Ecological Rooftops
Brenneisen, S. (2006, December). Space for Urban Wildlife: Designing Green Roofs as Habitats in Switzerland. Urban Habitats, Retrieved from http://www.urbanhabitats.org/
Stephan Brenneisen’s research focusing on biodiversity of green roofs has led to a change in the construction law in Basel, Switzerland. Green roofs are required on buildings with flat roofs and help is available to create different plant and animal habitats on green roofs. Studies done in Zurich, Switzerland have shown that natural soils can lead to a higher biodiversity through their sustainability for locally and regionally endangered species. For plant and animal species mobile enough to reach the roofs, extensive green roofs can provide a suitable habitat for them to live in. Green roofs can supply beneficial habitat functions such as a nesting location as well.
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Chao, J. (2014, January 21). White, Green or Black Roofs? Berkeley Lab Report Compares Economic Payoffs. Berkely Lab, Retrieved from http://newscenter.lbl.gov/
Julie Chao uses research compiled from Julian Sproul, Benjamin Mandel, Arthur Rosenfeld, and Man Pun Wan to compare Green, White, and Black Flat roofs. Rooftop gardens provide storm water management, help cool roofs’ surfaces, and help cities that struggle with sewage overflow. Both white and green roofs both cool the building they are on as well as cooling the air in the city. Black roofs can pose a major health risk in cities with high temperatures in the summer. Julie Chao uses Arthur Rosenfeld’s research to show that both white roofs and green roofs can be used as an effective way to reduce energy costs and to address global warming.
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Green, J. (2013, April 2). New Research: Parks Alleviate Brain Fatigue. The Dirt , Retrieved from http://dirt.asla.org
Jared Green uses research from Gretchen Reynolds, Dr. Michael Posner, and Dr. Marc Berman, to show that living near green space in an urban environment can lower levels of Cortisol (a stress hormone) in their saliva. A study from Scotland shows that “brain fatigue” can be helped by walking a half-mile through a park. Green rooftops can be maintained just like a park to help alleviate brain fatigue and stress. Jared Green shows that having green space in cities is not only beneficial to the environment, but is also very important and beneficial to human health.
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Using the research from Baskaran, Kuhn, Adriaens, Clark, and Talbot, EPA has determined that although green roofs cost around $129,000 more than a conventional roof, over a lifetime they can save over $200,000. They can reduce heat islands in urban areas. Conventional roofs can be up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit warmer. EPA talks about how green roofs can reduce energy use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve human health and comfort, and improve storm water management and water quality.
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Klinkenborg, V. (2009, May). Up on the Roof. National Geographic, (Ice Baby), Retrieved from www.nationalgeographic.com/
The author, Verlyn Klinkenborg, uses data from Stephan Brenneisen, a swiss scientist studying biodiversity on green rooftops, and from Maureen Connelly, a researcher of green roofs at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, to expand upon how green roofs benefit humans living in urban areas. Although the cost of having a green roof is more than a conventional roof, it is cheaper in the long run due to its energy saving ability. Verlyn Klinkenborg finds that, overall, exposure to green rooftops makes people feel happier based on their small contribution to their environmental footprint as well as working as insulation to help lower the heating and cooling costs of a building by 20%.
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