Just Released! Order “Waking Up to Climate Change” by George Ropes, and receive 25% Discount. Learn More

HOME          CATEGORIES          OUR TAKE

How Green Roofs can Help Improve our World by City Tech Leonardo Perez

The idea of green roofs is to grow a variety of vegetation on rooftops to help the environment and our wallets. Having vegetation on rooftops is a big plus in cities like New York. Since NYC is an ever growing city that means more buildings are being constructed resulting in less space for vegetation growth on the ground. NYC has about 8.06 million people living here and the amount of carbon dioxide that is released every day is astounding. According to New York City Sustainability Office, our buildings are responsible for the overwhelming share of Greenhouse Gases (GHG).  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), Buildings Account for 39% of CO2 emissions in the United States  Green roofs can help contribute to the reduction of CO2 because of plants and soil’s ability to absorb carbon.  A green roof helps with the reduction of air pollution and according to a study it helps reduce these components: 37% sulfur dioxide, 21% of nitrous acid and 0.2kg of dust particles, per square meter, each year.

Green roofs can improve the drainage system since vegetation is on roof tops the amount of water that falls is absorbed instead of overflowing in the streets. Green roofs can improve energy efficiency; the vegetation absorbs sun light which reduces the temperature of the roof in the summer and traps heat during the winter.

Comment on this article

ClimateYou moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (New York time) and can only accept comments written in English.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE


More Posts Like This

CITY TECH BLOG

How Solar Energy Minimizes Climate Change

The world is experiencing the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, melting ice caps, and extreme weather events. One of the leading causes of climate change is the emission of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, which is produced by the burning of fossil fuels. However, there is

CITY TECH BLOG

What Is the Impact of Architecture On Climate Change? By City Tech Blogger Daniel Rojas

Climate change has been significantly influenced by architecture. A significant amount of the world’s energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions are caused by buildings. As the global population continues to increase, so does the demand for resources. It is the duty of architects and builders to create buildings