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Problem: In many cities around the world there are problems with street level smog. That is smog held at low altitudes by a high pressure system and stagnate air. cities often have "pollution warnings" where the TV says not to wait at bus stops, exercise outdoors, or breathe the air if it can be avoided.
Solution:
Why not clean the air outside the same way it is inside? Use an air filter. If every street corner in a city were outfitted with some type of hepa filter (the kind used to remove particulates from the air) the air could be made breathable again. Think about it, a big array of air filters capable of cleaning Millions of CFMs' (cubic feet per minute) of air.
City Air Cleaning Tower
http://www.halfbake..._20Cleaning_20Tower
related idea by [sartep] [krelnik, Oct 21 2004]
Kyoto fails the test
http://www.morefree...org/new_page_84.htm
[thumbwax, Oct 21 2004]
[link]
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It would be simpler to clean out the crud at its source, which is what the Kyoto accord seeks to do. |
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But getting the U.S. to sign it: there's the tricky part. |
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Using a huge amount of energy and effectively transfering all the pollution to the site of the electricity generation, and in the process adding to it due to inefficiencies. |
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Problems: Power - it can't be electric. This type of smog usually happens when there is a high pressure system over head. In most areas that means sun. These air cleaners will be run on solar power. or some other type of "green" energy |
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Politics- sure you could cut down on emissions, but that's just not happening any time soon. You could sign the kyoto accord, but that didnt' work out either. All politicians are technology junkies ("look I bring you ...the future"). especially if there is money to be made in production. |
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While you are already filtering you can also cool the air and freeze out some CO2, supposedly good for the environment too, may help to sell the idea to politicians. |
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[kbecker] much easier to get CO2 out of furnace exhaust, that is where most commercial CO2 comes from. |
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I think a lot of smog is actually gas (well at least photochemical smog...). Those brownish clouds you see aren't made up of particles but NO2 gas. A typical hepa filter has a 0.2µm pore size, so will be ineffective for cleaning the air, you need a gas scrubber. |
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In bigger cities (the only place they'd be employed)the scrubbers would need replacing every day or so. Then, your problem would shift to waste management.
Or they could be washed at great expense of water and detergents (arid regions can't handle that). Then it all goes into the ground water. |
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