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Air Trees in Madrid Will Produce Oxygen and Energy

inhabitat.com — The “Air Tree” pavilion is to be built from recycled materials and will be 100% energy self-sufficient. The “tree,” using photo-voltaic cells, produces a substantial amount of energy, which is then sold back to the local electric companies, the profits being used for maintenance of the structure. The second byproduct is of course oxygen.

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  • BCCStu, on 05/08/2008, -2/+10What an unbelievably cool idea. How large are the structures?
    • pharmakon, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1not as big as the widget factories in north jersey, so it probably doesnt matter.
    • Vostok, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2First thing that comes to my mind is Thunder Dome
  • thedzigner, on 05/08/2008, -1/+16Nice one! Good to see some positive and realistic ideas for once.
    • rawg, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3I think a lot can be done with this, especially with the free energy that is being produced. Some ideas off the top of my head:

      1) recycling center
      2) web camera and monitor so that people can see what is happening at other "air trees"
      3) display the amount of energy being saved and the CO2/O2 being generated
      4) wifi access point
      5) recharging station where passers by can recharge their devices

      I would also add wind turbines to the design, even if they didn't contribute that much more power, it would still increase awareness of renewable energy alternatives.
  • FamilyGuyFan, on 05/08/2008, -2/+13I'd love to see these in LA or NYC where they can really be put to good use.
    • priegog, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5As opposed to Madrid, where they are being put to stupid uses?
  • tameradaun, on 05/08/2008, -4/+5Great idea!
  • greentime, on 05/08/2008, -4/+4Great concept!
  • ecomod, on 05/08/2008, -6/+2This looks cool - have any actually been built?
    • WiseWeasel, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Are you serious? I think it looks like a pile of *****. Back to the drawing board with those monstrosities... Cool concept though.
  • nrrrd, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4Wow, nice!
  • Salinesolucion, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4Looks sort of like a green water tower- would pedestrians be allowed inside? Put some benches inside and this would make a good little mini park/garden for pedestrians.
    • diggydougie, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Look at the pictures. They did.
  • marcalt, on 05/08/2008, -1/+13Nice idea, needs some design love...would actually work better on the top of buildings as a vertical green roof of sorts.
  • inajeep, on 05/08/2008, -2/+6More art than practical of course and I doubt the 'substantial amount of energy' with the limited amount of photocells. I wonder how they water them trees because it looks like they won't have the ground area to absorb and hold enough water naturally.
  • DaDrake, on 05/08/2008, -18/+9I can promise you this ..... if Al Gore had the chance of setting one of these up in his beach-front home, he would say no for fears of blocking his majestic view.
  • arjung, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2wow, haven't seen so many positive comments in a digg article since... well, i've never seen this many positive comments on digg.
    • dafragsta, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
    • bgrah449, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2You just haven't seen this many positive comments in a digg article that weren't undergoing widespread burying. This is the only time I've seen "Wow, nice!" be dugg.
  • itsgotyou, on 05/08/2008, -1/+7I wish our trees can also produce oxygen and energy. :(
    • diggydougie, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yeah, you need special potted "green" trees on a scaffold to produce oxygen.
    • skiddles, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1The trees in this article don't produce any more energy than yours do. Unfortunately , you have to burn trees to utilize the energy they produce.
  • HillerMylife, on 07/24/2008, -2/+24With any luck, the atmospheric oxygen levels will rise by about 20%, and in a few generations we'll be back to dragonflies with 6 foot wingspans
  • jabberwolf, on 05/08/2008, -3/+3I love this, because this is actually something cost efficient, not someone's pipe dream and ... it works!

    • Herostratos, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3How do you know that? The article didn't really back up its claims and I doubt it is cost efficient to use expensive land in the middle of a city for electricity generation.
      • BeforeSputnik, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1The benefit isn't only the electricity. It's also has a cooling effect as well, apparently. Not to mention the immeasurable benefit of aesthetics, having a nice meeting area in the middle of town. Too many cities haven't left any substantial room for trees, which can have a large psychological effect on people.
  • sodade, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2I thought grasses were much better at making oxygen than trees?
    • apophenic, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Most oxygen actually comes from algae.
    • Stormwern, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1Plants consist to a large degree of the coal it extracts from carbon dioxide, so the faster something grows the more oxygen it releases.
  • kittynipples, on 05/08/2008, -3/+12Absolutely hideous looking.
    • imightbewrong, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3thank you!!
    • diggdat, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yes, I think that looks like hell. I appreciate the green thinking but this looks like beyond thunder dome to me. Welcome to Barter Town...
  • madrid, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2WORD!
  • goscript, on 05/08/2008, -1/+0and it doesn't needs rain to grow :))
  • Low023, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Google Cache Mirror
    http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:4Mq5vZKCHZwJ: ...
  • edebolt, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Fake ---- It's the Thunderdome ---- "two men enter and one man leaves". They just threw a few PV's on the top.
  • doctechnical, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Will it use a solid-state drive?
  • Merendino, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1That website CANNOT handle traffic well... second time in two days with minimal diggs.
  • ryananger, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4According to someone who has done a bit of research on these "Air Trees", the "trees" aren't even trees at all. They are vines, and as the vines grow they will cover the disgusting chainlink fences and make it less difficult to look at. Vines also grow faster than trees, and, naturally, produce more oxygen as a result.
    • rawg, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1That's good to know because the chain link fence really hurts the aesthetic. It would be better to use a trellis for the vines to make it feel more open and planted some grass as well. The arrangement of solar panels on the top needs to be changed too. Either make it flat and contiguous to maximize surface area or go for a more interesting shape like a dome or pyramid.
  • allemande, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1...and more waste
  • apophenic, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5Air trees all over the world already produce oxygen and energy.
  • aladrin, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5"makes the entire idea really intruding"

    I'm sure they meant 'intriguing', but 'intruding' works as well... Those are hideous. The second one looks rusty and yuck. (I think it's actually just orange chainlink fence, but it -looks- rusty.)

    And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it more important that it removes CO2 than that it creates O2?
    • wrathbone, on 05/08/2008, -1/+0Removing the CO2 creates O2 as a byproduct.....
  • DiggCommando, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Looks pretty ugly to me. I prefer the sight of some three hundred year old majestic trees.
  • eilera, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0has anyone read the book "Feed"? this reminds me of a part in that book where the main character wonders why they tore all the trees down to make oxygen factories... anyone see the connection here?
  • Antryg7, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2What about the carbon trees idea from that guy on the East Coast? That suck Carbon out of the atmosphere? Sounds like these two ideas belong side-by-side.
  • tallulahvulture, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3i love living in madrid.
  • MrViklund, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Mac Air? Cool!
  • hitkaiser, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1(I'm from Madrid) - Madrid already has loads of trees in the city, there is one about every 5metres on the side walks. This isn't true for the congested city centre however so it would be ideal for those parts.
  • SLockhart, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4"Air Trees in Madrid Will Produce Oxygen and Energy"

    I hate to break it to you but all trees produce oxygen and energy.
  • slantyeyed, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1it doesnt say how much energy / how much air will be produced for the amount of work and effort needed to put this thing up.
  • diggydougie, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2They should make the inside spiral up so that people could walk around like in a garden.
  • OniDracula, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Or we could just plant a couple ***** trees.
    Yes, I said it: ***** trees.
    • BadseedJR, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2We just need regular trees. I'm not sure sexual trees will be any better.
    • diggdat, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Nope, no good. Trees have no use unless they are wrapped in chain link fence, suspended in the air on re-manufactured materials and have fabricated roofs, with electrical wires running from them.

      I am sorry but that looks like crap.

      Stick the solar panels on the rooftops of the adjacent buildings and plant a mixture of slow to old growth trees with some assorted ground plantings to hold moisture and provide renewable mulch. Throw in a few park benches and you might actually have something to look at...
  • m00nmaster, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2"Aside from their aesthetic appeal..."

    It looks like a see through oil silo.
  • neoq36, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1This just in..... According to Bush, Air Trees in Madrid are also capable of producing weapons of mass destruction
  • gcnaddict, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1So in other words, if one of these things catches fire, it'll be a bitch to put out, right?
  • UrbanVoyeur, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Looks nice, but would a greater impact be accomplished by sponsoring roof gardens & solar cell installations around the city?
  • mgyqmb, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Madrid is the cleanest smelling city I've ever been in. It's kind of bizarre, considering that there is graffiti on every possible surface - you'd expect it to be at least a bit run down...but nope.
  • jackdaniels06, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1AWESOME! BEAUTIFUL! One of the best things I've read on Digg in a long time! I love it!
  • jackdaniels06, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1***YOUTUBE VIDEO OF AIR TREES IN MADRID***
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lllyWdnG8YM&eurl=ht ...
  • crimsonsentinel, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I think the obvious question is: why not just have more open space? You get trees and oxygen and the best thing is, it's free!
  • HubbertWins, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I would sure hate to pay for watering one of those damned things.
  • Danoz, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1This is a stupid, stupid idea. People seem to think green is the new cool, so as soon as something is said to be green people are happy to say "wow, i like it". This project is a ***** joke.

    How much power would it produce? at a guess maybe 1MW - 2MW. Nothing at all.
    How much oxygen would it produce? i couldn't tell you but i sure as hell know that some 200 pot plants are not going to produce as much oxygen as a 100 trees. 100 trees is also the number of trees that are cut down every minutes each day to support our way of life.

    I'm not a tree hugger, all i'm saying is don't be naive people. This structure wont make a difference to the environment.

    Also, its ugly as hell.
    • Danoz, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1My guess at 1-2MW was a little too large, this structure will produce way less. 10-20KW.
  • ChrisshEnzo, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1an innovative way to battle pollution
  • Abram730, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Unilateral cross border vacuum technology is in the works. ;)
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