Earth pledges green buildings initiative has as its goal to lower ambient air temperature and prevent pollution in its waterways by creating citywide green roof infrastructure. But first, they have to convince building owners that installation of green rooftops is worth it. To do this, “non-profit foundation, has partnered with an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional research team1 in the ecological infrastructure” (Wilson, 2001).
The green building’s teams task is to quantify energy savings, differences in storm water runoff, and indoor and rooftop temperature changes that result from the installation of green rooftops and translate this information into feasible designs that can be applied easily.
Many people are familiar with rooftop gardens and have seen trees, planters, and patios on the tops of buildings. Green buildings are similar to rooftop gardens in that they use rooftop surfaces for vegetation; however, “green buildings offer more intensive growth and once set up, require little care, depending on what you grow” (James, 2005). There are generally two types of green buildings intensive and extensive. Intensive are generally less expensive to install and maintain than extensive gardens. Their plants are usually low growing and winter hardy, drought resistant, low maintenance, and have require little water.
Intensive gardens typically have 2-3 of soil or a soil mix, while extensive ones range from 3-6 and support the growth of deeper rooting plants and vegetables. Both types can rest on a thin waterproof membrane that covers the roof or be put in box-like structures similar to planter boxes.
The green building can be visualized as follows: “Imagine that a giant glass sphere has encircled Earth. The heat of the sun penetrates through the glass. The Earth absorbs some of the heat, and some of it is radiated back towards space” (Edwards, 2003). The radiated heat reaches the glass sphere and........
