Green Roof Drought 2011 New York Times

Then we imagined what the city could be like if all of its roof space was green.

Green roof drought 2011 new york times.

These assemblies offer numerous potential benefits from absorbing rainwater runoff and providing insulation to mitigating the urban heat island effect and providing greenspace. More recently the new york city council passed a. The seventh floor rooftop of the 1930s building has been transformed from a tar and stone covered no man s land into a 2 5 acre parklike recreational space for. Inspired by a summer of relentless heat and drought designers in austin tex are using native prairie grass to create landscapes that thrive in even the worst of conditions.

The new york times analysis of the palmer index which tracks rates of drought going back 100 years found that the 10 year average for drought has been increasing for most of the last 20 years. As its name suggests a vegetated or green roof includes shallow rooted plant material that can withstand extreme climatic conditions atop buildings. The upside of landscaping your roof is well documented. According to a new york study green surfaces would substantially reduce the city s heat island effects.

The severe drought across texas has hit the oil and gas city of midland especially hard as i reported in friday s new york times and texas tribune since oct. Green roofs not only retain rainwater decreasing sewer discharge but they also help reduce air pollution. The same year san francisco began requiring that 15 to 30 percent of roof space on new buildings incorporate solar panels green roofs or both. 1 midland has received only 0 13 inches of rainfall making it most likely the driest six and a half month period in recorded history said david hennig a midland based meteorologist with the national weather service.

One of the largest green roofs in new york city was unveiled wednesday by the united states postal service at its morgan processing and distribution center on ninth avenue between 29th and 30th streets. The major obstacle to the spread of green roofs is the initial cost which can be anywhere from 15 to 35 per square foot some two to three times the cost of a non green roof. In california in 2014 alone the cost of the drought was 2 2 billion with 17 000 agricultural jobs lost. The new york times.