The simple act of motivating yourself to start taking charge of your circumstances in small steps, can be very empowering.  We started our own Garden a couple of years ago, first year was a bust, this year was good after we started our own composting which saved on our trash footprint, while creating a good soil mixture.  We now have a herb garden on the patio in Las Vegas, and a raised bed garden in the side yard.  This year produced a small amount of stuff, we picked up certain idea’s from various internet sites with gardening tips.
Britta Riley’s talk on Ted.com (link below)  takes it to another level.  Collaboration online doing the (Research and Development Your Self) is a great idea.  It was a step she took which led to others helping and it is and continues to make a change.
http://www.ted.com/talks/britta_riley_a_garden_in_my_apartment.html

Small steps, innovating, sharing, community, all things we can do to change the world one step at a time.  Take the initiative, start something on your own, or join something you believe in.  Use your buying power to make a statement.  A window Garden can be started anywhere.  Give it a try.