On the roof it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
by Gerry Goffin and Carole King

“Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.”
George Carlin

Just in case George Carlin is right and our souls are destined for the roof, we might as well make them as beautiful and eco-friendly as possible.

Roofs are experiencing a renaissance: green roofing, cool roofing, solar roofing, oh my! Toto we're not in Kansas anymore!

In the battle for the environment, to help mitigate the effects of global warming and heat island effect in cities; to generate solar power and to help with water management, people are now looking to their roofs.

Here are just a few of the wonderful innovations that are currently available:

1. Cool Roofs: Cool roofs are light in color and reflect heat and sunlight back into space. In this way they help to reduce Gobal warming. Installing Cool roof technology reduces household cooling costs in summer and is a marvelous one time Carbon offset. According to the EPA and Department of Energy, based on 2006 data from more than 150 ENERGY STAR partners, cool roof installations are on the rise. Some southern US states--Georgia and Florida--which experience sweltering summers, provide incentives to households and businesses for installing cool white roofs. California has enacted statewide mandates requiring cool roof mitigation.
2. Solar roofs: Solar roofing is becoming more beautiful, innovative and efficient. Solar energy is a tried and true way to cut down on production of greenhouse gasses. Building integrated photovoltaics (BVIP) components are revolutionizing the Solar roofing industry and replacing the need for bulky rooftop solar panels.
3. Green Roofs: Green roofs are a wonderful way to slow the effects of Climate change. They provide insulation to help cut down on heating and cooling costs and they have the added benefit of helping to control storm water runoff, crucial in urban areas. Green roof technology can be a sleek, beautiful and productive way to green any building.

Greening your roof may be one of the most important home renovations that you can effect to help save the planet, so plan it well!

(Photo credit:greenforall.org on flickr)

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.  Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself."
William Blake, 1799

"God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, "Ah!"
Joseph Campbell

Finally, people are having out of the ordinary, incredibly inspired and unusual, ah-ha moments when gazing at trees. Trees may seem kinda dull and we take them for granted because they make scrubbing the air and conserving the soil look so easy but the truth is: phloem, xylem, heartwood, root, branch and leaf, trees are very alive and always busy! Even after they die, trees are still teeming with life, as they become host and home for myriad species of parasites, birds, insects and small furry animals. So let's give it up for the trees!

In an inspired move scientists have started basing clean-energy innovations on nature's own carbon scrubbers. Columbia University scientist Klaus Lackner has invented a plastic tree able to capture 1,000 times more carbon dioxide than actual trees.

Ironically one synthetic tree will cost about as much as an air polluting car to manufacture. These trees will achieve carbon capture from the atmosphere without most of the things a living plant requires. The trapped gas that they collect, could then be used to create fuel for jet engines and cars, says Lackner.

It seems that trees have also inspired a generation of "Solar Trees" in the form of streetlights which designer Ross Lovegrove said he created as a celebration of “design, nature, and art” that will bring sustainability and a natural feel to city streets. So far, these solar trees have sprouted up in Vienna, Paris, and Frankfurt.

These manufactured trees may capture a lot of carbon and solar energy but they are not likely to provide as much in the way of beauty as real trees. We will have to leave that to Mother Nature. Might I also suggest a low car diet and planting more real trees!

(Photo credit:ms.lume on flickr)

Solar roofing no longer requires trading beauty for energy efficiency. Companies like SRS energy in partnership with US Tile, have designed solar roofing tiles that mimic the shapes of their clay counterparts--creating solar roofing that can be integrated artistically and seamlessly with conventional tiling to effect a beautiful, energy producing roof.

Another company that is innovating in integrating solar seamlessly is Custom-Bilt Metals, with the development of a two-in-one, solar building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing product in which traditional standing seam metal roofing is integrated with thin film solar technology manufactured by UNI-SOLAR for Custom-Bilt Metals.

Now builders can go solar right from the get go, instead of installing solar panels as an aftermarket add on. Harnessing solar power as an integral part of the architecture of both business and community is the goal of these groundbreaking entrepreneurs. 

(Photo credit:SRS energy)

Abu Dhabi has abundant sunlight AND oil. The oil won't always be there but the sunshine will—and that might explain the enthusiasm the with which the government and people of Abu Dhabi have embraced solar power. Last week they hosted the World Future Energy Summit. Tom Young from BusinessGreen was there and brought back a short list of the top four world changing solar alternatives.

• Concentrated photovoltaic (PV) uses mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays on PV cells. Supposed to be long lasting and ideal for the direct light and high temperatures of the desert. But, it's not well suited for areas with a lot of cloud cover. Manufacturer hopes to achieve grid parity, the point where they can compete on costs with grid electricity, in or around 2012.
• Solar thermal technologies use a series of panels to focus solar energy to boil water and drivesteam turbines. The high temperatures achieved are used to melt salt so there's a heat source overnight when the sun doesn't shine. That's called passive solar thermal energy. Costs? This is high end, heavy industry solar, and it isn't cheap.

Continue reading Solar electric crib notes ›

(Photo credit:Jeremy Levine Design, flickr)

I'm sorry to bring this up. I'm not really opposed to progress. Nor do I want to slow the shift from dirty twen-cen energy sources like coal and oil to leaner, greener, cleaner alternatives. But solar power has a pollution problem that needs to be solved, and we need to solve it now before it turns into a clean-up problem!

On January 14 the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition reported on the environmental hazards of making solar panels and the toxic waste mess we'll face downstream when it's time to dispose of them. The report (it's a pdf file) lists all kinds of toxic chemicals that manufacturers use to make PhotoVoltaic (PV) panels, from gallium arsenide to silicon tetrachloride to sulfur hexafluoride. You wouldn't want to sprinkle any of these on your kids' breakfast cereal.

Most of these pollutants are common to microchip manufacturing, too. The Toxics Coalition has recommendations for the PV solar industry that will help avoid the costs of a toxic clean-up mess like the microchip companies faced back in the day.

Continue reading Solar power, solar panels, solar poison ›

(Photo credit:specialkrb, Flickr)

"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

America finally installed the nation’s first green President.

Environmentalists may now breathe a sigh of relief, while the more reluctantly green have found inspiration and motivation, a carbon-neutral fire lit under our collective butts to change our wasteful, climate-altering ways.

In his address to the world, the 44th U.S. President said of his promises and the environment: "We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

But is this green change we can believe in? Will we really see effort and enthusiasm there at the very top?

If the long weekend of inauguration festivities tells us anything, the answer is "yes." No fewer than four fancy schmancy balls had environmental themes. All food was local, all scraps composted, bikes valet parked and restrooms paper towel-free (washers could choose between hand dryers or their pant legs). 

Inauguration organizers banned caterers from using Styrofoam and plastics. Events in the House of Representatives served up organic eats in compostable containers and dished them out on biodegradable plates. Attendees were told to arrive via public transportation, on foot or by bike, though we're pretty sure Oprah showed up in a limo.

This greened up inaugural welcome mat (made from recycled fibers, of course) is just the start. Whether Obama’s policies—written and carried out by his “green team”—will bring change to the country’s stalled environmental movement, remains to be seen.

Continue reading Greening of the White House ›

(Photo credit:ABC.net)

China going green? Maybe so, or at least heading in that direction—two Chinese companies have announced plans to build a gigantic solar power plant in the northwest part of the country, a solar farm that could be the largest in the world. It's a joint project between China Technology Development Group Corp and Qinghai New Energy Group, and it combines two solar technologies: thin-film and traditional silicon-based technologies. They plan to begin building a 30 megawatt solar power station in China's Qaidam Basin this year, with plans to ultimately produce a gigawatt of power.

A gigawatt? Hold on a sec—I need to do some calculations. Okay, got it. That's enough electricity to light up San Francisco. Meh. Frankly, I thought a billion watts would be more than that. I was kind of excited for China—and the rest of the world—but now I'm sort of disappointed. Can't we do better?

The largest photovoltaic project announced before this (and not even built yet? where are we on this solar stuff, anyway?) is the 550 megawatt deal between thin-film company OptiSolar and California utility PG&E Corp.

Interestingly, though, upon news of the anouncement of the Qaidam Basin project, solar stocks shot upward, so maybe this will lead to something interesting for all of us and not just a bunch of sun-in-the-sky speculation. I'm ready for a renewable, sustainable energy source, aren't you?

(Photo credit:SXC)

Have you ever seen one of those "Life in the Future" filmstrips from the 1950s and 60s? You know the ones—where people have funky futuristic clothes and live in ultra-white tree house kind of buildings?

Well, we haven't yet reached the Jetson-like clothing but the ultra-white tree houses are coming.

Milano Santa Monica, a 2000 unit flowering-terrace high-rise complex planned for 2013 just outside of Milan, Italy could easily be a part of the city of the future exhibit from several decades past (designed by Polis Engineering, Studio Nicoletti, and the Marzorati Architecture Studio)

The project will include schools, restaurants and shops, making the development a mini-city in itself instead of something built apart and non-integrated with its surroundings.

Some of the eco-friendly features include:

• Solar-powered water heating
• Electricity producing Photovoltaic panels
• Natural cooling through plantings on sunny walls

The whole complex will sit inside a 2 million square meter park, creating a true Forest City.

The question is, however, who will live there? Has green culture gone hip enough to attract enough people who want to live in such an unusual community? History suggests that while people like to talk about the innovative and the different, when it comes down to action, people usually stick with the comfortable and the known.

I suppose it will all depend on the price. If they get the mix of cool factor with affordability, then this might just succeed and offer a blueprint for similar communities around the world.

(Photo credit:Milano Santa Monica)

Holy solar panels! In an effort to reduce energy usage 20% by 2020 (the EU's guidelines), the Vatican is going solar.

Nervi Hall (also called Paul VI Auditorium) is one of the newest Vatican buildings (1971) and the destination for the photovoltaic panels, generously donated by SolarWorld. The panels apparently won't create an eyesore, due to the building's wavy roof design. It's unclear how Pope Benedict XVI will continue the renewable-energy renovation with all the centuries-old structures, but he is clearly committed to green efforts, calling the need to address climate change a "moral obligation". 

Pope Benedict's predecessor was also a green supporter. In fact, back in 2002, Frank Asbeck (CEO of SolarWorld) asked Pope John Paul II to pray to keep their solar panels from being stolen. Whether or not that prayer was ever uttered, SolarWorld is thriving. They recently offered to buy GM's Opel division, with the intention of turning it into Europe's first green automotive company. SolarWorld had a hand in creating a solar sports car, so they're not without automotive experience, but they would rely on Opel employees to help them develop electric and hybrid drives.

What's next, a hybrid popemobile?

(Photo Credit: eBaum's World)

(Photo credit:Wikipedia)