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Really? Why would you do this? A living roof can save energy, greenhouse gas emissions and replaces some of the original vegetation displaced by the building under the roof. These are some of the benefits:
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are often cited as the earliest green roof, about 500BC. But this history may go much further back than that. It is hard to believe that our early ancestors, who first lived in caves, did not know of the use of living grass sods and other plants on their roofs. Indeed the medieval Scandinavians used sod roofs to improve insulation and the Vikings in Newfoundland used them. And here, in the Faroer Islands you can still see the continued expression of that influence. They knew that green roofs meant energy efficient homes to them, though these terms only became familiar to us in the 20th century. In the 1960's Germany experienced a great interest in green roofs and today about 10% of German roofs are "green." There is a growing Europe-wide application of vegetated roofs and Americans have also seen the light. In fact a number of American cities have regulations promoting living roofs. Are they here to stay? Well, an eco-roof was put Rockefeller Center in New York City in the 1930's. Still flourishing today after nearly seventy years of service. They are appearing everywhere. Green roof research is conducted in universities and research centers in Germany, USA, UK, and Canada. The pressures of effects of global warming, energy shortages and climate change mean that vegetated roofs will bloom. Energy Efficient Homes – Can I Have One Too? Straw Bale Construction - Eminently Sensible! Emissions Trading - What Is It? All The Basics On Solar Power That You Need— How Does Solar Energy Work? |