NASA GUIDE
THE TO
umidifiers, dehumidifiers, air purifiers and conditioners… In the smog-laden environment of modern Chinese and American cities, high-tech machines for cleansing and optimizing the air are now practically standard pieces of equipment in homes and offices. And even European countries have been quickly catching up with them. For years environmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations ( NGOS) have been warning that the atmosphere in our homes, where we spend up to 90% of our lives, is more contaminated than the air outside. The result has been a rise in allergies and respiratory illnesses. So far the average European has been reluctant to head over to the appliance dealer and spend $1,000 or more to remedy the problem while at the same time running up the electric bill. A better solution for many people has been to follow NASA’S recommendation and stock their homes with the right plants instead…
DO INDOOR PLANTS IMPROVE THE AIR IN A SPACECRAFT?
Thousands of years ago the people of ancient Egypt and Rome brought nature into their homes in the form of plants in clay pots. But what people nowadays often do not realize is that in many cases plants not only improve the looks of a home but also filter the air, providing oxygen, humidity, and sound absorption at the same time. That got scientists at NASA thinking and experimenting. The space agency conducted comprehensive studies in hermetically sealed environments to find out how indoor plants reduce the levels of chemical contaminants in the air in a room. The objective of the NASA Clean Air Study was to identify plants that could be used on board future deep-space missions—to Mars for example—to supply oxygen and clean the air. The fascinating finding: Plants from tropical and subtropical regions performed the best by far. The red- edged dracaena ( Dracaena marginata) and the chrysanthemum ( Chrysanthemum morifolium) did not only prove to be easy to care for, they were also demonstrated to be highly effective in an anti-pollution capacity, removing benzene, trichloroethylene, xylene, and formaldehyde from indoor air. The spider plant ( Chlorophytum comosum) decreased formaldehyde levels by about 90% in only 24 hours. NASA has therefore created a guide, summarized on the next two pages, to indicate which plants are effective against specific contaminants.
THE BIGGER THE PLANT, THE GREATER THE EFFECT
Scientists recommend placing one indoor plant per 100 square feet to obtain a signifi cant improvement in the quality of the air—on average that means one for a small bedroom and two for a medium- sized living room. But: The bigger the plant, the greater the effect. Marc Hachadourian is the director of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections at The New York Botanical Garden, and he confi rms these scientific findings: “By means of their photosynthetic processes all plants reap carbon dioxide from the air, creating oxygen as a by- product. Filtering pollutants and storing them is also a by- product of the process.” And that has a positive effect on us: Studies have shown that people who decorate their offi ces with plants are less stressed than those who work in environments without them. Note: In addition to providing plants with necessary care in the form of water, sunlight, and heat, it is also important to talk to them. In an experiment that was sponsored by Germany’s WDR television network, tomato plants that received daily doses of kind words produced yields that were over 20% greater than those that were ignored.