These Pollution-Fighting ‘Trees’ Are Popping Up Around The World
The risk air pollution poses across the world is now a well documented one. Urban areas in particular are at risk both because of the concentration of emissions and dwindling green space; as the trend of people moving to cities continues to increase, the problem seems only to compound.
Fortunately, science has answered with good news.
CNN recently reported on a new “tree” made from moss cultures that’s been appearing in major cities like Paris and Hong Kong. According to the developers, the “CityTree” does the same environmental remediation labor of 275 real trees, while collecting data about air quality and the health of the moss via wifi.
Specficially, the tree removes dust, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone gases from nearby air, and is estimated to clear some 240 metric tons of CO2 from the air each year. Built with its own solar panels and rain water collection mechanism, the ‘tree’ is low maintenance, and requires little external support.
As for the current status of expanding the trees to other cities, Chris Giles reports for CNN:
Today, bureaucratic obstacles are the main challenge.
“We were installing them (the CityTrees) in Modena, Italy, and everything was planned and arranged, but now the city is hesitant about the places we can install because of security reasons,” Wu said.
The team also has plans to introduce the “CityTree” to cities in lower-income countries such as India, which tend to have elevated levels of pollutants.
So far, around 20 CityTrees have been successfully installed, with each costing about $25,000.
Read the rest of the story on CNN.
Curious about other ways nature is helping save herself from humans? Check out our coverage of plastic eating mushrooms.
