Sustainable Living and Design for existing structures-2

Since I realized that sustainable living is more powerful when its a lifestyle, I did something last week that would make the green community proud. My 10yr old food processor had burnt, and so went to the store to get another one. The new model came with a ton accessories, that would just gather dust on the shelves as we knew from experience that we would never use them. And so I told the store guys to keep all those accessories with them for free and supply it to any one else who may need it. Small measures, Big impact with a clutter free life and less pressure on having to increase storage space!!! The previous post got me seriously thinking about the huge potential of greening my existing home's terraces with home grown produce as I dont really have much ground area available for a substantial produce unless I uprooted the ornamentals, which would be sheer wastage and a shame. Was extremely inspired by the team behind Brooklyn Grange that have used their green roofs to generate and supply large volumes of organic produce to stores and restraunts in their part of town, creating a sustainable community by going local. Loved this residential green roof in Norway. Photo credit Nick Enge on Lotus Live

Green Roofs if installed well without compromising the roof structure, has several benefits, some of them listed below:

-Insulating the interiors from extreme cold or heat. Green roofs can help reduce the "heat island effect"

-Precious extra garden space for city homes and apartments

-Possiblity of eating home grown organic fresh produce even in high density cities

-Green and fresh air community spaces for multihousing units that dont have the luxury of a park on the ground.

-Become habitats for birds and insects. -Reduce storm water volumes on stressed corporation drains. -If done well on a sloping roof or on vertical walls, could make a home look nicer. -Green roofs can reduce the surface temperature of a roofing membrane significantly — by up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) on hot sunny days. This buffering can double the life expectancy of the membrane

-Green roofs can provide substantial noise insulation below

-Green roofs cool the surrounding air significantly by respirating the retained water. They can absorb airborne toxins and return oxygen to the air. Some pictures below of lovely succulents that are low maintenance for your green roof. Courtesy Design Sponge. Am sure potullaccas would work wonderfully well on roofs in Bangalore. Am gonna give it a try with the next Green home.

Lovely gallery of some cool green roofs round the world. The Geek Gardener is a great resource for those of you keen on starting a vegetable garden in containers on your roof without having to install waterproofing . The geek gardener lives in Bangalore, India and has loads of info to get you successfully started.

The economics of green roofs continue to shift toward ever more positive long-term financial and resource benefits as airconditioning/heating energy bills are drastically lowered and has been proven that the service life of roof waterproofing layers are substantially extended as the layer is now not directly exposed the ravages of nature. Green roofs have thus become a growing and vital component of our world's striving for sustainability.