In Praise of Air, a poem that ‘cleans’ your environment

A revolutionary air-cleansing poem has removed more than two tonnes of pollution from the environment in the U.K. as part of a project that could be used to fight pollution in cities across the world, a leading British University claimed on Friday.

In Praise of Air , the world’s first air-cleansing poem, was produced by scientists and writers at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. The catalytic poem by award-winning writer Simon Armitage, Professor of Poetry in the University’s School of English, has been printed on specially treated material developed by scientists at the university that is capable of purifying its surroundings through catalytic oxidation.

Nitrogen oxide removed

The poem, which has been on display on the University of Sheffield’s Alfred Denny building since May 2014, has now reached the end of its exhibition in Sheffield, and the project team has estimated that it has removed over two tonnes of nitrogen oxide from the surrounding environment.

The team now hopes the poem and its air-cleansing technology can be replicated on billboards and artwork in towns and cities across the world. Professor Joanna Gavins, who leads the project from the University’s School of English, said: “We all know that pollution is a major problem for the world’s urban areas but so far we as a society haven’t fully adopted any long-term solutions to tackle the problem.

“Scientists, such as my colleagues in Sheffield, are developing technologies to help clean the environment but it’s the arts and humanities that can help raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire people to adopt pro-environmental behaviour.” he said.