juliakryger
Green Roofs and Climate Change
This photo, taken on October 28, 2018, displays a green roof on top of Cumberland hall, one of the dormitories on the University of Maryland campus. A green roof is composed of plants grown on the roofs of buildings. Green roofs are growing in popularity because they turn once purposeless, empty spaces to productive, multipurpose green spaces. Green roofs play an important role in cities as they absorb rain water, provide a habitat for animals, and can grow food. Green roofs also help to slow climate change in two major ways. First, green roofs reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere. This is achieved by the plants via photosynthesis as the plants absorb carbon dioxide form the air and release fresh oxygen. In this way, green roofs reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere while also providing safer air for people to breathe. Especially in cities, such as college park, air quality is often poor due to high automobile traffic, so green roofs are a simple method to improve air quality while being space-efficient. The second way green roofs mitigate climate change is by reducing the heat island effect. The heat island effect describes how cities have a higher air temperature than surrounding rural areas due to a large percentage of paved, impermeable, dry surfaces. The heat island effect is escalated by climate change as heat islands absorb more heat than a moist, vegetated area and will exhibit a more obvious temperature change. Green roofs mitigate climate change by reducing the area of dry, paved surfaces and increasing the number of green spaces. Green roofs will reflect more of the sun’s powerful radiation than a paved surface and, as a result, act as a cooling mechanism to reduce the effect of climate change on the area’s surface temperature. For these reasons, this picture exhibits the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13, climate action. This SDG focuses on decelerating the warming global temperature and overcoming climate change’s adverse impacts. As green roofs work to reduce air temperature and carbon dioxide in the air, they are one of the many ways humans are taking action and working to achieve this Sustainable Development Goal.
As mentioned before, photosynthesis in plants is one of the mechanisms that allows green roofs to reduce atmospheric carbon. To go further into depth on this concept, photosynthesis is the biological process that is the foundation of every ecosystem. In the simplest of terms, photosynthesis is performed by producers that take water through its roots and carbon dioxide from the air through its leaves and generate oxygen and glucose. Photosynthesis allows energy of the sun to be converted to chemical energy that can be used by herbivores and, indirectly, carnivores. Photosynthesis also produces oxygen which is necessary for organisms that use cellular respiration to produce energy, such as humans. For this reason, photosynthesis is the foundation of all ecosystems as all food energy and oxygen ultimately comes from photosynthetic organisms.
Photosynthesis has many components and benefits, but the simple fact that it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is why plants are a major tool to mitigate climate change. Green roofs increase the number of photosynthetic organisms in a city, and thus decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. The additional benefit of mitigating the heat island effect expands the impact of green roofs on climate change. All in all, green roofs are one way people are taking an innovative role in reducing global warming and moving towards the Sustainable Development Goal, climate action.
Green Roofs and Climate Change
This photo, taken on October 28, 2018, displays a green roof on top of Cumberland hall, one of the dormitories on the University of Maryland campus. A green roof is composed of plants grown on the roofs of buildings. Green roofs are growing in popularity because they turn once purposeless, empty spaces to productive, multipurpose green spaces. Green roofs play an important role in cities as they absorb rain water, provide a habitat for animals, and can grow food. Green roofs also help to slow climate change in two major ways. First, green roofs reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere. This is achieved by the plants via photosynthesis as the plants absorb carbon dioxide form the air and release fresh oxygen. In this way, green roofs reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere while also providing safer air for people to breathe. Especially in cities, such as college park, air quality is often poor due to high automobile traffic, so green roofs are a simple method to improve air quality while being space-efficient. The second way green roofs mitigate climate change is by reducing the heat island effect. The heat island effect describes how cities have a higher air temperature than surrounding rural areas due to a large percentage of paved, impermeable, dry surfaces. The heat island effect is escalated by climate change as heat islands absorb more heat than a moist, vegetated area and will exhibit a more obvious temperature change. Green roofs mitigate climate change by reducing the area of dry, paved surfaces and increasing the number of green spaces. Green roofs will reflect more of the sun’s powerful radiation than a paved surface and, as a result, act as a cooling mechanism to reduce the effect of climate change on the area’s surface temperature. For these reasons, this picture exhibits the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13, climate action. This SDG focuses on decelerating the warming global temperature and overcoming climate change’s adverse impacts. As green roofs work to reduce air temperature and carbon dioxide in the air, they are one of the many ways humans are taking action and working to achieve this Sustainable Development Goal.
As mentioned before, photosynthesis in plants is one of the mechanisms that allows green roofs to reduce atmospheric carbon. To go further into depth on this concept, photosynthesis is the biological process that is the foundation of every ecosystem. In the simplest of terms, photosynthesis is performed by producers that take water through its roots and carbon dioxide from the air through its leaves and generate oxygen and glucose. Photosynthesis allows energy of the sun to be converted to chemical energy that can be used by herbivores and, indirectly, carnivores. Photosynthesis also produces oxygen which is necessary for organisms that use cellular respiration to produce energy, such as humans. For this reason, photosynthesis is the foundation of all ecosystems as all food energy and oxygen ultimately comes from photosynthetic organisms.
Photosynthesis has many components and benefits, but the simple fact that it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is why plants are a major tool to mitigate climate change. Green roofs increase the number of photosynthetic organisms in a city, and thus decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. The additional benefit of mitigating the heat island effect expands the impact of green roofs on climate change. All in all, green roofs are one way people are taking an innovative role in reducing global warming and moving towards the Sustainable Development Goal, climate action.