Forests in the sky could be built to clean air of pollution belched out by factories

By Daily Mail Reporter

Visionary architects have designed a revolutionary skyscraper to combat global warming by growing trees hundreds of feet in the air.

The CO2 Scraper will hold up to 400 trees in a bid to absorb dangerous pollutants and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Its award-winning designers say it should be built near factories or other major sources of pollution in order to clean the air.

Skyscraper of the future? The CO2 scraper would pump out oxygen and improve air quality

Evergreen trees will be mounted on a series of floors within a 400ft-tall concrete structure so they can filter air hundreds of feet above the ground.

They will be supplied with water and nutrients via a windmill-powered pump system.
It has been designed by Nectar Product Development, a design company based in California.

A spokesman said: 'The CO2 Scraper would be a large-scale construction for holding between two to four hundred large-size trees.

'These would potentially absorb dangerous pollutants and convert global warming-related carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen.

'The only outside power required would be electricity for an elevator to be used by maintenance personnel - the Scraper would absorb carbon dioxide and thereby increase the amount of life-giving oxygen in the atmosphere.'

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How the CO2 scraper would work

He added: 'In addition, the structure would provide immediate benefits to people and animals in its vicinity, providing a significant amount of shade.

'It will also cool the air during the hot summer months via the temperature-lowering properties of hundreds of trees.

'We thought of the CO2 Scraper as a way to place trees in areas where they would ordinarily be difficult or impossible to plant such as near a factory, major road or perhaps even in a densely populated urban area.

'The idea here was to imagine a structure with relatively small footprint in terms of the amount of ground it covers.'

Scientist and sustainability specialist Joep Meijer, founder of theRightenvironment, has praised the 'outstanding' design.

He said: 'The CO2 Scraper is an outstanding example of the kind of ideas we need to look at now.

'It would be a great investment in natural capital for existing industries.'

Nectar's senior designer Yutaka Kazamaki said: 'Although right now the economy is naturally the focus of world attention, the issue of global warming is clearly among the greatest issues our planet is facing.

'The need to consider any and all possible solutions that address both our environmental and economic challenges has never been greater.'

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