As concerns grow over the cost and safety of our food, people are increasingly looking for more reliable, local sources to feed themselves.   But as much as I love gardening and encourage others to get their hands dirty, I realize that sourcing all of your food from your backyard is not realistic for most people, especially for us city dwellers.   While community and rooftop gardens are sprouting up all over, people are starting to look up for alternatives with what is known as vertical farming, which Nicole wrote about earlier this year. Skyscraper farms?  Amazing.   And building plans are in the works everywhere from New York to Dubai, and San Francisco to Shanghai.   Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier envisions:

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Sudan Leader Charged with Genocide: What Are the Reactions? by Wendy Cohen

Inconvenient Truth of the Day: Al Gore Speaks on Climate Change by Joshua Tremblay

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Nicole Hughes:

“Farms in the Sky” a Solution to Global Food Crisis?

Wal-Mart Launches Eco-Bling Project

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Andy Kondrat:

NYC To Bring in 300 Hybrid Taxis Per Month

Coolio To Educate Students On Climate Change

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Jon Popham:

Pickens’ Plan for Energy Independence

On “Rent” Closing, the East Village, and Gentrification

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Gina Telaroli:

Batman Morals: Top 5 Lessons from the Capped Crusader’s Films

Emmy Nominations Kick “The Wire” to the Curb

Eating local here in New York City usually involves a trip to the farmers market at Union Square, where produce has to be transported from nearby farms located several miles outside city limits. But Dickson Despommier, a professor of public health at Columbia University, wants us to ask ourselves what it could mean if local farms literally became part of the New York City skyline. His vertical farm project was conceptualized in 1999, and has captured the attention of architects around the world for its unique design, but also for its promise to help alleviate weather-related food shortages and fluctuating food prices. Here’s Despommier being interviewed on The Colbert Report:

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