photo: urbanists
Green Roofs already have a growing popularity in our country. This is particularly true in highly urbanized areas. Heat Islands are a result of massive amounts of concrete and asphalt that absorb heat from the Sun and change the climate of highly urbanized areas. Green Roofs help alleviate the effect of heat islands by using the suns radiation instead of storing it. Where I propose to have a green roof on campus, is surrounded by large amounts of concrete. The efficiency of the cooling system that provides air conditioning for the Dining Hall would be increased if a Green Roof were built, reducing the solar radiation stored by the building itself.
Longwood University’s newest biomass heating plant was opened on September 8th 2011. As a University, Longwood has been burning wood as heat since the 1980s. The newest fuel system was implemented to stream line the heating process and become more efficient. Richard Bratcher, Longwood’s vice president of Facilities and Real Property, has stated that the purpose of the new biomass burner is to continue in the efforts at Longwood to become more sustainable. To be fair, this biomass burner is much more efficient than an electrically powered heater or burning coal. But there are some negatives to wood burning that would be removed with the construction of a Green Roof.