The majority of the solutions we use to handle pollution of the air we breathe have been to decrease the amount of emissions from factories and the vehicles that we drive. The general thought is that we can put some control on the situation but not get rid of it entirely.

However, we do have some methods to produce solutions with the technology that is available to us. A very unique method to solve pollution is to use negative ion technology. Negative ions are created from an electrically charged atom or several atoms that are formed from the gain or loss of a single or many positive electrons.

Here is a simple non-technical explanation of how negative ions work. Put up a negatively charged magnet next to a positively charged magnet and the two snap together. It is similar to how a negative ion air purifier works in the home or office. The unhealthy paticles in the air are attracted to the purifier and gets trapped in the filter system.

Just suppose for a moment that the air purifier technology was increased in size and used outdoors. It would take several air purifiers to handle the great outdoors but it could be done efficiently with the street light poles. The poles already exist, would need to be negatively charged and then the air pollution particles would be attracted to the poles and fall to the ground – just needing to be picked up and thrown away.

Trees are our best friends and allies in combating pollution in the air. Just a single tree in one year’s time can take about 48 pounds of polluting carbon dioxide out of the air.

You can walk along any street and pick up seeds from trees. I have found pine tree seeds, fruit tree seeds, flowering tree seeds and more. It’s great to plant a tree in your yard and, if you live in an apartment, you can even grow trees in planters.

In a city, there are hundreds of buildings with flat roofs which are a perfect place to grow trees. Not only will the city look much prettier but it also will have cleaner air because of it. The trees need not be planted directly on the roof, large planters can be used. Other plants can be placed on the roof,too for a more aesthetic appearance.

There really is something that can be done about cleaning our air, it’s not impossible.