Plants Can Save The Environment – And Your Health

TED is a dynamic and interactive series of ongoing confernces that has taken the world of keen learners and curious people by storm. The conferences  focus on innovation, new ideas, problem solving and creative ways to push the world forward. One particular clip that caught our attention was a short 5 minute talk.

The idea is simple – the more plants in our lives, the better.

Kamal Meattle, an air quality researcher working in India’s capital city New Delhi, explains how three common house plants can change the way we use energy and positively affect our health. His talk focused on these plants:

1. Areca Palm (house plant): Converts CO2 and converts it into oxygen. You’ll  need 4 shoulder high plants per person in your office. Make sure to wipe the leaves once a week and take them outside every 3-4 months.

2. Mother-in-law’s Tongue (bedroom plant): Converts C02 into Oxygen at night – You’ll  need 6-8 waiste high plants per person at your office.

3. Money Plant: Removes formaldihydes and other harmful chemicals from the air.

When inplemented into commercial and residential buildings, the following resulted:

• Significant reductions in eye irratations, respitory problems, asthma, and skin conditions
• An increase in human productivity by 20%
• A reduction in energy requirements in buildings by 15%

Why is this important?

According to Meattle, this discovery is significant because the world energy resources are expected to grow by 30% in the next decade. 40%  of the worlds energy is currently being consumed by buildings and 60% of people in cities with a population over one million reside in buildings. Corporations and other businesses manage some of the largest energy munching buildings. Why not do the environment and your staff a favour by bringing some plants into the mix?

For more interesting talks on the environment and other worldly issues check out www.ted.com

About Ash Aujla

As a Marketing & Communications Specialist intern for Softchoice, Ash is responsible for providing support in social media optimization as well contributing to both internal and external communications projects.

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