You don't have to be a scientist to solve big environmental problems. One Dutch designer is finding creative ways to make a change—and he's inviting bikers to join him.
Daan Roosgaarde, 38, is a designer from Holland. He uses creative ideas to improve city life. For his Smog (雾霾) Free Project, he designed a special tower that cleans air in Chinese parks. In Holland, he designed a shining bicycle path.
Now Daan and his team are working with engineers at Chinese bike-sharing company Ofo to create a new product for public use. It's an air-cleaning machine connected to a bicycle and is part of the Smog Free Project. In smoggy weather, the machine would breathe in the air in front of the bike and blow out a stream of clean air toward the biker's face.
It's no secret that air pollution is a big problem for China. In winter, it's common for thick clouds of haze (霾), caused largely by factory production, burning of coal and car emissions (排放物), to cover areas of China.
In 2016, only one-fourth of Chinese cities met the country's air quality standards, according to a survey of 338 cities nationwide from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
"Of course one tower and a few bikes won't solve China's air pollution problem," Daan said, "But smog-free bikes are an exciting idea that will hopefully inspire communities to create greener cities."
