Kamal Meattle is an Indian environmental activist and CEO of Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology Incubator Park based in New Delhi, India. Meattle held a talk at TED 2009 entitled How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air.[1]
Kamal Meattle | |
|---|---|
| Known for | TED 2009 entitled How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air |
Attributions edit
After becoming allergic to New Delhi's polluted air in 1992, Meattle claimed to have discovered that three common houseplants could help reduce the pollutants in the air.[2] The three plants and their properties are listed below:
Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) edit
- Works well in the day time
- Great for living areas
- One needs about 4 shoulder-high plants/person
- Needs to be put outdoors once every 3–4 months
- The leaves of the plant need to be wiped every day in Delhi and perhaps once a week in a cleaner city
- The soil used should be of vermi manure or use hydroponics
Mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) edit
- Converts CO2 into O2 at night
- One requires about 6–8 such waist-high plants per person in the bedroom
- Leaves need to be wiped in the same way as the Areca Palm
- The soil used should be of vermi manure or use hydroponics
Money plant (Epipremnum aureum) edit
- Excellent for removing formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds
- Best grown using hydroponics
Meattle does not provide any numerical data to support his claims,[3] nor is there third-party confirmation of the results, but at least one study calls the hypothesis into question.[4]
See also edit
- NASA Clean Air Study, where all three plants are listed
References edit
- ^ "How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air - TED 2009". 25 January 2009.
- ^ Kamal Meattle Bio
- ^ Pavlis, Robert (18 October 2016). "Kamal Meattle – Plants and Air Purification". Garden Myths.
- ^ Wood, Ronald A.; Burchett, Margaret D.; Alquezar, Ralph; Orwell, Ralph L.; Tarran, Jane; Torpy, Fraser (20 July 2006). "The Potted-Plant Microcosm Substantially Reduces Indoor Air VOC Pollution: I. Office Field-Study" (PDF). Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 175 (1–4): 163–180. Bibcode:2006WASP..175..163W. doi:10.1007/s11270-006-9124-z. S2CID 55621034.