How walls of moss could help reduce urban air pollution - BBC News

Air pollution poses a major threat to both our health and the health of the climate, killing an estimated 7 million people a year, according to the World Health Organization.
But a company in Germany is developing mats made of moss which can absorb pollution particles, allowing cleaner air to be released.
Green City Solutions combine moss's natural filtering properties with technology that monitors environmental conditions, like moisture, humidity and temperature.
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[@tessellatiaartilery8197]

Fascinating, amazing work by some marvelous people. Wishing good luck and progress to all the researchers on the international team.

[@tastypymp1287]

Yawn.

[@ronkirk5099]

Having been raised in So Cal during the 50's and 60's when our air pollution was some of the worst in the world, I can really sympathize with the guy from Shanghai. PS: I also visited Shanghai as an engineer on a merchant ship in 2000 so I can confirm that the air there is putrid.

[@lucyh4355]

Feeling happier about my mossy lawn!

[@drakehonest2]

Hey how are you doing?

[@bewitchingcats]

That is so interesting! QUESTIONS: We live in a hot, arid climate. Could it make us cooler and more comfortable if we included moss in our backyard and even in containers indoors? Would it clean our indoor air even if we didn’t force air through it? Would it create a moisture/mold problem indoors?

[@SparkyOne549]

Good questions, but from what I understand regarding indoors, moss is extremely moist, also who knows what negative microbiology could do indoors. Also, the chemicals from product in houses could have a negative effect on the moss.

[@gilesellis8002]

I hope Big Business doesn't throw a spanner in the Works, It is people like you that we NEED.

[@pmartin126]

Think is a good idea but there is many kind of moss and certainly there is some kind of mosses that can work better than others

[@euanparker5800]

Great video BBC, well done!

[@dizeegom]

📌📌

[@alterzy5197]

Great job Liang Wu, hope the idea replicate

[@wimpiethebunny2941]

Great doc, hope to hear about this. Wish all channels were environmentally as B.B.C.

[@rozme9422]

Where can I buy it london?

[@Kyle-Jade]

I wonder if this could some how be attached to an air-conditioning unit? Imagine that.. thousands or millions of people running these air filters

[@user-lq3dj3eo8k]

please start working on that and you can be a billionaire and save our lives

[@kasondaleigh]

Wow! Such a beautiful and simple solution. Love it.

[@GreenCitySolutions]

☺

[@ronnyshaji2700]

Very very happy… All for Mother Nature and Next Generation.

[@BeingJapan]

My question; Is the energy and its related emissions from creating, installing, and running a moss wall less than what the moss wall can extract from the air?

[@starrysock]

Probably not really. Moss is a very slow-growing plant, so I really doubt it's absorbing much. And that's assuming these moss panels are never retired, because if they ever are, a lot of the CO2 it did absorb is going to be re-released when it decays It really just looks like a smog particle filter that needs water and sunlight to me. Honestly just plant trees, no need to overcomplicate it. This just reeks of a way to make a buck and pat yourself on the back without actually doing anything meaningful to me

[@Leon_George]

@@starrysock I think I agree, say we scale this up to cover motorways like he suggested - who's paying to maintain and replace the moss over time - probably the tax payer. Imagine the roadwork issues it would cause, workers would constantly need to be closing lanes to replace it, and lanes would have to be slowed down constantly, creating more pollution from the congestion it would cause, and the inefficient rpms it would cause engines to run at. Now, I think it could be used in urban areas if a business wanted to spice up their environment, or say, in schools found near roads, but in general, yeah, a good way to make a quick buck. Still though, I'd be happy to work for them if I could, it feels like it helps more with the gloomy environments found in urban areas.

[@starrysock]

@@Leon_George yeah, it's definitely good decoration even if nothing else lol. But idk, for actual effect I think you'd get more out of just planting trees or native plants, even if it's just a small planter on the sidewalk. No fancy airflow systems needed

[@BeingJapan]

@@starrysock you are right, planting trees and stopping deforestation is a better more sustainable solution.

[@GreenCitySolutions]

Hi, thanks for your interest. In the development and production process, we make sure to keep delivery routes short and the use of materials as efficient as possible. That's why we work primarily with German electronics partners such as ifm and KD Electronics Systems. For the structure and cladding of e.g. the CityTree, we use FSCE-certified wood from the EU in the form of spruce and larch. In addition, we largely dispense with packaging for our products and rely on recycled or recyclable materials. We also calculate the emissions that occur during the transport of our products and offset them with audited Gold Standard projects. In this way, we ensure that we are emission-neutral in production and transport. In addition, we plant 50 trees with every new installation of one of our moss filters. Because we are sure: Nature knows best. That's why we help natural solutions in urban areas. This is our approach: We combine biology with technology to activate and promote natural effects.

[@janiekcarney5482]

What about mold problems?? Many people are allergic to molds.

[@Thor.Jorgensen]

This is great and all... But moss requires more water than grass does. Now imagine people in Texas, Arizona, or other arid areas trying to make this magic happen.

[@LotusVibrations]

Hmm good one. This is probably best applied in big cities with a tropical climate, like the air polluted cities in China 🤔 And there probably are other solutions in dry climates👍🏻

[@Thor.Jorgensen]

​@@LotusVibrations Beijing lies close to the 5th biggest desert in the world. Beijing is sometimes covered in sand dust from sandstorms. The spring of 2021 saw the biggest Beijing sandstorm in about a decade. It might work in Shanghai, but China has already messed up the Yangtze river with its many dams. And in much of China, the pollution doesn't come from the cities, they come from industrial towns far away from the cities, places covered in soot and coal, where they don't even have running water. They get water from hand-cranked wells.

[@PaliAha]

Fascinating!

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

I bet that very similarly to artificial air filters, these moss filters also are not capable of capturing enough particulate matter to make a difference in a city with just a few moss filters here and there.

[@GreenCitySolutions]

Hi, thanks for your interest. Our moss filters have been proven to clean and cool air by separating particles and aerosols and binding them into biomass. Evaporative cooling reduces high temperatures and humidifies air. Compared to conventional filter materials, mosses regenerate themselves, avoiding waste and representing maximum sustainability. But it is true: CityTrees cannot clean the entire air of a city in a meaningful way! But that is not our approach at all. Our products are sensibly used where the load of fine dust is high and where many people (have to) stay at the same time. Think of a bus stop on a busy street, a street café, a train platform, an inner-city schoolyard, even a company campus. In these places, the moss filters can clean the air and create fresh air zones as meeting places for people. Hope this helps.

[@fmt0htm]

I wonder if they grow under severe summer whether with high temperature and dry air.

[@stealth3409]

Very cool, nature is a huge part of the uk and London with it being one of the greenest cities in the world, so I would love to see this implemented in London

[@slappinpumpkins]

I hope this tech comes near where I live. I live along side a busy freeway, a busy road, and across the freeway is the Sination district. Oh and Phillips 66 refinery is also a view.

[@srcarranza]

Wonderful!

[@michaelbedford2993]

I want to see these in use as a preventative measure, and not a last resort by the time it's already too late.

[@troophq]

Having to find ways to fix things that we have broken - taking cars off the road and cleaning up polluting industries would go a long way to better cleaner air much quicker.

[@MajiSylvamain]

They should use it in large filters on top of all those nasty smoke stacks spewing poison into the air... Love this idea, would make visiting cities far more interesting and hay 😋 everyone will be able to breath.🐱👍

[@drakehonest2]

Hello how are you doing.?

[@ronleddy5131]

Awesome!!

[@alybloodshade]

I support this as well as replacing your yard with a natural landscape or moss, both of which require far less mowing.

[@drakehonest2]

Hey how are you doing..?

[@valevisa8429]

Moss will not survive in full sun,it grows in shade.

[@alybloodshade]

@@valevisa8429 True, it would do as a good mix in for a more natural yard though. I'm sure theres another grass replacement that doesn't require mowing but I can't remember what it's called right now for the life of me.

[@drakehonest2]

@@alybloodshade Nice meeting you here where are you originally from?

[@jonneiss7562]

Amazing, pure genius!

[@shige_x2]

What a cool technology, Superb👍

[@damithlakmal6352]

I think this would be a great discovery for people who are fond of nature.

[@user-ol5uy7vk7y]

What type of moss they used?

[@rosemarielee7775]

Presumably a moss wall would need irrigation like other green walls?

[@ben5154]

Rain is probably enough for most mosses, especially in the uk haha.

[@Rise_and_Fall]

Isn’t fine particle just standing on outer coat of the leave? If it’s at their max capacity how do you know and sure that it is pm 2.5 not pm10? What about frequency you clean the moss

[@lawerancelanham]

Now imagine if you took hillsides and lined it with rows and rows, much like a grape farm or something. Maybe even tier it off, make it puddle and irrigate it towards where the water is needed

[@jeanraphael6756]

Wonderful

[@user-ws6cm2ji2u]

great

[@dizeegom]

I sincerely thank you for your work!

[@razcunningham11]

Awesome

[@sideshowkazstuff3867]

Perhaps they should at first just encourage moss to grow on all city walls.

[@cobalius]

Yeah like letting them feel more proud about them! Lovit!

[@sideshowkazstuff3867]

@@cobalius I was thinking more that it’s a start where you don’t need extra electricity.

[@LuckyEucalyptusTree-]

Love this

[@rikirex2162]

lets do it!

[@italifacts1461]

_Does anyone have any academic references to read into this further?_

[@janiekcarney5482]

Sounds like a good idea.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Not sure if any of science mentioned was clear surely an electric motor or wind generator driving a large filters would remove a lot with plants mopping up the rest moss seems to like environment which it likes IE it won't grow every where.maybe we can use moss as a filter media live or dead?

[@carolinereuter7924]

Come to Stuttgart, we do have actual trees here. Seems much nicer to me than moss walls... That said, moss walls are probably a quick and less space consuming solution

[@drakehonest2]

Hello how are you doing.?

[@darryljones8418]

What happens to the carbon and moss @ the end of the process?🤔

[@bob.fagg-bois657]

People who own a garden pond and gravel filter are already using a similar system.

[@aarononeal9830]

The bbc needs to talk about Ecosia they are a search engine that plants trees

[@CandiKodithuwakku]

Nice✌️

[@SoulEscalator]

👍👍👍

[@Catchafire2000]

Is it possible to have something inside a home?

[@dariadavay]

Did I just watch an ad?

[@drakehonest2]

Hey how are you doing..?

[@Leon_George]

High density moss breeds. Although, at such a huge scale, who will pay to replace it all the time?

[@monaml]

Imagine cities like forest 🌳 where buildings like 🌲 and inside there's people work we gonna be like 🐝

[@GreenCitySolutions]

aMOSSing! 🙂

[@michac3796]

But it not coming out from the moss, it comes out in between the moss-tiles...

[@reeling-in]

I will inform our cat 🐈 when I get home!

[@justayoutuber1906]

Their spokesperson should be Kate Moss

[@tar11111]

Why pollute in the first place?

[@neilwheel]

He went to Shanghai. He went running. Go on, tell me he wasn't running around in a mask!

[@veramae4098]

Suggestion: Track crime if these moss walls are used extensively. Stats show that unexpectedly and very oddly planting trees reduces. crime. Retired librarian, MI / US

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Blowing warm air over damp moss cools the air down surely not wouldn't that cool down the moss by latent heat of evaporation I don't think moss is the big factor here unless you mean the large surface area of the moss helps evaporation take place.

[@rickh3714]

I doubt that Mick & Keith will support this eco venture. But Kate might.

[@lordbobby198]

_thumbnail_ Reporter: moss? Girl:moss.

[@majd_shoots]

4:31, and this cooler air isn't because of the VENTILATION SYSTEM ITSELF speeding up air and making it cooler 😑? And won't the energy used in the ventilation system require more energy from the power plant which uses more fossil fuels? And aren't cars and power generation are the two biggest producers of air pollution, so won't the money be better spent on trying to get rid of those than wasting it trying to complicatedly solve it this way? And yes I'm a very cynical person, but I can't not see this, sorry 🤷🏻

[@carolinereuter7924]

Speeding up air doesn't cool the air it just cools your skin because it's covered in sweat so it feels cool to you.

[@carolinereuter7924]

Btw, the solution is for real humans living in real cities - it seems to me that it will improve people's lives in a short time frame and it's a hopeful vision, which is valuable in itself in these doomsday times we seem to be living in.

[@majd_shoots]

@@carolinereuter7924 and that's a very scientifically based opinion, right ma'am?

[@---iv5gj]

what if we grow dozens upon dozens of species of moss, then let artists design "moss paintings" or moss wall-art, moss carpets etc. then mass produce it to make it widely available. hold design competitions for pros and workshops for normal people as an activity. cover the cities in biodiverse moss, no monocultures

[@stevelizewski5944]

Proves you don’t need to be taxed by governments to make change

[@diegoescalante2763]

Now if it could only get rid of the human pollution

[@bartvlayen4413]

How much energy does that ventilation system need to operate. Or am I missing something. Short, green your cities, yes, but...

[@fuksmkoud6716]

ppl who deny climate change forget that we need clean air to survive

[@cobalius]

Mossy walls are now a thing? I have to tell that the 10-year version of me~

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Moss eats pollution surely not. moss may live on some dirt or nitrates etc in the air I suppose it depends on what you call a pollutant not clear here. Moss cools the atmosphere ? any wet surface cools the atmosphere. Moss looks nice yes I agree .

[@tar11111]

Only rich exempted.... Small things for common people

[@Globodyne]

It will just end up as panels of dead moss from heatwaves.

[@JackKing12.]

Gone bonkers you ask me

[@janiekcarney5482]

We need as much wind and solar energy and electric cars. That will help but industry will still need fossil fuels for decades. We need filters to clean industry Before it reaches the air.

[@drakehonest2]

Hello how are you doing.?

[@DmitiryPopyoutopov]

The people have to pay for it even though its the big companies and governments that are causing the problems.

[@n00n1n]

But then you can't eat the moss..... What do you have to say about that?

[@lifeinvietnam99999]

bbc news

[@hanswurst3579]

topic of today: how not to prevent human carelessness, so great ideas could prevent the outcome of such

[@Edzhjus]

0:26 🏘⬅🏠➡🏡

[@cliveymasters3643]

There's a much easier way to stop air pollution. Unfortunately this would upset certain Tory doners.

[@NonaManis229]

Maybe yes! 🤔 👏😊 It’s just a matter of accepting that sometimes good people like you make bad choices. It doesn’t mean you’re bad; it means you’re human. Get bored with your past; it’s over. Forgive yourself for what you think you did or didn’t do, and focus on what you will do starting now _.✍️_ 👏😊 😊👏😊👏😊👏😊

[@markgonsalves]

Rather plant trees in gardens created in the city, than put moss on sides of buildings. Also moss smells where i stay, don't know about your moss. 😅🙋‍♂️

[@Rnankn]

Why don’t we just live in the forest, and make love and art, not pollution. It’s better than destroying the world for money.

[@shroudedgrove4679]

Yet again, SCIENCE, not religion, must provide the answers. Let's go scientists!!

[@marklchapman2785]

It grows very fast… Is it Sterlingmoss ?

[@GreenCitySolutions]

Hi Mark, thanks for your interest. In our moss farm, different mosses grow vertically hanging in rectangular mats: e.g. the “woolly fringemoss” and the “Common Hair Cap Moss” or the “springy turf-moss”.

[@PLuMUK54]

Well that made me laugh! But I think many will not get the joke.

[@omkhuluBasss]

why deal with the byproduct of the problem . go after the cause humans

[@GreenCitySolutions]

Hi, thanks for your interest. Air pollution is a complex problem that can only be solved with a holistic approach. Especially the measures to combat the causes, such as the reduction of combustion cars or large-scale greening, unfortunately often require long planning and implementation phases. The moss filters are not intended as a substitute for these measures, but they are useful in the short term and locally, as they immediately provide fresher air in problematic, inner-city locations. In addition, they collect data on air quality, serve as an information point and provide an occasion to address the issue of air quality. The biotech filters promotes public awareness of the issue of air quality. The data collected in the implemented projects are strong arguments to accelerate cause control and to be able to improve the air quality in the city on a sustained basis with a variety of measures.

[@omkhuluBasss]

@@GreenCitySolutions no humans just stop making babies and there will be no more pollution

[@ben5154]

I feel like you're not willing to volunteer to be an example of your own idea. And that's good, you shouldn't. All the best.

[@rickenbacker472]

Q1. If this works at scale why not install a moss barrier on every car exhaust and chimney stack? Q2. How much pollution is generated powering the pumps to suck in/pump out the air? Q3. How does nonsense like this ever get funded?

[@Leon_George]

1. Attempting to get moss to work with high temperature environments I don't think would work, and the added weight would probably negate any savings, the filter wouldn't be anywhere near efficient I think to install it that close to the source. 2. If they had solar on their roofing it would be fine. 3. A very good question - though, I wouldn't call it nonsense, it feels and sounds like a nice idea psychologically, but not a very effective one.

[@auro1986]

if bbc could mass produce moss

[@OhAwe]

This is completely, and hilariously preposterous. How much to run an advert, BBC?

[@anteradeljic6988]

Germany is rhino charging forward in the fight against climate change,good boy Germany.

[@Villaineditings]

Woke

[@RealUlrichLeland]

How is air pollution woke? You can see it with your eyes there's nothing political about it

[@pereldh5741]

Whats polluting cities 2022? Food mopeds, leave-blowers, trucks/buses and other machinery. (Not personal cars as they have extremely sofisticated cathalysts - somehow people ”forget” this simple fact). And this is your solution? Better tell people shopping their own food insted, I say. Walk to the shop yourself

[@starrysock]

huff your car's exhaust and see how non-polluting your personal car's exhaust is. Catalytic converters have come along way, but they absolutely don't make cars a negligible source of pollution.

[@pereldh5741]

@@starrysock I can breath it no prob and so can you, its mostly H2O & CO2, which also comes out of our own lungs. I’m a car developing engineer & technician and know exactly what comes out of a modern car. Already in 1992 Saab made a big deal of their exhausts being cleaner than the air (going into the engine) in our most polluted cities. Today one (1) petrol scooter/moped equals 100-120 cars in pollution. We have to realize ”the electrification” is a billion dollar business dream for the car industry and there’s a lot of desinformation going on too. Everybody wants you to buy more, more often.. No matter how much CO2 that creates. The quickest way to cut CO2 emissions is to stop buying new cars, of any type, now.

[@VladimirOnOccasion]

the irrelevant BBC................hahahahahahahahaha propaganda propaganda propaganda. What else is there to say. :D

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

The only issue with the climate is that with carbon dioxide levels at a fraction of a percent, if it falls any further there is a risk that plants won't be able to photosynthesise and we will all starve. Life on Earth will end. What we need is more CO2.

[@imberrysandy]

can you explain more on us needing more CO2 and what can we do to make more? I new to plants, so I'm trying to figure out what to ask google

[@danielpalwisegamer]

that takes decades and centuries to lower the %, at the point co2 is in the lowest we can adjust and shift the production of co2 in various ways to pull it back up, or start to take down the co2 takers again to help it rise again

[@RealUlrichLeland]

dumbest comment I've read all year. The atmosphere only needs less than 1% co2 because it's a potent greenhouse gas, so a small amount absorbs a lot of heat. If you want the atmosphere to be full of co2 go to Venus where the atmosphere is 95% co2 and so the surface is hot enough to melt lead. Besides, the problem is the complete opposite of what you're saying. In the 200 years of the industrial era co2 levels have risen by 50%. Changes like that in our atmosphere normally happen over millions of years not hundreds.

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

that is ridiculous. our current atmospheric CO2 level is several times higher than it was before the industrial revolution, and plants did just fine back then. there is not a single plant species on this planet adapted to rely on post-industrialisation CO2 levels.

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

@@Ass_of_Amalek They are trying to demonise the gas of life.... YOU are the carbon they want to get rid of!! Wake up!!!!

[@tiboregoldberger6817]

🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🤮🤑🐷🐖🦨🙈🙊🐒🙉🐵🦧🦍🦧🐵🙉🐒🙊🐷🐖🦨🙈🦨🦨🦨🦨