Rendering: "How cities are using nature to cut pollution"

The article ‘How cities are using nature to cutpollution’ was published by Jim Robbins in the Guardian on August 23. It discusses the ways for cutting pollution, using nature. 

   It’s important to note that in Puget Sound blowhole samples taken from killer whales (swim not far from more than 3 million people who live in the Seattle region) have revealed fungi, viruses and bacteria living in their respiratory tracts, some of them antibiotic-resistant and once found only on land. It testifies to the fact that the sound is seriously polluted. Besides, when it rains, storm water washes into the same system of underground pipes that carries the region's sewage, and 1 billion gallons a year overflow into the sound when area sewer systems contain more water than can be treated. In addition, motor oil, lawn chemicals, PCBs, heavy metals, pet waste, and many other substances run unabated into the sound, both through the storm water pipes and from roads and other shoreline structures.

 Speaking of the ways for the solution of this problem, it’s necessary to note that Seattle is embracing an innovative solution to storm water runoff called green infrastructure, which experts increasingly say is not only the most cost-effective way to deal with such a large-scale problem, but also offers a range of other benefits. And they consist in following: green infrastructure is the harnessing of the natural processes of trees and other vegetation (so-called ecosystem services) to carry out the functions of the built systems; it often intercepts the water before it can run into streets and become polluted and stores the water for gradual release through percolation or evapotranspiration; besides, it  isn't just about being green, as it makes financial sense.

 Analyzing the situation of green infrastructure’s effectiveness, it’s necessary to emphasize that the Puget Sound city of Coupeville, Washington is experimenting with the use of trees and other plants to clean water to scrub runoff from a large parking lot and housing development. This experiment shows that the water flows first through a bio-swale, which is essentially a drainage ditch with gently sloping sides and rip rap and vegetation that catches silt and sediment. The water flows to a depression, 250 feet by 35 feet, planted densely with poplar and willow trees designed to capture and hold thousands of gallons of runoff a day.

  There’s every reason to believe that this method is really effective and economical, as microbes that live around trees’ roots neutralize the nastiest waste coming off streets, including ammonia, nitrates, and the copper from brake linings. Once the roots work their magic, the water is released for irrigation. In addition, it’s important to note that copper is an essential nutrient for trees, whose roots and hummus can absorb large quantities of the element.

  Giving appraisal of the green infrastructure, it’s necessary to point out other tools, like green roofs (adopted in North America) are living rooftops prairie with seven species of grass and flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and eliminate the need for water treatment facility. The second tool, mentioned in the article, is permeable pavement, which is made of materials that allow water to soak through into the ground instead of running off.

  There are also signs that another way for prevention of pollution is so-cold "wind paths," that  encourage breezes from the surrounding hills to naturally clean and air condition the city.

  But in conclusion the author suggests that in some cases it's not known how well all these technologies will work over time. And one of the biggest hurdles to more widespread implementation is from regulatory agencies, which have a hard time reconciling the new approach with existing regulations. That’s why it’ll take years to change codes and allow new technologies.

   I agree with the author that we have to create new technologies to reduce the amount of pollutants, but I don’t think that the so-called green infrastructure will greatly help. As it’s an open secret that now the amount of emitted pollutants is so great, that this infrastructure simply can’t cope. As a result every time we will have to change the old and "worn out" plants for new ones, which will result in a large amount of money. In addition, this process (planting and cultivation of plants) will take not a year or two, but dozens of years. But nevertheless, we must use any opportunity for the sake of our future generations.