Bejiing Worst Smog in a Month - Green Roofs Can Help!

In an article in July 28th, This is London, about air pollution in China, states that despite its best efforts, "The grayish haze was one of the worst seen in Beijing in the past month despite tough traffic restrictions imposed a week ago to help reduce pollution."

Green roofs are known to reduce not only CO2, but also fine particulate matter air pollution. These benefits are especially important given the amount of power generated by coal, lax (by Western standards) industrial emissions standards, as well as the lack of pollution controls on vehicles.

To China's credit they have done the following:

"...include pulling half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles off the roads, closing factories in the city and in a half dozen surrounding provinces, and halting most construction in the capital. Some 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles, such as aging industrial trucks, have been banned since July 1."

Let's hope that the conditions improve so that the 2008 Beijing Olympics can be a successful display of peaceful competition.

Green Roofs Help India

Without a doubt, India is one of the fastest growing economies and populations in the world. However, India suffers many of the same problems as the rest of the developing world, namely, air pollution, a shortage of regular power, as well as storm water management issues.

To help combat these problems and provide a better life for all Indians, green roofs are beginning to appear. In an article found on India Together, the author spells out how the building boom in India mirrors Western, upscale properties. He also mentions that all of the luxury amenities in these buildings consume more and more power. Not to be left behind government buildings are also energy hogs.

This is where green building and green roofs come in. Green roofs will help reduce cooling costs for the new buildings by about 20%. Additionally, less strain will be put on the water system by the effective storm water runoff management that the green roofs supply. Were that not enough, the green roofs will also help filter fine particulate matter air pollution out of the air, making the area more livable.

Green roofs are a cost effective solution to many of India's, and the developing world's problems. As the word spreads that green buildings produce great benefits, hopefully, more countries will have them.

Green Roofs Control Storm Water Runoff

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the benefits of green roofs include reduced utility costs, reduced heat island effect, reduced air pollution, and reduced storm water runoff. In cities close to major bodies of water where storm water runoff is a major concern, green roofs can be used to help mitigate that concern.

In an article in Environmental Health Perspectives, Washington DC was sued to reduce storm water runoff in 2002. As part of the settlement, "...the DC Water and Sewer Authority provided $300,000 for green roof development....Those funds, managed by the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation, seeded a program of incentive grants that encouraged eight builders to choose green roofs over other traditional devices as their primary stormwater control device (stormwater control plans are required for any new construction or redevelopment of more than 5,000 square feet in the District)."

Clearly, the District takes this issue very seriously. Green roofs are becoming more popular in Washington, DC. Hopefully, more federal buildings will look like Chicago's City Hall.

Green Roof Plant Suppliers

What makes a green roof green? Plants, of course! So where do these plants come from and what are some of the choices? I have been looking into this and am going to discuss three suppliers: Green Roof Blocks, Live Roof, and Green Grid.

Green Roof Blocks provides blocks of both planting materials and planting materials with the plants in them. They are convenient because the can be placed directly on the waterproof membrane, thus reducing the time to install the green roof. The offer various kinds of blocks, whether they are needed for flat green roofs, or to create a green roof on an existing sloped roof. The company is in Missouri and sells directly or through Saint Louis Metal Works Company.

Live Roof is a subsidiary of Hortech Inc., located in Springlake, MI. Like Green Roof Blocks, they create self-contained plants and growing medium. Additionally, the plants come fully-grown, thus reducing an installation step and providing all of the green roof benefits once installed. They also have a fairly robust site, providing a good Q&A section.

Green Grid is a collaboration of Weston Solutions and ABC Supply. As both Green Roof Blocks and Live Roof were modular systems, Green Grid is more of a full service supplier of plants, growing media, and several other products. The variety would appeal to commercial customers, particularly those looking for intensive and complex designs. The most unique feature of their site is the live temperature feed.

"For over 3 years, GreenGrid® has been collecting temperature data .... Data have been collected for the temperatures of black roof membranes, white roof membranes, underneath the 4-inch and 8-inch depth modules (between the modules and the membrane beneath them), ambient conditions, as well as for other permutations and products. The data are fed live to our Internet site, which is updated every hour..."

While this has not been an exhaustive look at vegetation suppliers, I think it served to demonstrate that there is variety in the marketplace. Future posts will highlight other types of green roof suppliers, such as membranes as well as architects and designers.

LEED With Green Roofs

Green roofs help builders and buildings get Platinum LEED certification. The picture, above, is the Northern Arizona University Applied Research and Development building, located in Flagstaff, AZ.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is trademarked by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC defines LEED as:

LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

The certification and rating system is done by consensus of the various LEED committees.

Relative to building, a flat green roof helps to meet LEED standards for energy consumption, carbon footprint reduction, and storm water runoff reductions. Additionally, flat green roofs reduce fine particulate matter air pollution. While LEED recognizes the building as a system, a flat green roof is a great addition to improve both the building and its certification.

George Washington University Gets a Green Roof

Green roofs can improve air pollution, reduce fine particulate matter, and reduce storm water runoff. Additionally, flat green roofs reduce heating and cooling cost, thus reducing energy consumption.

George Washington University's School of Business is putting a flat green roof at the Elliott School of International Affairs City View Room Terrace this summer (2008). This news was reported in the GWSB newsletter.

GWSB M.B.A. student Brett Kaplan, helped secure funding for GW’s first-ever campus flat green roof. "This project is important to GW because it a major step forward in terms of enhancing the school’s sustainability profile. Aside from the environmental benefits, the green roof is designed to stand as a visual symbol of GW’s commitment to sustainability. The roof is meant to be a stepping stone for other green campus initiatives. If students, for instance, see that it’s possible to get this particular initiative passed, they will feel like their own campus greening ideas can also be brought to life, Kaplan said."

Not only is the building a commitment to sustainability, but it also will be used for educational purposes. The University is also going to use it as a show piece demonstrate its commitment to green technology and sustainability.

The 2,000 square foot roof is estimated to cost $25,000, 70% of which will be provided by the university. Grants and support from the student environmental association will provide the other 30%.

Chicago Museum Showcases Green Roof Home

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry are holding an exhibit of a "green" home, complete with a flat green roof! The exhibit runs through January 04, 2009 and highlights not just the green roof, but photovalic film for solar electricity, and sustainable landscaping, just to name a few items.

The home is 2500 square feet, and three stories high. It was built by Michelle Kaufmann Designs of Oakland, California, and builder, All American Homes of Decatur, Indiana.

These types of exhibits will hopefully demonstrate to the viewing public the viability of flat green roofs not just for commercial structures, but also for homes.