Since the modern ecology was based on the development of Darwin's evolutionary theory, the human being has not stopped warning about the dangers of a destructive attitude towards the planet and the indifference towards the environment.That is why he has also spent a large part of his time studying the best way to live in harmony with nature, and from there interesting initiatives have emerged, such as these of ecological roofs that we present in this post.
We will talk only about two, but there are many other ways to make ecological roofs and friendly with the environment.
Discover these initiatives of ecological roofs, incredible to live better!
Yes, these ecological roofs constitute an interesting urban aid to clean the air and oxygenate it-in the case of Denmark and Toronto-and to collect and conserve water-in the case of the Bermuda Islands-.
Denmark, Canada, other European and Latin American cities: the green roof
Copenhagen , the capital of Denmark and its largest city, since 2014 has a law that obliges to improve the urban habitat and save energy, and for this the owners new roofs should cover them with vegetation.
Of course there are also plans to do the same in the old bill, because the goal is to become carbon neutral for the 2025; What is carbon neutral? Well, nothing less than remove from the atmosphere both carbon dioxide and the one emitted .There are several ways to do it: using other types of energy, such as solar and wind, planting trees and supporting projects such as wind farms or solar parks.
In this sense, these ecological and green roofs absorb up to 80% of the rain, which means that they reduce flood problems, and also lower the urban temperature , protect buildings from UV rays and increase the life of the roof.And a bonus: you can grow vegetables and fruits.And flowers, to brighten the view.
But this initiative is not new nor European: Toronto, in Canada, had already implemented a similar law, and has already generated a area of 1.2 million green square meters in commercial, institutional and residential developments, and has produced energy savings per year of more than 1.5 million kWh for the owners of these ecological roofs.
Other countries are advancing similar legislation, such as Switzerland, where green roofs are also mandatory in all new buildings, as well as in Argentina (in Buenos Aires, specifically) and Chile, although in these countries there is no forced character of the initiative, but They offer great incentives to those who decide to place ecological and green roofs on their roofs.
The ecological roofs of the Bermuda Islands
These roofs are somewhat different from the green ones, in Bermuda they are stepped ceilings , designed with a system over 400 years ago for the rec oleccion de agua .And there are no rivers, lakes or springs on these islands, and instead it rains heavily, so the water there is free , and these ecological roofs allow them collect it and store it in tanks, in the subsoil of the houses.
How do these ceilings work? It is very simple and very ingenious: the steps reduce the speed of the water and that makes it easier to collect them in gutters, which they will give to underground tanks.Each house is self-sufficient in this sense, and that is why nobody pays water tax.This system was implemented by the first inhabitants and eventually incorporated into the law. For each square meter of roof must have capacity in the tanks for 100 liters of water .
These ecological roofs are constructed of limestone, so that they are resistant to hurricanes that usually pass through the islands; before they were coated with lime, which worked as a natural antiseptic and prevented mold from adhering to the surface, but now they are painted white, and thus lower the ambient temperature.
In addition, one of the greatest benefits is the awareness that has been installed in the people of Bermuda , who grew up managing their own water and know the importance of not wasting it.
With the arrival of tourism and the construction of buildings, new problems have also arrived: if the roof area is built upwards it will be the same, although there are more people to attend, so they have begun to extract fresh water from children underground reservoirs and to use desalination plants, especially to irrigate the extensive golf courses that abound in the Bermu you give; in fact, here there are more of these fields per person than anywhere else in the world .
But it is a reality that the ecological roofs of these islands have contributed greatly to conservation of the vital liquid, and although they might not work in the same way on other islands with different weather conditions, it is a good idea that could help save money and water.
What do you think about these ideas? We loved them! Look what can be done to conserve the planet: Switzerland intends to clean the atmosphere of CO2, furniture made with carbon dioxide and save the world can be a personal matter.
Images: dmitri_66, duluoz cats, Bruce Tuten, Dylan Passmore, Commons Wikimedia
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