'Green roofs' growing more popular (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

Friday, April 28, 2006; Posted: 10:43 a.m. EDT (14:43 GMT)
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The leafy rooftop of the American Society of Landscape Architects building in downtown Washington is a model of the techniques used increasingly to cool temperatures, filter air, and lessen the burden on sewers by absorbing rainwater.
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Green roofs, first championed in Germany, have grown in popularity around the world, and experts predict more growth as the practice sprouts as far away as China. In North America, green roof space grew 70 percent last year.
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Germany, which helped launch the trend beginning in the 1950s, now has 50 square miles (32,000 square acres) of green roof space and adds an additional five square miles (13 square kilometers) per year, estimates Christian Werthmann, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.
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Experts say green roof installation can be as cheap as $9 per square foot, and increased property value, energy cost savings and longer life for the roof can offset the investment.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/04/27/green.roofs.ap/index.html

Ah, simple common sense triumphs again!

[Odin2005]

1. solar panels on the roof makes more sense to me.

[shireen]

2. excellent -- it's a fantastic flood control method for urban areas. n/t

[CottonBear]

3. Green roofs beautify & cool the environment & store storm water.

Green Roofs are not incompatible with solar technology. Europe is way ahead of us on green roofs.

Most rainfalls are small (85% in my area are infiltrated and there is no run off) so the green roof can help to hold, cleanse and store storm water thus helping to prevent massive urban runoff which is polluted.

[AnnieBW]

4. We're Thinking Of Getting Solar Panels

We have a west-facing house that get a LOT of hot afternoon sun. We're seriously thinking of looking into installing solar panels to get that sunlight working for us.