Sunday
18Jan2009
Green Roofs For Greensboro
Sun, January 18, 2009 at 6:00
Or, Never Exceeding Expectations
Everybody has heard of green roofs but how many people give them much thought? When I worked in downtown, Greensboro, North Carolina-- a city with a name it simply doesn't do justice-- I used to look down upon the roofs of our downtown in hopes of seeing a green roof. Sadly, as evidenced by Google Satellite Maps, not one building in downtown Greensboro has a green roof.
The advantages of green roofs abound and disadvantages simply don't exist. If a commercial building has the structural integrity to support a green roof-- and most do-- then adding a green roof will greatly reduce the cost of heating and cooling, last far longer than conventional roofs, increase the value of the building and make the building more attractive from above and below. Green roofs are a form of low impact development and cost about the same as conventional roofs on new buildings. Green roofs also reduce local flooding, runoff into streams and rivers and help clean the air around the buildings where green roofs are installed. Greensboro struggles with its water quality and is regularly cited by the US Environmental Protection Agency as having poor air quality. As a matter of fact: "Green roofs appear to be the most cost-effective solution to control urban air pollution and help manage storm water run-off."
Sadly, Greensboro's status-quo just doesn't get it.
Everybody has heard of green roofs but how many people give them much thought? When I worked in downtown, Greensboro, North Carolina-- a city with a name it simply doesn't do justice-- I used to look down upon the roofs of our downtown in hopes of seeing a green roof. Sadly, as evidenced by Google Satellite Maps, not one building in downtown Greensboro has a green roof.
The advantages of green roofs abound and disadvantages simply don't exist. If a commercial building has the structural integrity to support a green roof-- and most do-- then adding a green roof will greatly reduce the cost of heating and cooling, last far longer than conventional roofs, increase the value of the building and make the building more attractive from above and below. Green roofs are a form of low impact development and cost about the same as conventional roofs on new buildings. Green roofs also reduce local flooding, runoff into streams and rivers and help clean the air around the buildings where green roofs are installed. Greensboro struggles with its water quality and is regularly cited by the US Environmental Protection Agency as having poor air quality. As a matter of fact: "Green roofs appear to be the most cost-effective solution to control urban air pollution and help manage storm water run-off."
Sadly, Greensboro's status-quo just doesn't get it.
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (1)
That is why I started Earth to Sky Roofing in Greensboro, NC. We hope to install our first green roof in downtown greensboro NC this year! See my website at www.earthtoskyroofing.com