Courtesy of Simone Ramella (via Flickr)
Aluminum company Alcoa believes they have a solution to the smog problem – aluminum panels with a special coating called EcoClean which can turn buildings into smog eaters. The panels are coated with titanium dioxide, which neutralizes the pollutants through oxidation. Unfortunately, these panels are expected to cost 4%-5% more than conventional aluminum panels.
Boral roofing uses the same titanium dioxide coating with their SMOG-EATING Tiles. But these are just the high-tech, expensive solutions to smog.
What are the affordable tech solutions that all of us can try to reduce smog and other air pollutants?
- Carpooling – Use mobile apps like Carpool App or Zimride to find other commuters to drive with. Find alternative ways to travel when you can – public transportation, biking, or walking.
- Shop Online – Save the gas mileage and reduce emissions by e-shopping. Also, make sure to buy products that don’t have a lot of packaging. Packaging consumes energy when it’s made, makes harmful compounds when printed on, releases carbon monoxide and dioxide when burned and produces greenhouse gases in landfills.
- Take care of your car – Keeping your car in good running order is a good way to cut down on emissions, and you can fix your car in environmentally-sound ways.
- Reduce air pollution at work- Are there days where you can telecommute and cut down the amount of air pollution your car produces? Do you turn your computer off at the end of the day? Also, setting your printer to print on both sides of the paper helps reduce air pollution because it takes less energy to print on paper than it does to produce paper.
And the best, low-low-tech way to cut down on air pollution: plant a tree – nature’s ultimate air purifying technology.
Here’s a video from Howcast on how to plant a tree:
