English 2100

Clean Our Air

Is the air in your home safe to breathe?

Proposal

The Objective

As we enter the heart of the winter season, we also enter some of the worst air
quality Utah has ever seen. Inversions are our worst enemy during this season as
the cold air gets trapped in our bowl-shaped valley while the hot air acts like a lid
to trap it all in. Generally, it is after a snowstorm that we start to see the effects of
the inversion. With the air trapped people have a hard time breathing and it puts
the elderly and very young at risk. We are told to stay indoors and drive as little as
possible to keep our lungs clean. To protect our homes and to generate clean air
for our families, we propose an increase in oxygen production. Our house is meant
to be a shelter but it cant protect us from something like poor air quality. We have
one way to help improve the quality of air in our homes by 90% every 24 hours.

More oxygen.

Less CO2 and NO2.

Inexpensive way to filter our harmful particulates.

The Solution

Our plan is to distribute one of the best CO2 scrubbers to houses in our respective
neighborhoods. We will start by placing flyers explaining the process and how they
can register for the program. Each house will need to leave the signed flyer on their
porch on a designated date. Upon collection of the flyer we will then deliver a
pre-planted rubber tree seed to their doorstep with instructions on how to best
care for the plant. A rubber tree can scrub up to 90% of pollutants in a room in just
24 hours. The intended goal is to scrub 12,000 pounds of pollutants over a 5-year
period. This involves distributing 50 rubber trees around our community to people
who will commit to caring for the tree. If you have any concerns or questions you
can reach me at parky_d49@yahoo.com.

Rubber Tree seeds

Brochure with care guide

Flyers to distribute

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Deadlines

-Pass out 75 flyers by January 25, 2017

-Collect flyers by January 28, 2017

-Distribute pre-planted rubber tree seeds with brochures by February 1, 2017

Resources

http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/winter-inversions-what-are-they-and-what-we-can-all-do-h
elp

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/7-plants-purify-indoor-air/slide/3

http://www.ucair.org/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAzZHEBRD0ivi9_pDzgYMBEiQAtvxt-Cp-n-gT4H9
QfbWO5hxLPcpraolI4Eh4dNNEEPh2Y_IaAh3L8P8HAQ

5 Rubber tree seeds - $2.49 on Amazon 10x.

25 qt. potting mix - $8.97 at Home Depot.

75 Flyers for $7.20 at FedEx Kinkos.

Guide/ Campaign/ Product

The issue of indoor air pollution is a huge problem that everyone is dealing with. It

dramatically affects our health and quality of life, and it is something that many people

arent even aware of. Usually when people think about pollution, they think of smog and

the pollutants that cars put out. But in reality indoor air quality can be so much worse

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because of how concentrated the air is. Indoor air pollution is caused by a handful of

things such as; chemicals that are in cleaning products we buy, wood stoves, fire places,

candles, paints, and different types of mold and bacteria.

The effects of these toxins can have extremely

detrimental effects, especially towards children and

the elderly. Developing allergies, asthma

symptoms, and the flu are just a few of the more

common symptoms. They can cause a variety of

organ failures, nerve damage, and even some types

of cancers. And according to a study done by the

WHO, approximately 4.3 million people die every

year due to indoor toxins. Just think about how many of those deaths could have been

prevented or saved just by eliminating hazardous materials from your home.

We wanted to focus on informing people

on one of the easiest things that you can do to

eliminate toxins from your surroundings. And

that is to use plants to help cleanse the air in

households. Keeping plants in your house is

one of the most effective, not to mention easy,

ways to keep you and your family safe from air

toxins. One of the best plants to use for natural

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air filtration is the Ficus Elastica, or in other words the Rubber Plant. This plant is one of

the best formaldehyde eliminators that there is. Formaldehyde is a chemical that is

found in many different types of solvents and adhesives. These types of chemicals can

cause sore throat, nosebleeds, cough, and itchy eyes. So if we can prevent these

symptoms then we definitely should. Rubber Plants attract mold and bacteria particles in

the air and eliminate them.

This plant is actually very

sensitive to mold and if it

unexpectedly came in contact

with the plant it could make it

sick. To prevent that, it grabs

those toxins out of the air,

breaks them down, and turns

them into breathable air.

They improve air quality by

converting exhaled carbon

dioxide into breathable oxygen. The plants do this is by absorbing air contaminants

through its leaves and then breaking them down using microbes. During this process is

where the plant forms oxygen particles and then releases them. Thus, providing us with

clean air to breathe.

The Rubber Plant is one of the best plants to keep. Not only because of the

clean air it produces, but also because it is one of the easiest to take care of. It only

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requires watering once a week and indirect sunlight throughout the day. As long as

you're willing to spend less than 20 minutes a month taking care of your living air

purifier, you and your family will feel better and be healthier with just one simple act!

Report

We set out to make a difference for people in their homes and workplaces. Living

in Utah we are lucky enough to have all 4 seasons to enjoy. Spring and Fall are always

beautiful and everyone looks forward to the mild weather, but every year we know we

have to prepare for the extremes that come during the Summer and Winter months. One

of the greatest challenges we face in Utah is our poor air quality that seems to only be

getting worse as the years go on. Living in the valley makes it extremely difficult for us to

escape the suffocating particulates that pollute our city in between storm fronts. So while

we get to enjoy a wonderful variety of weather and seasons, living in Salt Lake could cost

you as much as 2 years off of your life expectancy. These 2 years are precious time that

we simply have to sacrifice because we havent found a way to alleviate the strain put on

our bodies by such poor air quality.

Our goal was to provide 50 different

people with a cost effective way to filter the

air within their homes. We made flyers that

explained the need to clean up our air and

gave them the option to sign up for our

project, we then hung them on doorknobs

in our neighborhoods. Honestly we werent expecting many people to respond, but to

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our surprise, every single house we left with a flyer called asking for a plant! We started

out with a big handful of seeds, a bag of potting soil, some disposable cups, and a stack

of care guides we made. The brochure/care guide explained a bit more of the benefits

that this little seed would have for their family over the years, and showed them exactly

what this plant needs to thrive.

When we went to deliver the plants we were met with a lot of questions and

concerns about the air in their homes. People were shocked to find out that their houses

could be more dangerous than the outside air. I was amazed at how few people knew

what they could do to clean out the pollution generated by everyday activities. A lot them

knew that the air was in poor condition, but really

what can we do to get away from it? The air gets so

bad and stagnant here in the valley that we are

forced to breathe in harmful particulates, even in

our own homes. We had the chance to talk with

almost all of the people who opted into our project

about other ways they could clean up the air and

protect their family. We told them about all the

different plants that can clean specific pollutants

and that a good variety can help ensure a healthy

living space for them and their families. Many of

them committed to not only take care of the plant

we gave them, but they even volunteered to

spread the word and pass along trees of their own once they had grown and could be

used for new seedlings.

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 This project was a great experience for us. We were able to raise awareness but at

the same time, actually make a difference. I dont typically like these projects because we

are just telling people about the problems and not raising a solution. This was a great

chance for us to make a difference and show people exactly what they can do to improve

the air quality in their homes. For me, the air quality is something that really bothers me,

only because I feel like there is nothing I can do to make it better. I feel as though I just

have to suffer through it and let it take its toll on my body. This project just gave a bit

more information about facts we already knew, but at the same time it allowed me to

find out some of the best plants we can use to help our air. I still get the feeling that there

is another way, that there is something more we can do to help our valley breathe easier,

and this has just made me want to pursue that even more.

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 Works Cited

Baker, D. (2015, August 15). 7 Common Indoor Air Pollutants. Retrieved January

29,2017, from http://usgreentechnology.com/7-common-indoor-air-pollutants/

Main, E. (2017, January 04). 7 Plants That Purify Indoor Air. Retrieved January

29,2017, from http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/7-plants-purify-indoor-air

Weathers, C. (2015, January 23). 8 Shockingly Common Home Pollution Dangers.

Retrieved January 29, 2017, from

http://www.alternet.org/environment/8-shocking-sources-home-air-pollution

H. (2015, June 16). Indoor Air Pollution Worse Than Outdoor. Retrieved January

29,2017, from https://draxe.com/indoor-air-pollution-worse-than-outdoor/

10 Shocking Facts About Indoor Air Quality. (2014, October 27). Retrieved January

29, 2017, from

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/10-shocking-facts-indoor-air-quality-

iaq/

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Cool Today. (2012, March 30). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from

https://www.cooltoday.com/blog/7_important_indoor_air_quality_facts_statistics

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