natural filtration

i've been spending the morning catching up on science news, listening to science friday podcasts about wind energy and perusing nytimes' dot earth and green inc. blogs. i came across this article about scientists re-discovering the cleansing properties of moss. a company called creative water solutions now offers sphagnum moss to help filter pool water and reduce chlorine-usage. founder dr. david knighton states: "'we just rediscovered what’s been used for centuries,' he said. 'northern minnesota is known for its clean clear lakes, and that’s one of the reasons.' dr. knighton realized he was on to something, he added, when he dropped some moss into his home spa and within a few days the water was crystal clear."

creative water solutions is researching larger-scale application of moss-filtration and has so far had success: "st. paul’s supervisor of aquatics, lynn waldorf, said the two-month trial had already cut the city’s chemical and pool maintenance bills. 'we weren’t using as many chemicals, we weren’t having to clean the pool as much, and the water quality was gorgeous,'"

here's an image of the moss which currently grows across the northern us and southern canada.