Air Pollution Prevents Global Warming

…Or at least that’s what this article on Autoblog Green tries to imply.  It’s a compelling and resonable arguement.  Since the environmental movements of the 1960s, air pollution has dramatically decreased in Europe and the US.  All those particulates that used to block the sun are no longer there, allowing more sunlight to hit the ground, hence warming.  The effect is well known, and usually associated with volcanoes.

What the author fails to distinguish, and what an insightful commentor clarified, is that there is a huge difference between local warming because of clearer skies, and the global warming effects of altering the entire atmosphere.  Additionally, if particulates mattered like this on a global scale, do you think China might have some impact there?

Get Some Plants to Clean Up Your Air

Plants take all kinds of pollution and clean it up, and they are as good at cleaning up indoor air pollution as they are cleaning up waste water.  The trick is to figure out which plants can you put in your abode that will help make it fresh.

That’s where GOOD Magazine’s recent chart comes in.  It shows some of the most common volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and what plants you can use to help cleanse the air of them.  I was quite pleased to see the spider plant and philodendron on the list because I already have them in my apartment.  But I’ll try to expand and add a few more plants!

Props to Inhabitat for their post.