Encouraging Green Landscaping news
Ms. Haiku
Washington DC Posts: 7,278
There is no such thing as leftover pizza. There is now pizza and later pizza. - anonymous
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
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payback on a greenroof averages these days around 6-7 years ...
When I get into the market of looking for a house to build (you know, in like, never...) this is what I want to go with.
http://www.earthshelteredtech.com
You know,
the first time i saw something "positive" on TV in a LONG time was the other day on The History Channel, they had some show on future technology & construction and builiding.
The episode was specificaly focused on green and sustainable technologies.
They spent a good amount of time on rooftop ecosystems.
There was a fair amount of time spent interviewing employees with McDonough's firm, which i thought was really cool.
They discussed and showed designs for a multibillion dollar plan for an entire CITY in China ... a "green" city, where the farm land would be destroyed to make the whole town, but that the farms would all be commuted to the roofs ... it looked super cool.
All in all, it was probably the best hour of television I've seen in a l-o-n-g time ... I'm just sorry more of that type of programming wasn't on sooner ... and that these types of things really came in to the "mainstream" after my time in education ... in fact, the major reason i have yet to attend four year school is because no college, from '98 when i graduated highschool, until present has really offered a truly intergrated sustainability based design curriculum. My thought is to attend Ecosa some day, but we'll see.
Thanks for the link.
I'd like to see more discussions of green & sustainable concepts here, myself.
Guess we should lead by example.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
You're right...and for the most part, architects get on board quickly with eco-construction....selling the concept to the owners, who are always trying to keep initial costs down, is the hard part.
If the government is serious about the issue, they should consider interest-free loans to cover the intial start up costs, which could be paid back according to the monthly cost savings....if it's saving that much trouble with the storm sewers etc, it would be win-win.
it is ridiculously cool...and oh so true. THAT is the big issue, for many, i think though. that initialy, up-front cost....just too prohibitive for many.
yes! that would be one positive way to encourage such. i know many years ago...and perhaps still in effect...our local utility company had cost incentives for upgrading to more energy-efficient appliances....central a/c......boilers....etc.
like anything else, it NEEDs to be addressed...and yes assistance/incentives for making such an investment.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
i would say the biggest problem is developers and builders ... new construction is the most ideal spot to put in a green roof but they still have the mentality of building these cookie cutter jobbies to maximize profits ...
for sure there should be gov't rebates/tax breaks on all eco-construction or sustainability intiatives ...
There is a system in place in Canada that gives incentives for ugrading the efficiency of older homes....but it is just too big a pain in the ass to go through. I looked into it when replacing my furnace a couple years back...basically, they test the efficiency of your home by "bagging" it, and testing how airtight it is. Then you make your upgrades and they come back and test it again, giving you credits based on how much the efficiency has improved....but it costs money and takes a lot of time for the testing. AND, you need to do thousands of dollars in upgrades before you can get any money back. It should be simplified and based on specific upgrades, not overall efficiency IMO.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
A couple of stumbling blocks are the upfront costs, like everyone stated. this is coupled with the fact that people don't tend to live in one house for a lifetime, so they never realize the savings unless they DO stay in their home. If you're going to get transferred, or move in a few years, it's not cost effective. Builders WOULD build with these things if people would buy them. They also have to have innovations approved by code officials and that's not easy.
A major stumbling block in my town is the building department. I looked into a green roof for a house I bought to fix up down the street from my house.
I'm fighting to get them to even allow a green roof. It's a city row home and they have fire concerns.. haha,,,, like my dirt will burn?
I can get it structurally sound to hold all that weight. (the weight of the water is the issue), but it's something "new" so I have to prove to the engineer that it's functional before I can get a permit from the city, but since I'm the only one in the city even trying this so far, I'm giving it a go.
Then they asked about railings. haha, like I'm gonna fall off my roof when I'm mowing the lawn up there, or harvesting my peppers?
I'm deeply involved new alternatives like green roofs but also photovoltaic solar panels on city roofs. A perfect place to have them. They help generate electricity, but also block the sun from beating down on the roof.
Governments and utilities didn't want to underwrite them or research them for a long time because: haha, you can't put a meter on the sun and charge for it, so why bother.
Also a relatively new heating system that is WAY cool called a Direct Expansion Heat Pump. It's a step above even regular geothermal heat pumps. The refrigerant tubing is directly buried in a 3 inch hole a hundred or more feet deep and uses the earth's 56 degree heat for heating and cooling.
We have never been able to depend on the government or major corporations to mass produce this kind of stuff because it's been such a buy oil/ natural gas/ coal/ propane consumer economy, so it's up to private companies and individuals to do the leg work now.
I have a bunch of great links I'll put up later for some things. I have that "work an earn money" thing I have to do now, though!
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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