Smog Free Project: Turning Smog In China Into Jewelry
Want to wear a ring that helps fight pollution? Curious on how it even works? Well you're in the right spot! Read more below.
A dutch design firm called Studio Roosegaarde by Dann Roosegaarde which specializes in all aspects of helping the environment be “smog-free” is at it again. This time with jewelry. If you don’t know about Studio Roosegaarde here is a quick background on them and what they have done so far to help the planet when it comes to smog.
From its touch-activated LED crystals and sustainable dance floors which generate electricity when you let loose and get down, to the smart highways that could possibly change the future when it comes to driving. And of course creating the world's first smog vacuum cleaner and the infamous Smog Free Tower which measures 23 feet in height and helps by sucking in polluted air, cleaning 30,000 m3 of air per hour by a process called ionization before releasing it back into our environment.
Now that we are all caught up with the dutch design firms' past creations, let's talk about their latest one! One of the projects which originally started in 2017 but is still in the works as more and more countries are joining in on this campaign. Countries so far that are participating include: South Korea, China, the Netherlands, Mexico, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, and Italy.
When it comes to air pollution in China it is shockingly predominant and a huge issue, with some cities only having 30 feet of clean air before they are facing almost a huge blanket of cancer-causing smog in the shape of a wall above the ground. Now compared to 2013, China’s air pollution has gone down from 101.6 (micrograms per cubic meter) to 40.54 in 2021. This is why WHO (World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer) classified China’s air as “carcinogenic to humans” as it attributed to the extremely high cancer rates throughout the country in part to the air pollution.
So how was this project started?
The Smog project was started when Roosegaarde teamed up with University of TU Delft’s, Bob Ursem and the European Nuclear Society. Within the collaboration they used ion technology to eradicate smog in Asian cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. (It has yet to expand to other neighboring cities and countries).
How does it work?
Ion technology is famously known for “purifying air” and how it works is by creating a weak electromagnetic field that slowly pulls down the smog from the sky, making it easier to clean. Thus allowing “holes” which act as “pockets” in the smog that will help citizens breathe in the clean air and see the skies and sun.
While this project can be seen as a sort of immersive type of art installation for visitors and citizens to experience, it can also be seen as a small part that can be a big step in the right direction when it comes to not only the environmental impacts of pollution and human lives.
Fast forward to now, 2021!
According to WHO, smog annually takes the lives of approximately 4.2 million people worldwide, With 9 out of 10 people living in places that exceed WHO’s guideline limits on smog. While there are many ways to handle this global issue, these “smog-free” jewelry pieces can be beneficial in not only allowing humans to breathe clean air, but inspire other innovators and creators to come up with something of their own. The possibilities are endless and this is just the beginning. So would you wear a smog ring?
