Toyota Develops New Flower Species To Reduce Pollution 211
Posted
by
timothy
from the better-than-to-cause-it dept.
from the better-than-to-cause-it dept.
teko_teko writes "Toyota has created two flower species that absorb nitrogen oxides and take heat out of the atmosphere. The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota's Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan. The sage derivative's leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia's leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide."
What? (Score:4, Insightful)
Doesn't pretty much every plant with leaves do that? Hence the need for watering...
Re:Plants eventually die (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really. That's where coal came from. Plants inhale the carbon dioxide in the air, make 'em carbom, die, decompose, get buried in the ground, and 100,000,000 years later become coal and oil.
Nothing can go wrong here! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:What? (Score:3, Insightful)
Seeing as water vapor is the largest greenhouse gas(by volume, mass, and % of warming caused), could one say that this is like opening the fridge to cool the kitchen?
The PR machine is go! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:If they want to reduce pollution (Score:5, Insightful)
Your clever plan has one slight flaw, namely that Toyota is not the only company on the planet making cars. If they stop then people will just buy cars from elsewhere that are probably less environmentally friendly, resulting in more pollution overall.
Environmentalists could do with a lot more pragmatism and a lot less "durr I'm going to vehemently oppose anything short of ceasing all pollution overnight".
Shameless drivel (Score:5, Insightful)
It is a load of shameless and deceptive nonsense; and does make it better that it is wrapped up in florid language, if you will excuse the pun, hur, hur. "Create a new species"? Even highly educated plant breeders haven't been able to do that, but a car manufacturer manages to do it with a gesture and a lorry-load of hype?
For a plant species to work well as carbon-capturer, it ought to grow fast (thus producing large quantities of biomass) and it should break down slowly, so the CO2 isn't released quickly again. Gardenias and sages don't really fit the bill - grasses might, some trees might and green algae, perhaps. But I understand, of course - surrounding the offices with a few hectares of slimy ponds isn't as pretty.
The real mystery is - how on Earth did this make it as far as being mentioned here?
Re:Nothing can go wrong here! (Score:5, Insightful)
Ask Africa. They eat everything. Then you get desert.
Only if the people involved are too daft to eat the goats (and turn their skins into leather).
Re:Plants eventually die (Score:2, Insightful)
incorrect. coal did not come from year to year decomposition of plants in temperate climates. Coal was formed mostly during the Carboniferous era in earth's past. at this time allot of the dry land was peat bog's and everglade's like swamps. year after year of leaf litter pressed down on the previous year's leaf litter preventing decomposition of the plants, add in a few million years of heat and pressure and the organic matter is carbonized thus forming coal.
give the current leaf litter in these area's today a few million years and the same heat and pressure and it will be transformed into coal.
Re:Plants eventually die (Score:5, Insightful)
In the U.S. ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Some company like Monsanto will come up with plants like these (available only from them, of course) and patent the whole idea just so they can make a buck off of saving the planet.