9+ Creative Air Pollution Solutions -Part 1

Air pollution is a serious global threat. Billions of people live in areas where urban smog and toxic pollutants pose severe health concerns, out of which, millions of them die each year. And finally, many such cities dealing with serious levels of air pollution are beginning to implement innovative measures to tackle the situation.  The entire world has come together to fight against air pollution.  

In This Article:

• Solution 1: Plant More Trees

Examples:

1: How to Fit 275 Trees In 3 M2 Of Space?

 

• Solution 2: Think Harder For Area Specific Solutions

Examples:

1: Air-purifying billboard does the work of approx. 1,200 trees

2: Road space rationing- Quick way to reduce vehicles on a road

3: It’s time for an eco-friendly Cremation!

 

• Solution 3: Turn Pollution Into Harmless Compounds

Examples:

1: How Iceland is converting the CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions into stone.

2: Super Smart Smog-Busters (Photocatalytic materials) are turning harmful smog into harmless salts

 

• Solution 4: Make Best Out Of The Waste

Examples:

1: Smog Free Tower is Turning Dust Into Jewellery

2: Now You Can Paint With The Pollution!

3: This Hungry ‘Algae’ater Literally Feasts On Carbon Emissions

 

• A Quick Recap At Creative Solutions Used Worldwide To Control Air Pollution

 

Solution 1:

 

Plant More Trees

While it is tempting to look at exciting new solutions to control the air pollution crisis, the best solutions are also the simplest ones. One of the most obvious tactics for fixing air pollution is planting more and more trees. Everyone knows that. But still, forests are vanishing rapidly. Thousands of trees are cut down each year to widen the roads and improve the infrastructure. There is no space to plant new trees, and absolutely no time to take care of the already planted ones. It is a fact. Sad, but true. So, can we do something that can have the positive impact similar to that of the trees, but will take less space and require low maintenance? I mean, can we build some kind of a mini forest that can make the concrete jungle more bearable? Why not! Let’s have a look at this brilliant technology.  

Can You Fit 275 Trees In 3 M² Of Space?

Mobile forest is all set to clean as much polluted air as an entire forest

  In order to tackle the growing air pollution in urban cities, Berlin (Germany) based GreenCity Solutions (Founded in 2014) has come up with a hi-tech green wall called CityTree, that has the regenerative power of a small forest.    

How it works?

Interestingly, CityTree is not a tree at all, but a mobile wall of moss.    

• Moss is the boss:

  Moss cultures have a much larger leaf surface area than any other plant. That means, we can capture more pollutants in lesser setup area. Different species of moss absorb environmental pollutants such as fine dust, nitrogen dioxide, and other greenhouse gases while producing oxygen at the same time and releases clean and cool air.

 

• Solar panels:

  Generate electricity and collect rainwater which is then pumped into the soil and feeds the moss.

 

• Wi-fi sensors:

  They measure its well being, including soil humidity as well as temperature.

 

• Pollution sensors:

  They are placed inside the installation to monitor the local air quality and efficiency of the CityTree.

 

Pros:

• High-tech solution:

  The mobile installation is self-watering, self-monitoring and has a a rainwater collecting system.

 

• Low Maintenance:

  CityTree is self sustaining and requires only a few hours of maintenance a year.

 

• Energy efficient:

  The default energy supply is done via solar panels. (Additional supply could be done via fuel cell or by grid connection if required).

 

• User friendly design:

  There is an optional sitting bench available, which allows passersby to take some rest while enjoying pleasant cooling effect of fresh air in the heart of a concrete jungle.

 

• Potential to earn revenue:

  It’s unique design is suitable to display advertisements. WiFi, iBeacon, NFC and digital screens allow CityTrees to transmit digital and visual information, and companies can pay to advertise on them by adding lighting, logos or LED panels.

 

Impact:

Nothing can replace the enchanting effect of actual lush green trees. Still, a single green wall of 4m x 3m is equivalent to a small forest of approx. 275 trees. Many CityTrees are already installed in many countries. Sometimes they only spend a few weeks in one location before being rebuilt elsewhere. Green City Solutions is paying special attention to some of the worst polluted cities in the world. That’s great, isn’t it?    

Solution 2:

 

Think Harder For Area Specific Solutions

Although such alternatives to actual trees can give some relief to nearby residents in many urban areas, there are some parts which are more vulnerable to air pollution born diseases due to continuous production of highly dangerous air contaminants through industrial areas and construction sites. Such localities need more direct approach towards the elimination of the toxic pollutants. That’s when the air purifying billboard came to the picture.  

Billboard That Breathes

Air-purifying billboard does the work of approx. 1,200 trees

  University of Engineering and Technology of Peru (UTEC),  has designed an air purifying billboard which sucks pollution from the sky and releases purified air to the surrounding areas. The first billboard was set up near a construction zone in Lima (Peru, South America), which is one of the world’s worst air pollution offenders.  

How it works?

• Installation and setup:

  It’s an effective air purification system, which looks like a normal billboard with an advertisement in the front.

 

• Absorb and dissolve:

  It absorbs pollutants and combines it with water, using basic thermodynamic principles to actively dissolve the pollutants such as bacteria, dust and germs etc.

 

• Filter and release:

  The air is filtered and then purified, fresh air is released. The purifying process is continuous.

 

Special features:

• Specially designed for construction zones:

  Construction sites are the worst nightmare for all of us. Continuous exposure to the dust and other harmful pollutants can lead to life-threatening health problems, from respiratory issues to cancer. The billboard can soak up construction materials like dust, stone and metal particles, to improve air quality for site workers and residents in the nearby area.

 

• Easy and effective:

  It is comparatively easier to implement in order to tackle air pollution in urban areas. They can take place of the existing normal billboards to yield fresh oxygen that extends up to five city blocks (Approx 0.5-1 km).

 

• Energy efficient:

  Most importantly, it has a very low energy consumption and uses 100% recyclable water.

 

Impact:

A single billboard can do the work of 1,200 mature trees by purifying nearly 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet) of air daily in crowded cities. How cool is that!    

Are You Allowed To Drive Today?

Road space rationing – quickest way to reduce vehicles on the road

  Nowadays, everyone has a car or a motorbike. Driving your own vehicle is a matter of pride. I absolutely agree with you! But no matter how beautiful your car looks, it still emits ugly pollutants. Can we attack on the root cause? Can we stop the cars from polluting the environment? Sure we can. But it will take some time to develop such technology and implement it worldwide. So, is there any simpler or local solution? Yes! For all those vehicles that are already polluting our environment every single day, road space rationing may give us a sigh of relief. The idea of road-space rationing to reduce the number of vehicles on the road to avoid congestion and reduce emission levels is not at all new. In fact it is older than you can imagine! Any guesses? 100 years, 500 years, 1000 years….oh you are totally wrong! Don’t feel bad guys, even I wasn’t different! Road space rationing can be traced back to as early as 45 B.C. Oh my god! I wasn’t even born at that time, neither my grandparents! Famous Roman politician and military general-Julius Caesar was the first person to implement this system to reduce congestion problems caused by carriages and carts pulled by horses. So, in some of the most busiest and crowded cities in Rome, these vehicles were banned from 6 in the morning till 4 in the evening. This applied to all vehicles except the ones that were carrying priests, officials, visitors, and high ranking citizens. Hmm…Common man always suffers!  

How it works?

In road-space rationing system, the number of vehicles on a road is reduced with a suitable strategy and violators are asked to pay fine. Some popular methods include…  

1) Even-odd system:

In this system, cars are banned for particular days in a week depending on the number on their license plates. For example, in Delhi (India) and China, number plates ending with odd and even numbers were banned on alternative days. While in Paris (France), cars with even number plates were banned from entering the city between 5:30 am until midnight. In Mexico (South America), cars were banned for one day in a week depending on the number on their license plates.  

2) Peak hours system:

In this system, particular types of vehicles are banned during the peak hours.For example, in the Columbian capital of Bogota, private cars were banned during the peak hours for two days a week. While in Beijing (China), during the 2008 Summer Olympics, heavy vehicles were banned from entering the city during the day. To compensate the car owners for inconvenience caused, and to encourage the people to use public transport, government of China even exempted them from vehicle taxes for the next three months. After a successful implementation of temporary road space rationing in Beijing, several permanent rationing schemes were put in many other cities of China to improve the air quality.  

Impact:

The initial results were good, in fact, they were great! There was a less traffic on the roads and even the pollution reduced by as much as 11%-40%. Wow! That’s impressive. But eventually, people found many loopholes in the system which made the situation worse. For example,  

In the areas with even-odd system,

People just started buying two cars with both, even and odd numbers. So, now they had 2 cars instead of one with the second vehicle being often older, cheaper, inefficient and therefore more polluting. This actually made things worse. As a result, traffic jams and pollution levels never got reduced, and in some cases pollution levels even rose by an alarming 13%!  

In the areas with the restrictions on driving during peak hours,

Drivers started driving during the off-peak hours. So, the off-peak hours became peak hours and the whole point of this campaign became useless. It only led to more traffic and pollution. So, while the road-space rationing worked out wonderfully in some places like Paris and Beijing, it fell flat on its face in most of the other parts due to over-smart selfish drivers and lack of seriousness towards this entire campaign. Moreover, those who couldn’t drive on their own preferred taxis and cab services over public transport like train, metro and buses.  

Conclusion:

Road space rationing systems can work great if used infrequently or temporarily. However, longer-term outcomes are not so encouraging. In fact, if used as a long term measure, they may even worsen the situation. Access regulations based on the type of the vehicle have often been found to be more effective, in reducing traffic congestion, and pollution. Also, the improved and user friendly transportation system can motivate people to use more and more public transport over private vehicles.    

It’s Time For An Eco-Friendly Cremation!

Replacing conventional wooden logs with cow dung cakes

  Every day, thousands of trees are getting cut And most of the big metropolis in the world are getting choked by smog. While we all are aware of various causes of air pollution, there is one aspect of life we overlook when it comes to air quality – cremations. Cremations are an inherent part of many cultures. Some countries like Japan, South Korea, Nepal and Thailand have a cremation rate over 95%. India is the second most populated country in the world. In India, approx. 75% of the deceased are cremated. Conventionally fire woods, electricity or LPG gas is used for cremation purpose. Traditional wood cremation uses about 400-500 kg of wood per burning. So just imagine the amount of wood needed to cremate millions of deceased worldwide every year. That’s gigantic! Isn’t it? So, every year, we are killing lakhs of precious trees and burning tons of wooden logs. I can’t even imagine the amount of air pollution caused due to deforestation and burning of the wood. It’s just terrible, and extremely sad. So, can we find an alternative which would solve this problem without hurting the religious sentiments? Fortunately, yes! We can. But how? Well, using cow dung logs.  

How it works?

Cow dung cakes have been made by hands in many villages since centuries.

• In order to create cow dung logs, a combination of dung and straw (or any agricultural waste) is used.
• Raw materials are mixed thoroughly and then compressed at high pressure.
• Produced logs are then put under the sunlight to dry out the moisture inside them, making them hard and sturdy.

 

Pros:

• It’s eco-friendly:

  Cow dung is a never ending source of fuel. As long as cows are going to eat, they are going to produce cow dung. Cow dung logs can replace wood in crematoriums in the hopes of reducing deforestation. The controlled burning of these logs is claimed to be less polluting than wooden logs.

 

• It won’t hurt religious sentiments:

  In Hinduism, cow is worshipped and cow dung cakes have always been used along with wood for cremation since the early days. Hence, using cow dung logs for cremation would not hinder religious beliefs.

 

• It’s cost effective:

  Using cow dung logs for cremation is cheaper than other alternatives (wood, gas, and electricity).

 

• It’s safer:

  Cow dung logs is an effective way to reduce the risk of explosion and fire of fast flammable material.

 

• Farmers can earn more:

  Dairy farming, primarily involving cows, generates a lot of bio-waste in the form of cow dung. Although a part of it is generally used as natural fertiliser and fuel, a major part ends up in landfills and local water bodies. With the increased demand for Cow dung logs, farmers will be more careful and will show more interest in collecting the cow dung to get extra incentives.

 

Cons:

• May not be available everywhere:

  Fresh Cow dung or processed cow dung logs may not be easily available in some areas. But this issue can be fixed very quickly. If cow dung is not easily available in your area, white coal/biomass briquette (Made from agricultural waste or biomass like sugarcane bagasse, castor seed shells, wood chips and shavings, rice husk and paddy straw etc.) can also be used for the same purpose.

 

Impact:

Many states in India have already adopted this method. If the concept is gradually adopted worldwide, it could help lessen our pollution worries.   Read Complete Article

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References:

• mymodernmet 
• yourstory
• green city solutions 
• designing buildings
• youtube: cityhacks   UTEC
• new atlas
• time
• indiatimes
• wikipedia
• the better india