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Jun 19, 2007 3:26 pm US/Eastern
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Rooftop Gardens Helping Boston Go Green
by Mish Michaels
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The battle to fight global warming is now going to the highest levels, actually to the top of many buildings. Green roofs are blooming across the region and could improve the environment around us.
Go to the top of top of the Yawkey Building at Mass General hospital, and you wouldn't know you are eight floors above the ground. The rooftop garden is an example of a growing trend in 'going green.'
"It has all kinds of enormous benefits to the building and to the local environment as well as to the planet as a whole," said the architect of the garden, Steve Imrich.
As the sun beats down on a black roof, heat is radiated back to the atmosphere. It's called the "heat island effect." The plants and soil in a rooftop garden act like insulation, keeping the roof much cooler.
"Dark colored roofs get to be very, very hot in the summer time and when you add up all the buildings in the city, it gets to be a very large heat problem for the city and in fact raises the temperatures for cities," explained Imrich.
That's why if you look around Boston, you see more and more green roofs.
Jeff Licht of Plants Across Communities is designing the green roof that is being installed at the newly renovated Children's Museum.
"You can really dramatically reduce the amount of energy that is needed to cool those very same rooms that are below that roof," said Licht.
He is getting help from some young gardeners who are learning a real life lesson in saving energy and conserving water. The plants in the museum's rooftop garden will capture rain to be used in the building's plumbing.
There is another advantage - the ability to provide an oasis in the heart of a thriving city. At Mass General, that's important for patients' well-being, a very powerful force of nature.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)