03 May 2009

Up On The Roof ~ Nat Geo on Building Greentops

My favorite monthly magazine, National Geographic, has a nice piece Up On The Roof by Verlyn Klinkenborg with photos by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel all about Green Roofs! Klinkenborg writes...
"...in recent decades, architects, builders, and city planners all across the planet have begun turning to green roofs not for their beauty -- almost an afterthought -- but for their practicality, their ability to mitigate the environmental extremes common on conventional roofs."
She concludes noting...
"Stephan Brenneisen said: "People feel happier in a building where we've given something back to nature." Think of the millions of acres of unnatural rooftops around the globe. And now imagine returning some of that enormous human footprint to nature -- creating green spaces where there was once only asphalt and gravel. If a certain sum of human happiness is the by-product, who's to complain?"
Bottom line: Green roofs are more energy efficient, environmentally robust, ecologically vibrant, and aesthetically beautiful. Let's grow them everywhere!

No comments: