Show t j 1 i 11 t t 1 i t. t l J cd I i in 4 e I I I n h t god u w gc i J z e i q e I O I Ii i ie b 1 jq d y I ll w t ACCENT ON This GREEN-This man inspecting the j I young tree in his backyard will soon be joined by 0 millions of other Americans The well-kept well turf in this Air A r is Americas America's most valuable 1 t resource resource yet Americans have taken i it for granted and misused it t I Everyone living in an urban area areat t is fully aware of the crisis of air pollution the pollution the tears in their eyes and the film of chemicals and dirt dirton dirton on their cars and clothing are evidence evidence evidence evid evid- ence enough And an increasing number of residents of smaller communities are now learning of the menace of air pollution on their t own doorsteps i Ironically the United States has become the worlds world's greatest producer 1 of foods while ignoring its air Yet man can live for several days Y 1 without food-and food even without water but he can live only a few minutes without the oxygen that comprises 20 per cent of the air we breathe An individual inhales and exhales an average of times a day taking in a daily total of 35 pounds of oxygen About 30 of the oxygen goes to his brain Without Without With With- out it the brain tissue would be fatally damaged within a few short minutes yard adds valuable accent to the intimate garden nooks decorated with flowers rock work and lilly pools Order Photo 1 1 Plants Aid in Air Purification 3 a Says Americas America's Nurserymen Mans Man's sole source of this vital v tal element is plant life As incredible as it may seem itis itis it itis is the simple beautiful trees shrubbery grasses and flowers on onland onland onland land and the vegetation in the sea that provides us with this life- life dependent thing called oxygen says Robert F. F Lederer executive vice president of the American Association of Nurserymen And it all happens through that process we all learned in m biology classes classes and and promptly forgot for for- got got called called photosynthesis Basically photosynthesis is the absorption by plant I life fe of carbon dioxide which is i converted into plant food with the end result being the release of oxygen into the air aFt t n i t IM t J Without photosynthetic activity of green plants there would be no oxygen for industrial furnaces let alone for animal and human life Without the action of plants and animals in aquatic systems there would be no pure water to supply agriculture industry and homes Plant life is therefore one of Americas America's most important weapons in the fight for environmental quality ity Whereas automobiles factories factories factories facto facto- ries and jet planes release tons of pollutants into the air mass plantings plantings plantings plant plant- ings of trees and shrubbery can absorb much of the carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses and release oxygen in their place Research conducted by the University University University Uni Uni- of California shows that people who live near freeways breathe breath air containing less then 1000 parts fresh air to one part auto exhaust A healthful ratio is considered to be 2000 to one By planting stands of trees or thick shrubbery along such freeways the present ratio can be improved More importantly homeowners can create their own oxygen pro oxygen pro pro- I factories by planting trees and shrubbery in their own yards to offset the harmful air flowing from freeways areas of congested population or industry The Seventies should be the decade decade decade dec dec- ade of The Plant It provides us with hope for the future |