpetually.

Although gas-fired cogeneration power plants are among the cleanest methods of generating energy, they still produce waste, the two largest of which are heat and CO2. Two of the most significant requirements for aquaponic greenhouse farming are heat and fertilizer. Power plants produce heat, and through photosynthesis, plants, using water and light, convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen. Carbon dioxide is a natural fertilizer for plants. It’s a perfect marriage.

The heat and CO2 produced by the power plant will be routed to the greenhouses, warming them and providing additional fertilizer (CO2) for the plants. Through photosynthesis, the exhaust will effectively be scrubbed, significantly reducing the impact of exhaust gasses released back into the air. It’s as close to carbon-neutral power production as you can get while eliminating almost all of the pollution associated with current farming and food production methods in use today.

Poverty. I will introduce and implement a new business model, beginning with this project. Simply put, the new model requires 20% of the proceeds from any given project to be distributed to the principals and 80% of the proceeds to be invested into other projects that are 1. positive for humanity, and 2. adhere to the same 20/80 business model.

The concept is simple. Investors in a project receive 20% of any profits generated from the business or project they have invested in.  By moving 80% of the profits into other worthy projects or business ventures, they will have a stake in those projects, or as I like to say, they’ll have skin in the game. This model supports projects and businesses that benefit humanity, recognizing the principals who help others bring their worthy initiatives to fruition. In a way, it’s a “pay it forward” business model, where everyone wins and no one loses.

I will employ this new business model in this venture, allocating 20% of the project to the project principals and 80% to like-minded ideas that meet the criteria I mentioned above. If you have a project or business idea that fundamentally benefits humanity and you’re willing to perpetuate the business model, you may submit your ideas to me at rich@richrawlins.com for consideration.

Replacing all pollution-intensive, coal-burning power plants currently in operation with clean, gas-fired cogeneration power plants with an aquaponic greenhouse-farming component would reduce global pollution by over 50% and produce enough high-quality, real food to end hunger. 

Then, it can be your turn. As others who are smarter and more talented than I am adopt this model, perpetuating its results, the world will begin to transform.

As I continue to write, I’m sitting in the little coffee shop I frequent in Bend, Oregon. I overhear two young women talking about their boyfriends, a family sips coffee and plans their weekend at the mountain, an older woman looks out the window at the snow as it falls to the ground and begins to accumulate. None of them has any idea that I’m going to change the world.

Next, read how I’m going to fund this adventure, starting with nothing.

Rich