- · A Change at the Bird Feeder
· Alternative Fuels
· Bioretention Basin
· Colleges Working to Reduce Energy Consumption
· Ecological Engineering
· Energy Efficiency Goes Beyond Doors and Windows
· Flexi-Pave
· From Wood Chips to Plastic
· Going Green with Lighting
· Green Roofs
· Heating Our Homes
· Indoor Contaminants
· Invasive Plant Species
· Low Emission Asphalt
· Nanocrystals
· New homes built with concern for water conservation
· Picking the Right Tree
· Plastic Versus Paper Bags
· Revitalizing Ontario, NY
· Sackets Harbor
· Safe Drinking Water
· Saving Heritage Trees
· Seaside Goldenrods Found in CNY
· Shrub Willow
· Solar Panels
· Teachers take part in research opportunities
· Using Wood Chips for Energy
· Wood Burning Technology
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Green Roofs
Going Green
Going Green: Green Roofs
If you're looking for a way to keep your home or your business cool in the summer and warmer in the winter you may want to consider a green roof. There are other advantages as well as landscape architect Scott Shannon explains.
"Environmentally, it significantly reduces the amount of storm water runoff. It acts like a giant sponge. Both the lightweight soils, as well as the plant material itself intercept the rainwater and absorb water as quickly as they can. That's part of the natural feature of this type of plant. Being really drought tolerant, being kind of waxy and the type of flesh in the leaves, they're designed by nature to absorb water very quickly and hold onto it for a long time,” said Scott Shannon, Landscape Architect.
During a typical rainstorm, this green roof will absorb as much as 95% of the water. The plants also have to put up with heat and wind and should be low maintenance.
"One is six different species of Sedums which you know as stonecrop, their common name. That's the real fleshy plant with a number of different species that are flowering right now. We also have some Allium or ornamental onions and a final one that's called Talinum, the prairie fame flower which is a Midwestern native that grows in very dry habitats in the Midwestern prairie.,” said Shannon.
It does cost more to build a green roof, perhaps 15-20% more than a conventional roof but it's worth over the long term.
"The biggest reason that anyone, any commercial venture and any institution with a flat roof would want to consider it is the life costs. One of these roofs, because of the protective value of the vegetation can last as much as three times that of a typical membrane type of a roof,” said Shannon.
