Green Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio, in the American heartland, is aiming to become a leader in both commercial and residential green roofs.

In an Associate Press story, found on CBS News,

"The City Council on Wednesday became the first in Ohio with a plan to channel grants and loans to residents and businesses to replace tar and shingles with vegetation."

The City Council has recognized the benefits of green roofs, namely storm water runoff management, reduced fine particulate matter air pollution, as well as reducing the urban heat island effect.

The article points out the "how" of how to manage the increased costs of green roofs. Specifically,

"About $5 million a year in below-market-rate loans through the U.S. EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund will be available starting in 2009 for green roof projects, city officials estimate, along with an undetermined amount of grant money from other EPA funds."

Perhaps this project will be commercial focus on the benefits of green roofs and encourage interest. The key to green roof acceptability is commercial viability. Let's hope that increased visibility and proper marketing can drive demand and bring down prices.

Green Roof on Bus Shelters

In an article from triplepundit, the California Academy of Science is advertising its opening by putting green roofs on a number of bus shelters in the San Francisco area.

This is same museum that I wrote about in July, in a post titled, "California Academy of Science's 2.5 Acre Green Roof,"which discusses the museum and the enormous green roof.

What the triplepundit article doesn't mention is that this marketing scheme is actually a very good thing, for several reasons. First and foremost, air pollution from large diesel vehicles is greatest during acceleration. When the buses pull away from the shelter, those giant black clouds of soot and sulfur dioxide can be mitigated (at least a little) by the shelter green roof. Secondly, the green roof will help keep the shelter about 10% cooler. Finally, the green roof will help reduce runoff, while also capturing the fine particulate matter in the rain as it falls.

Perhaps green roofs on bus shelters is a idea who's time has come. If placed on every shelter in a major metropolitan area, the clean air benefits would likely exceed the cost of acquisition and installation, as well as providing a little bit of green in the urban jungle.

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.

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.