37 replies to this topic 1 votes

[Hum]

This idea of faux trees has taken root in Massachusetts with an urban tree competition called Boston Treepods 2011. Sponsored by the SHIFTboston organization, teams of designers have developed proposals for synthetic urban trees that would essentially do what real trees do -- convert carbon dioxide into oxygen -- but without the need to be planted in soil or nourished by water.

"Influx Studio in Paris is currently pulling together the specifications and obtaining necesssary approval on specific patenting, and it should be finished by the end of April," Kim Poliquin, director of SHIFTboston, told AOL News in an e-mail.

"Following finalization of documents and approval in early May, SHIFTboston will put the Boston Treepod out to bid. We are hoping to obtain competitive pricing to produce the initial prototype," she added.

Composed of recycled plastic bottles, the treepods utilize a carbon dioxide-removal technique called "humidity swing" that helps clean the air.

These air-filtering faux trees look like giant futuristic urban lamps that light up at night in multiple colors. They can also generate energy via solar panels as well as kinetic energy created by young and old sitting on interactive seesaws attached to the base of the trees.

Purists might object to the idea of creating artificial trees, saying that all we need to do is plant more trees. At least these treepods would be up and running, so to speak, long before new trees can provide the same amount of oxygen to a geographic location.

SHIFTboston is aiming to "plant" the prototype treepod by early 2012.

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[Brandon]

I want one for my backyard

[Sionic Ion]

They should try modifying the biology of living organisms such as *real trees* instead of making contraptions like that... Maybe make them grow faster and rely on water less. They could possibly try and make the trees share roots and work together to deliver water to the tree that needs it the most. All by modifying the biology to make them better.

Still ****es me off they don't try experiments on improving human DNA, but no, people will whine that clones will be born and debate who is the real one and who is the clone ---> "I'm you *******! **** off, this is my life!" and then go on about how they don't have souls either... Serously people contradict themselves way too much, clones aren't going to mutate into dinosaurs with all your memories, they are going to be a step forward to better immune systems and more durable body parts like joints and knees as examples.

[team_NOOB]

Looks like that light tree thing from avatar..

[Lels]

Dude. I want one.

[Hollow.Droid]

Looks great, I can't imagine many people having too many complaints about this type of structure around towns

Sionic Ion, on 18 March 2011 - 02:44, said:

They should try modifying the biology of living organisms such as *real trees* instead of making contraptions like that... Maybe make them grow faster and rely on water less. They could possibly try and make the trees share roots and work together to deliver water to the tree that needs it the most. All by modifying the biology to make them better.

Still ****es me off they don't try experiments on improving human DNA, but no, people will whine that clones will be born and debate who is the real one and who is the clone ---> "I'm you *******! **** off, this is my life!" and then go on about how they don't have souls either... Serously people contradict themselves way too much, clones aren't going to mutate into dinosaurs with all your memories, they are going to be a step forward to better immune systems and more durable body parts like joints and knees as examples.

Eugenics buddy, we all know how that ended in Star Trek

[Hum]

I can see these on sale at K-Mart now ...

[+Bamsebjorn]

Actual trees do the same and they grow faster with high concentrations of CO2 in the air. Maybe they should stick with actual trees instead of making these ugly plastic trees.

[HawkMan]

Hollow.Droid, on 18 March 2011 - 02:53, said:

Eugenics buddy, we all know how that ended in Star Trek

I think you're confused. Eugenic had little to do with Star Trek, that was actually Genetic modification. Eugenics, doesn't need to do genetic modification, it's about removing the weak and unwanted form the gene pool. and was supported by a lot of people before WWII, including some former American presidents and some other famous geniuses at the time. but after Hitler put it into practice it became kind of unpopular to be a eugenics supporter so they all pretended that never happened.



Anyway, good idea. but unless they're planning to make a billion of these and plant a forest, they're not going to make a tiniest bit of difference. even all the worlds forests only produce a fraction of the worlds oxygen, most of the oxygen we breathe is created in the seas. Some fancy park trees won't create a noticeable difference even with highly sensitive instruments even if we carpeted every park in the world with them.

[Anaron]

Something like this would be useful in say, interstellar space travel. Any carbon dioxide emissions could be converted to oxygen for the crew.

[Audioboxer]

Seems useful in areas which may be harder for trees to survive, or at least grow in larger populations.

[Soldiers33]

and now its going to become the times of artificial trees instead of real ones. Next time ill be walking through the park looking at thease hideous things

[Hollow.Droid]

HawkMan, on 18 March 2011 - 08:43, said:

I think you're confused. Eugenic had little to do with Star Trek, that was actually Genetic modification. Eugenics, doesn't need to do genetic modification, it's about removing the weak and unwanted form the gene pool. and was supported by a lot of people before WWII, including some former American presidents and some other famous geniuses at the time. but after Hitler put it into practice it became kind of unpopular to be a eugenics supporter so they all pretended that never happened.

It was a joke...you know, the Eugenics war? I realise actual eugenics is based on producing the best offspring through selective mating and ST eugenics is based on giving you the strength of 5 Klingons....I just didn't think it was necessary to explain this in a joke

[threetonesun]

I don't think you'd ever put one of these in a park, but in certain city locations that are primarily pavement or concrete, they would make sense. Times Square, for example.

In Boston, I think they would make City Hall Plaza look a billion times nicer. Most of the rest of the city has a lot of natural trees on it already though.

[ahhell]

Those things are totally rad.

They look like something out of Earth: Final Conflict.