The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, also found that adding plants and trees
to the landscapes near factories and other pollution sources could reduce air pollution by an average of 27 per cent.
Plants and trees may be better and cheaper options than technology to mitigate air pollution, says a new study
from an Indian-origin researcher.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, also found that adding plants and
trees to the landscapes near factories and other pollution sources could reduce air pollution by an average
of 27 per cent.
Researchers found that in 75 per cent of the countries analysed, it was cheaper to use plants to mitigate air
pollution than it was to add technological interventions – things like smokestack scrubbers – to the sources of pollution.
“The fact is that traditionally, especially as engineers, we don’t think about nature; we just focus on putting technology into everything,” said Indian-origin researcher and study lead author Bhavik Bakshi from the
Ohio State University.
“And so, one key finding is that we need to start looking at nature and learning from it and respecting it.
There are win-win opportunities if we do – opportunities that are potentially cheaper and better environmentally,”
he added.
To start understanding the effect that trees and other plants could have on air pollution, the researchers
collected public data on air pollution and vegetation on a county-by-county basis across the lower 48 states.
