Carolin Pan Week 11 Plants
Carolin Pan
Week 11
Plants
Recently, I have been quite obsessed with plants. After I managed to accidentally kill my succulent, I decided to get a monstera to take care of. (For those of you who don’t know, the monstera deliciosa is a plant that has large fenestrated leaves.) I wanted to keep the monstera in my room but my dad warned me that during the night, plants will absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. He claimed that the plant would be potentially harmful to my health. Although I usually do not question his bio-related claims, I decided to do some research about the validity of this claim.
It is true that plants emit carbon dioxide at night, but according to the article “Can plants kill you at night?” the right position and amount of plants in your room will leave you with a sufficient amount of oxygen so there is nothing to worry about! Though the article also states that asthma patients have “experienced their medical conditions turning for the worse when sleeping in a room full of plants and the reverse effect after removing them” (“Can plants kill”). Although researchers have proven that the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted at night by bedroom plants cannot harm a healthy person, it still disturbs some (like my dad).
Though this situation may seem trifling, it really makes me think about the power our thoughts hold and the ways we deceive ourselves. As humans, our factories and machines emit more carbon dioxide and pose more of a harm to our health than our bedroom plants could ever, yet we never think of the ways we are slowly killing ourselves. Even sharing a room with other humans can be more of a threat than plants. We deceive ourselves and the power these delusions hold over us is concerning.
Source: https://gardeningelsa.com/can-plants-kill-you-at-night/
It is rather interesting how there are so many factors in life that could be harming us or helping us at any time. It may be that having a monstera in your bedroom may cause health issues, but there are probably a million other small details that could be doing just the same. The fact that we choose to believe and pick on only a few to criticize is definitely a part of human nature; we are all victims too. I definitely need to stop restricting my life based on small facts the internet presents me with because I am sure that if I look deep enough into the internet, I can find articles that support both sides of the claim. Who knows? Maybe there is an article that claims monsteras improve breathing.
ReplyDeleteLet me just start off by saying, I love the ways at which you look at power. It's always out of the box thinking and something I never would have thought off. I really enjoy reading these :) Its' really interesting the different opinions people have. It's crazy to think that there can be so many deadly items within simple necessities or decorations surrounding us. Something as simple as a plant being so deadly is scary but interesting because I've heard of monstera plants but never have I heard that it's something that could harm us. It's really interesting how one simple thing could possibly be deadly and beautiful at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHey Carolin, I never knew that houseplants can hurt our health as I was told it produces more oxygen keeping you more calm. I feel this blog has given me a new perspective on common household items that may be damaging our health . However, I feel life is too precious to be worrying about small superstitions as we need to focus on what can is largely hurting our health like carbon pollution. One thing I wonder is how our frequent screen time usage is impacting our health.
ReplyDeleteHey Carolin,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the majority of your blog, I was also wondering how we have come to pay more close attention to carbon emitted by a house plant at night than by cars, industrial factories, power plants, and more. I never considered the power our minds have in deceiving us or the power the world has in deluding our minds. I remember being told when I was younger never to sleep under a large tree with a lot of leaves, for, when there is no sun available, instead of producing food through photosynthesis, the tree would start to respirate and consume the oxygen around me. I was so frightened by the idea and wondered how animals lived in forests or jungles, especially up in trees. Now I wonder how we live in such a polluted world suffocating from our unsustainable and irresponsible use of nonrenewable resources.
Humans have the power to help or hurt the environment and it's unfortunate that is it often the latter. No matter what we do at our current population— build houses, grow food, make renewable energy power plants, etc.: all have an adverse impact on the environment in some way. Just like the plant and room scenario, it is important to get a healthy balance that is mutually beneficial for everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteHey Carolin, I think you bring up a really interesting point on the self deception that has become so prevalent in today's society. What we want to believe or expect to be true has inordinate power on how we actually perceive and assess different people, concepts, and objects. This often happens to me when I participate in arguments or debates somewhat like what you had over your plant. Depending on the specific point I want to make, I may completely contradict an earlier statement that I made and spin the topic in a different way that makes me win the argument. It is extremely hard to remain completely objective and reasonable at all times, and consequently, there is also power in recognizing what the other person is trying to accomplish in order to find these faults in someone else's argument.
ReplyDeleteHello Carolin. After killing your succulent, I am not sure if purchasing another plant was the best idea, let alone choosing one that is a safety hazard. Nevertheless, plants are indeed powerful. Like you mentioned, plants can kill, yet they also bring so much life and energy. You bring thoughtful insight to such dangers, and I never thought about this concept of power as something deceiving.
ReplyDeleteHey Carolin! Your points are so interesting, and I feel like every parent has a belief that just is not scientifically-true, but has dictated various decisions in their life. For my parents, although I cannot think of one on the top of my head, they have some superstitions. Your plant story is so interesting, and the fact that your dad thought this despite not having any prior evidence is not uncommon to see from immigrant parents. The power of unsupported thoughts honestly is so unknown until it is proven false, like you just did.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolin, I also really love plants and gardening but hardly have any time for it now. My parents always said that parents would bring more oxygen into the house, so they encouraged me to either have plants or spend time outside with plants. I didn’t realize that the carbon dioxide that plants generate was really a concern, especially since, as you mention, there are plenty of other pollutants that contribute much more to the rising CO2 levels. Your blog on the potential dangers of plants reminded me of a play with a human-eating venus flytrap named Audrey.
ReplyDelete