Radical Avenue

Those heavenly homes overlooking the Aegean Sea on the island of Santorini, Greece make amateur photography easy. To get a good picture, just point and click. Local architects chose the correct shade for staying cool in the blazing summer sun. Dark colors capture heat. Light colors reflect heat.

Amazingly, US Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu created a controversy recently by proposing more white surfaces in hot climate zones around the world. The ancient Greeks figured this out in the days of Hera and Zeus. Our distant ancestors may not have considered how white surfaces mitigate the effects of global warming, but climate change wasn’t much of an issue back then.

Many large urban areas like Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona have predominantly dark colored roofs, roads and parking lots. These clustered dark surfaces produce urban heat islands which can increase air temperatures by 5-10%. A ninety degree day in the countryside is over one hundred degrees in the city.

Heat islands trap carbon dioxide and other pollutants which contribute to global warming. And urban homes and businesses combat the oppressive heat by cranking up their energy draining air conditioners.

Some state and local governments have seen the light. California building standards now require light colors on flat roofs of new buildings. The city of Phoenix, Arizona invested a portion of its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in white paint for the roof of a public housing complex.

Dr. Chu deserves recognition for championing white surfaces. Communities save energy and protect the environment for the price of new paint.

New sidewalks haven’t changed much over the past fifty years or so in the US. Our foot paths always look drab and dreary, like the colors of a rainy day. That’s where Red Shovel Glass Co. comes in. Red Shovel Glass helps the citizens of San Francisco, California recycle broken glass and pottery into landscaping materials.

Municipal governments hire organizations to collect recycled products anyway. By picking out glass or terra cotta and grinding off the rough edges, Red Shovel Glass creates substances that resemble multi-colored sandstones. Landscaping companies then mix the recycled materials in with concrete to liven up patios and walkways. Sculptors use the reflective glass in public art displays. And homeowners can throw a bag of colored stones into a fish pond or rock garden.

The San Francisco recycling program and others like it decrease the cost of government by effectively utilizing currently available resources, trash in this case, to produce income. Everyone benefits from this type of public investment.

Hospitals have undergone a radical makeover for the 21st century. Mausoleum like interiors and fluorescent bulbs are out. Indoor foliage and skylights are in. Patients can feel the difference.

Alabama
The new Children’s hospital in Birmingham will be the first care facility in Alabama to receive a LEED certification, awarded by the U.S. Green Buildings Council. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

The hospital is designed to maximize the use of natural light. A green roof will provide insulation and capture storm water runoff. Construction waste will be recycled. All of these innovations save money on maintenance costs while improving health care for kids in the state.

Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, public health officials hope to promote healing by enhancing hospital air quality. The use of non toxic building materials, safe cleaning products and fresh air ventilation systems all help.

Environmentally friendly hospitals are a boon to local communities. These buildings use less energy and release fewer pollutants into the air and water. Older facilities can’t compete.

The pedestrians of Gardena, California have a little more spring in their step these days, and it has nothing to do with lighter wallets. Gardena’s new rubber sidewalks are making the town more foot friendly.

City trees prefer rubber sidewalks over the more traditional concrete paths because of rubber’s permeability and flexibility. Rainwater passes right through the rubber to the roots below. When those roots grow, the sidewalk won’t buckle and crack the way concrete does. Fewer cracks mean less maintenance.

Tripping and falling over a broken chunk of concrete is embarrassing, painful and can lead to serious injuries. Rubber doesn’t split as easily and is more forgiving when fallen on. Failure to properly maintain concrete walkways can expose municipalities to expensive negligence lawsuits

Giant car tire graveyards present a particularly worrisome environmental hazard in that they can catch fire and literally burn for months. Now private companies are purchasing the old tires, chopping them up and reselling the shredded output as landscaping material.

In Saskatchewan, Canada, the government is collecting over 100,000 used tires for use in resurfacing the highways. Crumb rubber asphalt pavement provides the public with many of the same benefits as rubber sidewalks.

It isn’t difficult to imagine the possibilities for recycled tires. Shredded rubber products make great ground cover for recreational areas. Hard surfaced products covered by rubber will absorb a bump without causing a bruise. Rubber in flooring products helps to alleviate foot pain. Rubber in building materials makes structures more flexible and less vulnerable to collapse under stress.

President Lyndon Johnson presided over a tumultuous period in US history. Protests over the War in Vietnam divided the country. And Johnson’s bull in the china shop personality didn’t exactly endear him to the American people. Mrs. Johnson on the other hand, left behind a legacy of natural beauty that will last for generations.

Lady Bird Johnson spearheaded numerous efforts to create and maintain nature preserves alongside American highways. The former first lady would have admired the trend of recapturing green space in our towns and cities, most noticeably through sod roofs.

City Hall
The city of Chicago has saved about $25,000 in energy costs since installing a 20,000 square foot sod roof on top of City Hall five years ago. The Windy City is also home to a Center for Green Technology, the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE).

Hospitals
The Ronald McDonald House of Austin, Texas recently received the highest level of certification from the United States Green Building Council. It has a sod roof which mitigates the “heat sink” effect and provides a quiet area for outside seating. And the building’s solar panels produce enough electricity for half of the 30 rooms.

Most hospitals use a central air conditioning system which re-circulates the same air throughout the entire structure. This poses problems for a building full of sick people. In the Austin Ronald McDonald House however, each room has its own ventilation system, so indoor air stays fresh.

Universities
Kansas University decided to preserve precious above ground campus real estate by building their new athletic facility into the side of Campanile Hill. The roof of this 80,000 square foot structure blends comfortably in with the surroundings and students can still catch a nap on the grassy hillside.

Remember when picking out a light bulb took ten seconds? You could look the other way and just grab a box off the shelf. Chances are you’d end up with something that worked. Now we have hundreds of makes and models to choose from.

After spending most of my lunch hour in front of a home lighting store display the other day, I finally settled on a lovely little three way compact fluorescent bulb. I was delighted to find that it did indeed fit into my favorite lamp. It’s curly and cool in more ways than one. I figured I had the best that money could buy. Then my friend told me that I should really look into LED lighting. It reminded me that I hadn’t talked about smart lights in a while.

Intelligent Traffic Lights
Researchers in Texas are developing a system which will ease traffic congestion by linking sensors in the road to computer controlled traffic lights. When a wave of traffic approaches a clear intersection, the computer turns the light green. The vehicles all cruise through without stopping unnecessarily. The system saves energy, reduces CO2 emissions and soothes busy motorists.

Road sensors are now also used to continually monitor freeway chokepoints and warn officials of abnormally slow traffic. Transportation authorities can then react immediately to accidents and road hazards. Quicker response times keep delays to a minimum.

Street Light Dimmer Switches
Authorities in Scotland recently installed manual dimmer switches on overhead street lights. They allow operators to dim the lamps when the moon is full. The community saves money because transportation officials now have the flexibility to reduce power consumption by turning down artificial outside lights as conditions warrant.

With municipalities restricting home water usage because of drought conditions, it’s time to start saving every drop of rain that falls from the sky. Back on Grandma and Grandpa’s farm they might still use a cistern in the basement to collect groundwater. It probably comes in handy when the local water tower runs dry.

We now call linking gutter downspouts to stainless steel tanks “rainwater harvesting”. Rainwater crops are primarily collected during the winter months. According to the new tradition, gracious landowners are then expected to share their liquid bounty with grass and vegetable gardens throughout the summer. Early autumn picnics on the lawn kick off a new cycle.

North Carolina already offers tax incentives for rainwater harvesting. Other states and the federal government should consider similar inducements. Since many of us pay a flat rate for water, we have no real financial incentive to install rainwater harvesting equipment.

Rainwater harvesting systems provide communities with the following benefits:
• Reduced runoff means fewer pollutants washing into storm drains, and less local flooding.
• Water captured from the sky is normally cleaner than water piped in from a river or reservoir.
• Municipal water districts save energy by pumping less water out to homes and businesses
• Collecting rainwater isn’t rocket science. Connect a couple of 50 gallon drums with some pipe, direct a gutter downspout into one of them and you’re on your way.
• Rainwater farmers can filter and drink the water if they so choose.
• Apocalyptic Mad Max style future now seems more remote, but still entertaining to consider.

rainwater harvesting, cisterns

It’s back to the future all over again for the environmental movement. Maybe those Bronze Age architects with their homes of straw and sod had the right idea after all. Indeed modern builders have now returned to these old school building materials and are leaving bricks and asphalt behind.

Sod Roofs
Whatever happened to the first person to make this suggestion: Let’s move large sections of our landscape, plants and all, up to the top of our buildings? As it turns out, the plan has its advantages.

• Sod roofs, also known as green roofs, collect and store rainwater, thereby reducing runoff from storms. This helps prevent local flooding, keeps contaminants out of the groundwater and lessens the burden on water treatment facilities.

• Rooftop greeneries trap airborne particulates, counteract air pollution and are fire resistant.

• Dark asphalt roofs act as a heat sink, especially when they dominate a neighborhood. It raises the temperature all around. Green roofs and walls do not reflect energy from the summer sun and instead help cool the air.

• Sod roofs provide excellent insulation and last longer than conventional roofs.

• Birds love the extra garden space. It gives them more places to hide and hunt for food.

• Green roofs are aesthetically pleasing.

Straw Bale Walls
Straw Bale houses can be constructed to look like any other modern suburban home on the outside. But the distinctive thick walls create an old world ambiance inside. Those walls can insulate a home enough to completely eliminate the need for air conditioning, even in 100 degree heat. This, of course, reduces stress on our overtaxed electrical grid and takes greenhouse gas emitting air conditioners offline.

sod roof, green roof, straw bale home, straw bale construction