Areca Palm (“The Living Room Plant”); Chrysalidocarpus lutescens.  It removes CO₂ and converts it into oxygen.  The suggestion is having four shoulder-high plants per person, wipe the leaves daily or weekly, and take it outdoors every 3-4 months for a short time.

Mother-in-law’s Tongue (“The Bedroom Plant”); Sansevieria trifasciata.  It converts CO₂ into oxygen at night.  The suggestion is having 6-8 waist-high plants per person.

Money Plant (“The Specialist Plant”); Epipremnum aureum.  It removes formaldehyde and other volatile chemicals.

Additionally, they found that headaches decreased by 24%; there was a 20% increase in human productivity; and a 15% reduction in energy requirements in buildings.

Pretty impressive.  Yes, it’s a lot of plants, but I wonder if even half that many would make an impact?  Probably, to some extent.  One of our plans is to bring plants into the apartment to help cool down and be more energy efficient (read: cut down on our A/C usage in the summer).  We are going to look into this and hopefully implement it this spring.

Here is the talk, for a more comprehensive look into what Meattle is talking about:

The video, according to the Youtube page:

A comprehensive look at Polyface Farm through the course of one full year of farming … features one of the world’s finest working examples of an environmentally friendly family farm. Join entrepreneur and passionate farmer Joel Salatin as he explains balance and interconnectedness of the landscape, community, plants and animals. Hard hitting and practical, Salatin’s explanations will revolutionize your thinking about food and farming in a proactive, can-do style.

[via the Polyface Farm Blog]