ENVR London’s New Artificial Trees Guzzle As Much Pollution As 275 Regular Trees

[Countrybumpkin]

Say hello to the capital’s new City Trees!
The world is, finally, awakening to the imminent threats posed by climate change and pollution, and London is starting to do its bit to help. From zero-emissions streets to pollution-eating solar panels, along with restaurants trending towards zero-waste and veganism, the capital has begun to put greener, more sustainable methods into practice. Next in the war on global warming are three new City Trees, a series of CO2-filtering structures which have just been installed in Leytonstone.
Useful as they are, calling the City Trees ‘trees’ is a bit of a misnomer. They’re actually towers filled with different types of moss, which eat up particulates and nitrogen oxides whilst simultaneously producing oxygen. The City Trees include their own irrigation and energy systems that allows them to operate whatever the weather, and also collect data about the surrounding environment, which can then be used to inform further green solutions.

Each moss tower has the air-cleaning capability of 275 regular trees, making them an extremely powerful tool for improving air quality, especially in polluted areas where it wouldn’t be possible to plant such a large number of trees. Another handy benefit – especially given the scorching July we had last year – comes from the mosses’ ability to store large amounts of moisture, which keeps the surrounding air cooler.

You’ll find the City Trees outside Leytonstone tube station (where a pair have been installed) and on the intersection of Leytonstone High Road and Crownfield Road – both pollution hotspots within the borough of Waltham Forest, which announced a Climate Emergency last summer in order to tackle the problem head-on. It’s not the first time London has seen City Trees on its streets – a 2018 trial saw them pitch up in the West End for a few months – but with these trees being permanent installations, one can only hope it’s another small step towards a cleaner, greener city.

City Trees: London Has New Artificial Trees That Eat Pollution

Leytonstone has some excellent new arrivals, a pair of City Trees that eat pollution, produce oxygen, and clean up the capital's filthy air.

secretldn.com

 

[Dennis Olson]

Cue the robot dogs....

 

[raven]

cities pollute. they are huge concentration camps that attract and sequester high volume individual carbon emission producers in a relatively space geographic area.
cities are a legacy of a bygone industrial era where it was necessary to concentrate the labor force in close proximity to production facilities. With distance work and the internet this is no longer required.
ban cities

 

[Dozdoats]

London’s New Artificial Trees

And they double as cell towers and elevated sites for CCTV cameras.

 

[Dobbin]

So like real trees do they "grow?" I mean, if they take up elemental anything, one assumes this mass of chemical is added to the "tree?" Its not like the tree sheds leaves or branches.

So where does all the pollution gathered go? Does the tree require periodic trimming and disposal? And if disposed - where? And after disposal do they rot or decay and release all that pollution?

Dobbin

 

[Normallguy]

So like real trees do they "grow?" I mean, if they take up elemental anything, one assumes this mass of chemical is added to the "tree?" Its not like the tree sheds leaves or branches.

So where does all the pollution gathered go? Does the tree require periodic trimming and disposal? And if disposed - where? And after disposal do they rot or decay and release all that pollution?

Dobbin

This is Big Brother speaking!
There is no need to worry about such things, just keep consuming.

 

[MinnesotaSmith]

cities pollute. they are huge concentration camps that attract and sequester high volume individual carbon emission producers in a relatively space geographic area.
cities are a legacy of a bygone industrial era where it was necessary to concentrate the labor force in close proximity to production facilities. With distance work and the internet this is no longer required.
ban cities

They're also IQ shredders (mean lower IQ of countries they take people from), fertility sinks, and lowerers of life expectancy for many to most of their inhabitants. Plus, they mass-produce indigents and socialists. More like, NUKE the cities.

 

[FireDance]

Can’t they do anything real anymore? Oh wait. Could cause enjoyment. Hide that crap in real trees at least.

 

[China Connection]

How to Propagate Your Own Moss

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CleZGsQGIOI




SerpaDesign

453K subscribers


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So you want to know how to propagate your own moss for use in a terrarium or vivarium? Well this video should give you a good foundation to build off of. This was by far one of the most requested videos by all of you. I apologize for it taking so long, but I wanted to wait till it got warmer out to do this demonstration.

 

[Richard]

They're neither artificial nor trees but banks of moss.

 

[West]

Real trees also put humidity back into our environment. Also eat harmful ozone, etc.

But the majority of environmentalist are communist and are wacked, being taught that trees and forest being used as a product to be harvested is a sin. The vary proven and factual fact that trees in a forest need to be clear cut and replanted in a professional way is a insult to the tree hugers who think all trees become old growth and live forever. While replanting trees for healthy forest is just a lie.

Let it all burn.

 

[methos]

Have to admit my initial reaction was similar to some expressed above. Big brother monitoring station aside, I read the article attached and found the concept somewhat interesting.
Can't say I care for the aesthetics of the support infrastructure, but hey, what modern buildings in London or most other metropolises.
Still, might be useful as they say to capture pollutants at high source locations where you wouldn't have the space to plant enough trees, such as corners where buses might idle at lights, et. cet.
At the end of the day I'm still a tree guy, plus God has the service contract on the trees and he works cheap, going to have to hire someone to service the artificial ones.

 

[Secamp32]

Do they require electricity to work?

 

[et2]

Read the first sentence and stopped. Usual climate BS hit piece IMHO. You must succumb to agreeing with them first.

 

[China Connection]

Air pollution-eating moss cleans hotspots in Europe

When 26-year-old Peter Sänger and 34-year-old Liang Wu got together, they realized right away that they had something in common. Both firm advocates in the fight against air pollution, they believe that if you can’t measure it, you can’t beat it.
That’s why they founded Green City Solutions: “The solution to quantifiably improve city air.” Their invention the CityTree acts as both an air purifier and a spectacular plant display. Rooted in science, the vertical flat-paneled “trees” dotted around cities across Europe eat air pollution and double up as seats for pedestrians.
Sänger and Wu’s vision is for a world in which people in cities can live healthily. They aspire to create living conditions that allow all people around the world to permanently have cleaner air to breathe.

Nature can help us overcome many human-made environmental problems. Photo by Green City Solutions

Moss naturally filters pollutants from the air very effectively. Using remote technology, the CityTree combines this moss air purifying factor with remote technology to increase the air flow through the “trees”. This allows them to “suck up” and clean more air than normal, and the amount they filter can be increased depending on pollution levels at different times of day.
The German green-tech enterprise is now funded by the European Commission to set up and scientifically test a CityTree network of 15 brand new units in Berlin’s pollution hotspots next year.

Co-founder 34-year-old Liang Wu. Photo by Green City Solutions

UN Environment’s Head of Freshwater, Land and Climate Branch, Tim Christophersen, said that especially in the run-up to the Climate Action Summit 2019—which will focus on climate change and cities, nature-based solutions and resilience to climate change—trees are increasingly recognized as a vital resource.
“Nature can help us overcome many human-made environmental problems, and we need creative solutions. The CityTree can be deployed in air pollution hotspots, as an interesting addition to urban trees and green spaces, which cities should also invest in.”
We spoke with co-founders of the multiple award-winning green-tech company Green City Solutions and inventors of the CityTree, Sänger and Wu, to find out what inspired them on their mission to tackle dirty air and what their plans are for the future.
What inspired you to tackle air pollution, and why do you think this is a problem?
Every day 90 per cent of inhabitants in cities breathe polluted air, causing death and disease. The major components of air pollution are nitrogen oxide, ozone and especially fine dust, or particulate matter, all of which shorten our life span. At the same time, our global population is moving to urban areas in unprecedented numbers.

Co-founder 26-year-old Peter Sänger. Photo by Green City Solutions

How was Green City Solutions started?
Green City Solutions is based on our long-standing friendship. On travels to Asia and southern Europe independently of one another, we experienced the negative consequences of polluted air and the massive build-up of heat in metropolitan regions and began searching for ecological and economic solutions. We founded Green City Solutions in March 2014 with a team of experts in architecture, informatics, engineering and horticulture. Our ambition was and still is to improve air quality in urban environments with a highly efficient and sustainable solution to improve the quality of life for people in cities.
What challenges did you face along the way, and how did you overcome them?
Inventing and introducing a new technology always requires plenty of energy, convincing people and never-ending passion—along with sufficient funding and support from partners and institutions. This can only be successful when you really believe in your solution and when you have a vision that is big and important enough to carry you and your team.
Can you share the positive impacts of the implementation of your project so far?
We have successfully manufactured and sold 50 units of the first generation of our CityTree to cities and companies across Europe. This has been a tremendous success and provided us with many valuable insights and extremely helpful data.

Inventing and introducing a new technology always requires plenty of energy, convincing people and never-ending passion. Photo by Green City Solutions

Where else do you intend to take your invention?
Our CityTrees can already be found in Norway, France, Germany, Belgium, Macedonia and Hong Kong. Our product was also temporarily deployed at many conferences, fairs and events in German cities thanks to its mobile and freestanding design.
How do you measure the impact of the trees—i.e. how much air pollution are they "cleaning"?
Our patented CityTree is a moss filter with integrated ventilation, an irrigation system and sensors to capture environmental data. The moss cultures literally eat particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide out of the air—offsetting many tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year. We measure and test our filter in cooperation with many scientific institutions like the Institute of Air Handling and Refrigeration in Dresden to measure its efficiency.
What is your hope for the future in terms of tackling air pollution?
We have permanently improved and developed our technology further and as of this month our new product generation—now scalable and adaptable—is available. We hope to find the right clients and partners soon to scale up our solution so it becomes a natural component of any given building or infrastructure. Our moss filter can be adapted to any environment. The construction contains sensors collecting environmental and climatic data to regulate and control the unit and ensure that the moss survives. Thanks to our technical innovations and improvements, the new filter generation will require only a few hours of maintenance per year. But it will take more efforts from governments, cities corporations and each one of us to change the situation. Our solution can only be one small piece of the puzzle.

The Young Champions of the Earth regional finalists are out! Winners will be announced in September during the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit. Stay tuned—and why not apply in January 2020? The Young Champions of the Earth Prize is sponsored by Covestro.

Air pollution-eating moss cleans hotspots in Europe

Two entrepreneurs in Berlin, Germany have brought their air-pollution-eating moss CityTrees to cities around the world to fight urban air pollution.

www.unenvironment.org

 

[China Connection]

investEU

High-tech trees for clean air
Filters made of moss improve air quality in cities
About this project
World Health Organisation figures show that over 90% of people live in areas where air quality does not meet the standards set in its guidelines. With EU support, German start-up Green City Solutions has developed City Tree – a smart air filter made of moss. It ensures cleaner and cooler air in places with no green space.
A vital part of tomorrow's urban planning
According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is responsible for the death of around 7 million people a year. 5 years on from the establishment of Green City Solutions, more than 50 City Trees are freshening up the air in cities throughout Europe.
Moss-based air filters on the City Tree modules clean the air, while the large leaves of the moss cool it by causing moisture to evaporate. The fans direct the air towards the moss cultures to optimise performance.
Plans are now afoot to mount the modules on building facades and at places like tunnel entrances. EU funding, along with support from accelerator programmes, will make these developments possible.
With around 60% of the world's population forecasted to be living in urban areas by 2030, this new technology can help make city life healthier.
“We're convinced that our biotech air filters will be an important component of future city planning frameworks. EU-funding is vital for us to make this vision a reality,” says Green City Solutions co-founder Peter Sänger.
Smart, natural air filters for cities
The air in many cities is polluted, with hardly any space for the trees and plants that are capable of cleaning it naturally. Mosses are particularly efficient in this regard. They can bind particles and, with their metabolism, transform harmful gases into clean air.
In 2014, the founders of Green City Solutions began work on the CityTree – an air filter made of moss that can be installed almost anywhere. From the outset, EU investment has helped the team to develop the filter.
Mosses require regular maintenance, needing lots of water and shade, which the system uses smart technology to provide. The sensors installed in the structure monitor the moss cultures and the tanks supply them with water and nutrient solutions when needed.

• Green City Solutions was founded in Dresden in 2014 by experts in horticulture, biology, IT, architecture and mechanical engineering
• more than 50 of its first-generation City Trees have already been supplied across Europe
• City Tree is based at EUREF-Campus in Berlin since 2016 and has more than 10 employees
• by 2030, ca. 60% of the world’s population is forecasted to be living in urban areas
• Each moss module contained in the City Tree produces enough clean air to satisfy 500 people’s daily consumption

External links
Green City Solutions website
Horizon 2020 SME Instrument

Language selection | InvestEU

europa.eu

 

[China Connection]

investEU

High-tech trees for clean air
Filters made of moss improve air quality in cities
About this project
World Health Organisation figures show that over 90% of people live in areas where air quality does not meet the standards set in its guidelines. With EU support, German start-up Green City Solutions has developed City Tree – a smart air filter made of moss. It ensures cleaner and cooler air in places with no green space.
A vital part of tomorrow's urban planning
According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is responsible for the death of around 7 million people a year. 5 years on from the establishment of Green City Solutions, more than 50 City Trees are freshening up the air in cities throughout Europe.
Moss-based air filters on the City Tree modules clean the air, while the large leaves of the moss cool it by causing moisture to evaporate. The fans direct the air towards the moss cultures to optimise performance.
Plans are now afoot to mount the modules on building facades and at places like tunnel entrances. EU funding, along with support from accelerator programmes, will make these developments possible.
With around 60% of the world's population forecasted to be living in urban areas by 2030, this new technology can help make city life healthier.
“We're convinced that our biotech air filters will be an important component of future city planning frameworks. EU-funding is vital for us to make this vision a reality,” says Green City Solutions co-founder Peter Sänger.
Smart, natural air filters for cities
The air in many cities is polluted, with hardly any space for the trees and plants that are capable of cleaning it naturally. Mosses are particularly efficient in this regard. They can bind particles and, with their metabolism, transform harmful gases into clean air.
In 2014, the founders of Green City Solutions began work on the CityTree – an air filter made of moss that can be installed almost anywhere. From the outset, EU investment has helped the team to develop the filter.
Mosses require regular maintenance, needing lots of water and shade, which the system uses smart technology to provide. The sensors installed in the structure monitor the moss cultures and the tanks supply them with water and nutrient solutions when needed.

Background information

• Green City Solutions was founded in Dresden in 2014 by experts in horticulture, biology, IT, architecture and mechanical engineering
• more than 50 of its first-generation City Trees have already been supplied across Europe
• City Tree is based at EUREF-Campus in Berlin since 2016 and has more than 10 employees
• by 2030, ca. 60% of the world’s population is forecasted to be living in urban areas
• Each moss module contained in the City Tree produces enough clean air to satisfy 500 people’s daily consumption

External links
Green City Solutions website
Horizon 2020 SME Instrument

Language selection | InvestEU

europa.eu

 

[AlfaMan]

Fascinating solution to air pollution in the cities. Unobtrusive, effective and no expensive filters, pumps and stuff.Just God giving us a little green and wood beauty (love the integration with the park bench-it's really pretty!) in the city that incidentally gobbles up pollutants like a drunk binge drinking. I'm not an environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination but making mother earth a cleaner place to live isn't a bad idea. It looks like Danish modern furniture, really classy looking!

I'd say send about a million units over to China; they're the worlds' largest polluter.

 

[China Connection]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZXRDovD5MQ



euronews (in English)

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http://www.euronews.com/ Using biotechnology to fight pollution is the challenge for a European Union research project. Under the spotlight - a specific kind of moss. At the University of Freiburg in Germany, a team of biologists is growing moss, in a controlled environment. Mosses are especially well suited as bio-indicators for airborne contaminants as they have no roots and a very high surface-to-mass ratio. Eva Decker, of the university's Faculty of Biology, explained: "We use moss, because, by mass, it has a huge surface area. You can see all the structures and it can clean the dirt particles out of the air. Moss has shoots or spores, and from one of these spores you can grow a new plant. And using these spores we started to cultivate new plants in the laboratory." Monitoring the levels of nitrogen and sulphur oxides, as sell as airborne heavy metals like cadmium, lead and nickel, is hard to achieve with existing technologies as they are either imprecise or very expensive. One innovation is the cultivation of huge amounts of a peat moss under controlled laboratory conditions. Ralf Reski, at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Freiburg told euronews: "We not only reduce the plant's genetic variability to the smallest possible level - one single genetic clone - but also through controlling conditions in the moss bio-reactor we can guarantee that the level of pollution in the moss, as well as its growth, are always identical. And you cannot obtain this consistency with material you have just collected from nature." The moss plants are transferred to air-permeable bags, then moved to monitoring stations at a variety of different European locations where they absorb pollutants from the air. This technique is currently being tested in Santiago di Compostela, Spain. Carlos Brais Carballeira Braña, from the Faculty of Biology, at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain said: "Three different samples are exposed for three weeks in order to accumulate all the pollutants in the area, in this case from passing cars or industrial plant, but primarily it'll be general road traffic" Following that exposure, the moss is dried and powdered, then analysed, to measure the levels of different pollutants in it. This approach, combining molecular biology and material sciences with ecology and bionics, could be, in the future, extended to other critical environmental contexts. José Angel Fernández Escribano at the Faculty of Biology, University of Santiago de Compostela, said the plan is to expand the habitats where this principle is used including rivers, fields and industrial areas. He explained the thinking behind that: "These contaminants can affect rivers, which then flow into the sea, and pollute the marine environment. It will be possible to develop these tools and to discover all the pollutants that are affecting the whole ecosystem." "www.mossclone.eu":http://www.mossclone.eu

 

[West]

I would still rather have 275 healthy trees.

And I question their science big time!. Would not be surprised if they used the benifits of mature old growth trees in their figures, AKA dead and or dieing trees, old growth.

Young evergreens in their prime, I bet are much better! And again the water vapors trees put back into the environment are by far a huge and better air conditioner/asset for our environment.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Several years ago, our city underwent an urban renewal project. The city planners voted to plant a mass number of native trees all throughout the city. Those trees are huge now, and not only do they make the city more appealing, plus we reap the benefits of keeping pollution down at the same time. I like natural trees, instead of fake. Tupelo, MS is a beautiful old city of 38 to 40,000 people.

 

[West]

Several years ago, our city underwent an urban renewal project. The city planners voted to plant a mass number of native trees all throughout the city. Those trees are huge now, and not only do they make the city more appealing, plus we reap the benefits of keeping pollution down at the same time. I like natural trees, instead of fake. Tupelo, MS is a beautiful old city of 38 to 40,000 people.

Exactly, but now they need to cut them down, make heat, mulch, etc. out of them and replant. If they are now mature trees. For tree huggers, its hard to understand, but it is what it is.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Exactly, but now they need to cut them down, make heat, mulch, etc. out of them and replant. If they are now mature trees. For tree huggers, its hard to understand, but it is what it is.

.
Nah, the trees are only about 15-20 years old, mostly oak and pines, not to mention our state tree, the Magnolia, with other varieties mixed in. We have so many tornadoes down here that each time one comes through Tupelo, we lose some of those trees. We simply replant. The downed trees are made into mulch for the urban gardens scattered around.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Great, put up a few dozen "moss towers" and you can shut up about my SUV and the temperature in my house.

But we all know THAT won't happen.

 

[China Connection]

Lazy sods, Why not do it yourself?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l0eR_QX1Mo


BurkesBackyard
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Don Burke shows how to collect moss & how to use it to disguise an ugly area in your garden & beautify pots and more.
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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c2pbTOMe7c



Making a Moss Garden from Scratch (Satisfying & Relaxing

SerpaDesign

457K subscribers


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I've been wanting to make a dish moss garden for quite awhile now. I figured I would do it a little differently with this one and present it in a long format, relaxing type of video. I think the video speaks for itself, but I'll outline the process below to give you a better idea of what's happening. I started by building the glass dish. This is built exactly the same as my DIY aquariums. If you want more information on this process, then I recommend watching this video https://youtu.be/45bZ7lplBj0 It's really easy once you get past the learning curve of cutting glass. Alternatively you could use something like an acrylic organizer tray. Once the dish was built I set up the garden. I started by integrating Capillary Rope. These ropes will pull the water in the false bottom up to the moss and help keep it hydrated between watering. Then I made a sand false bottom, which was followed by a layer of activated carbon (charcoal). Everything was topped off with my tropical substrate mix and finally the moss. In case you're wondering, this one features five different types of moss including Badge Moss, Fern Moss, Haircap Moss, Hypnum Moss and Thread Moss. The long-term maintenance of this setup is very simple. The dish just needs watered once a day to keep the moss hydrated. Longer “drought” periods can be implemented, but constant hydration will produce optimal results. As for lighting pretty much any LED will get the job done. I typically use something in the 900-2500 lumen range, but most lights should work. Check out the videos below for more content on moss that could help get you started. Collecting & Identifying Moss: https://youtu.be/hJAmG1pHqho Propagating Moss: https://youtu.be/CleZGsQGIOI If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, leave them down in the comments! Also for additional content like this, photos of my terrariums, projects sneak peeks and more, follow me on Instagram @SerpaDesign. https://www.instagram.com/serpadesign/ #moss #mossgarden #serpadesign