Green Roofs

Green roofs help take the heat off urban environments
By CRAIG ROTHSTEIN

Columbia News Service

NEW YORK — On a mild April afternoon, the sun baked a Bronx, N.Y., rooftop to the tune of over 104 degrees. Just yards away, another rooftop also sat beneath the sun, but only measured about 70 degrees.

The difference? The cooler roof was a green roof, 5,600 square feet of shrubby plants called sedum. And the temperature difference between the two roofs is just one type of data climatologist Stuart Gaffin is gathering in an effort to convince politicians and developers that green roofs are critical to the future of cities.

Gaffin believes his research will offer convincing proof to policy makers that green roofs could avert summer power outages from strained electrical grids, as well as other problems, by lowering air conditioning needs of buildings, and cooling and filtering the local air. The plants absorb carbon dioxide, the villainous greenhouse gas. They filter pollution from the air, which helps lower air temperatures around the building. And green roofs act as insulation, lowering heating and cooling costs for buildings during the winter and summer months, experts said. (Read the full article here...)

Click here for more info on the green roof pictured above