Are your plant’s stomata—pores—clogged from chemicals and particulates? The stomata are the respiratory system of plants, and when they become congested, the plants choke and photosynthesis cannot occur.
If a plant can’t breathe, it will suffer from stunted growth and leaf loss, and it becomes a target for disease and insect damage.
This happens not only to your African violet, but also to forests, food crops, and all other plant life.
Green plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere, giving life to other living organisms.
Smoke pollution can come from wildfires, tail pipes, and industrial activity, which release chemicals such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ammonia. These and ozone particulate matter are the biggest pollutants affecting plants.
You’ll know when your plant is damaged by sulfur dioxide. Loss of color occurs as ozone gases block the plant’s rate of photosynthesis, destroying cells and killing the plant.
Visible airborne dust from smoke, cement, or coal forms a thin coating on the leaves and on the soil. This becomes absorbed through the plant’s root system. This is one reason our government needs to enforce the Clean Air Act.
Don’t forget, acid rain soaking into the ground will make seed germination impossible and reduce yields.
Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 different chemicals including arsenic, used as rat poison; butane, used as lighter fluid; and formaldehyde, for embalming. Over time, these also contaminate the soil and air surrounding plants, eventually starving them because they cannot absorb enough sunlight or nutrients.
Mother Nature is not entirely blameless. Volcanic ash, saltwater intrusion, extreme heat, and extreme flooding also contribute to the struggles of plants.
To reduce plant loss, we must reduce greenhouse gases. Individuals can help by idling their fossil fuel cars no more than 30 seconds, using public transportation, driving less, getting rid of gas stoves and heaters, and going all electric. This will help us to combat climate change.
Wildlife suffers from air pollution in the same way that plants do, although the countryside has more trees to capture carbon.
Peat moss bogs are carbon sinks, trapping carbon in the ground. But these are strip mined like coal. For gardeners there is a renewable, sustainable resource: coconut coir (fiber).
As members of the Sierra Club, we should strive to preserve and protect the Earth. Improving the health of the environment will save lives and our natural environment. We need to tackle all pollution sources, and we cannot wait for our government. Let’s all invest in clean energy. It’s our mess, we need to clean it up.