Green Roofs Growing over American Cities

Rooftop Urban Farms are Protecting Buildings, Lowering Energy Costs and Diverting Rainwater Runoff

(CBS)  Annie Novak has farmed in nine different countries, but never on a farm that required climbing on a flight of stairs.

Her 6,000-square-foot organic farm is on the roof of a warehouse in Brooklyn.

"We're already growing our fall squashes, and we're saying goodbye to our summer fruits," Novak said.

Started in April, it is the nation's first commercial working farm built on a green roof. The owners grow and sell more than 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables to local restaurants and residents.

But besides the food, green roofs offer big environmental benefits, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan. The soil on this roof can absorb up to two inches of rain, preventing rainwater from picking up pollutants on the ground before it enters storm drains.

"When it goes out the drain, it hits a very antiquated sewage system that when it's overtaxed just pumps everything out into the ocean," Novak said.

Lisa Goode, who designed this farm and builds green roofs for homes and office buildings, says they reduce utility bills.

"This basically acts as an air conditioner for the heat that rises through a building," Goode said.

The soil and plants also save owners money by extending the life of roofs.

"You're protecting your roof, because you're removing it from UV rays and ice and cold," Goode said.

Green Roofs: Doing it Bigger, Better

While this rooftop farm in New York is exceptional, it is not unique. There are green roofs sprouting up all over the country.

Green roofs on top of both Chicago's city hall and San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences keep the buildings 10 degrees cooler in the summer and that much warmer in winter. A hospital in Green Bay, Wis. and a firehouse in Raleigh, N.C. just installed green roofs. The two-and-a-half acre green roof on the Target Center Arena in Minneapolis will keep a million gallons of storm water from flowing into the Mississippi River every year. And you might be surprised to learn that one of the largest green roofs in America was build "Ford tough" on top of a truck plant in Dearborn, Mich.

Annie Novak hopes her Brooklyn farm doesn't remain the only green roof in the neighborhood for long.

"The more the merrier," Novak said. "We need this in this city."

[J-Breuning]

Decades ago ? at the peaks of starvation - growing food on roof tops was not unusual in dense European cities. People used the entire organic ?waste? including human excrements to grow vegetable, fruits and seeds. Based on these components all produce from rooftops were a serious health time bomb. This health issue was even accelerated by rodents and unwanted insects which were attracted by the food. The food of the roof tops finally ?helped? only a few people in these mostly 3-5 story houses but created big problems in the structure of the buildings.
Based on these problems small community gardens ? on the ground and in front of the cities ? were created. Many of these gardens (Schrebergarten) still exist today and nobody is even thinking of growing food on the roofs anymore. Germany has over 1 billion square feet of green roofs which are mainly built for stormwater run-off reduction and in combination with photovoltaic on the same roof to generate energy (zero emission houses). A typical weight of these living machines is max. 25 lb/sft.

Producing food on roof tops in dense cities today is related to many health issues and economical issues. In general the technology (i.e. engineered soils) has very much improved but at the same time environmental and economic conditions in cities has also dramatically changed. To name a few:
Especially in American cities the air quality and Ozone levels are far beyond the requirements in Europe. Plants have to breathe ? actually some grow better because some pollutants act like fertilizer but also accumulate unhealthy elements at the same time. Rooftop vegetable garden require more (mineral) fertilizer and at the same time more fertilizer is washed in to the roof drains/rivers. Wind conditions on roof tops are too high for some fruits and wind erosion creates serious problems when the field is harvested.
Creating a vegetable garden on the roof requires higher structural cost and much higher protective costs for the water proofing and safety of the roof ?field workers?. Only hard manual labor can do the work ? any roof is too small for tractors. Roof environments are very extreme and there won?t be any quality consistency of the crops.
Having a field on the ground saves enough money to cover multiply building with an combination of extensive green roofs and PV elements or you create a green area for recreational use which has a higher value for the population in dense cities than some vegetables for very few people.
That?s what people do in Europe, Asia and Japan ? not saying in the rest of the world.

However everybody can do what they think is best and vegetable gardening on roofs can be nice hobby. I am not eating it.
jbi

[sjc_1]

I do not know why you are getting so angry and using ugly words, the right wing DID ridicule the idea and that is a matter of record, it occurred just a few months ago. It is important because those right wingers are in Congress and can block any legislation that might do some good.

You should get some help with your anger problem, you seem to want to pick a fight any way you can. That is NOT constructive but destructive. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

[curse914]

He is upset that his Party is on the wrong side of just about every issue since it represents paper entities (corporations) and not living beings.

[Ichabod09]

No, this multiple ID poster has another monkey on it's back that tries to get relief via posting the same topics over and over. Don't ya cupcake.

[sjc_1]

"painting our roof a lighter (color)"

The head of the Department of Energy recommended this and was ridiculed by the right wing. It is a great cost effective idea to paint roofs light colors, especially in the southwest.

[alphaa10000]

nonewsday said, "Why is it that A-holes like you can't say anything without being political. If you are this ignorant why open your mouth and tell the whole world..."
---

And why can't GOP bozos--as you clearly are-- realize you do exactly what you claimed another poster did-- inject flaming political rhetoric?

With you, recognizing hypocrisy begins at home.

In point of fact, you GOP bozos opened the flame war by attacking a perfectly sensible proposal-- one that rational minds easily could endorse. Lighter colors reflect energy, do not absorb it, which adds up to energy and money saved.

Likewise, the rabid right-wing fringe ridiculed the idea of keeping tires fully inflated to save gas-- which also yields savings in energy and money. A point many of them still do not understand.

Apparently, the rabid, right-wing fringe ask of any discourse, only the question, "What does this have to do with attacking our enemies?"

Paint your roof white.

[Dan_DHRT]

We put a solar air heater on the south wall last of our home fall. It is soo gosh darm easier and less complicated and much less costly than solar PV panels.

Here's were we describe these great environmentally friendly products which generate heat in the day while consuming no natural gas, home heating oil or electricity to heat our home (except for a litle bit for the fan to take the cooler air from inside the home and push out the sun heated air back into our home.

http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2009/09/21/solar-air-heating-product-and-installation-summary/

I hope this helps give some ideas.
Dan

[SHEETPAN]

I think it's a great idea. Why not make use of all that otherwise wasted space. As to the weight issue. Of course that has to be a consideration, but I'm sure it does not require rocket science engineering to reinforce a roof. And the environmental impact on rainwater and sewage is an outstanding benefit. This is what we are all about as nation; Innovation, creativity, and the opportunity to capitalize on a good idea.

[stuart-johns1]

People in New York and other cities have been doing this for along time. This is nothing new. Boston was doing it years ago....and still does.

[sjc_1]

Growing plants on a roof requires a very strong roof. All the dirt and water weight up in a hurry. I would rather see solar thermal collectors and PV panels up there harvesting renewable energy.

[erasmus111]

by sjc_1 October 3, 2009 7:19 PM EDT
Growing plants on a roof requires a very strong roof. All the dirt and water weight up in a hurry.


Not to mention that in the winter, all the snow on top of that.

What do they put on top of the roof before the dirt and plants go down to keep it from rotting?

[alphaa10000]

Roofs are designed for certain static loads (ice, snow, rain), and a layer of productive earth does not outstress the typical design envelope.

In fact, good engineering practice designs-in a margin of redundant capacity. This applies to not only highways and bridges, but buildings, as well.

Earth, itself, is a good deal less massive than steel or concrete.

[John_Merritt]

That is great news. Speaking of ice and cold, how do they protect the plants from the winter elements? I believe anything we can do to become self sustaining, will create widescale effect worldwide. I believe it is imperative that we can create systems that will capture rain water so the pollutants of this earth can stay in the ground and decay and not be part of our water supplies and the food chain. Good job guys.

You can talk cap and trade all you want, but it is the remedial grassroots movements that will alleviate alot of the strain on our ecosystem. It is a process, it will take time, but we need to work smart and cost effectively on every front. We need to integrate our technologies and start programs in the poorest nations so they have access to the utensils of life, namely food and water. That is very cost effective, compassionate and creates the basis for global cooperation and growth. I'm proud of your guys.

The revolution has begun, except now hopefully we can save lives and improve health for everyone. Have a good weekend,

[alphaa10000]

Cap-and-Trade is an intermediate measure to soften the impact of more stringent requirements for energy efficiency.

In effect, Cap-and-Trade fosters acceptance for what people would find harder to do, without the policy. So, how strange that Cap-and-Trade should be seen as anybody's problem.

The point of Cap-and-Trade is to move beyond, to sustainability and efficiency.