Seems the Clintons have a color thing going on. Hillary’s out stumpin’ for the white – as in White House – while Bill is further greening up his presidential library.
Like him or not, this fact remains: almost all past presidents open presidential libraries – and Clinton’s is the only eco-friendly one, or at least the most eco-friendly by far.
From the article,
“The $165 million library complex is the first presidential library to earn an award from the U.S. Green Committee for environmental design.
Flooring is made from recycled rubber tires, solar panels sit on another section of the roof and the parking lot has bicycle racks and charging stations for electric cars.
When it opened in 2004, the library earned a “silver” rating under the Leadership Energy Environmental Design (LEED), the benchmark for environmentally friendly buildings. Earlier this month, it earned a “platinum” certification for continuing projects on its existing buildings.”
Flooring made from rubber tires, charging stations for e-cars, and a spot to park bicycles. Very cool. Figuratively, of course, but now with the green roof, ‘literally’ applies, too.
The building is now getting a green roof – complete with over 90 species of plants and more than four truckloads of soil. By the end of this month, the library will be capped with plant life such as strawberries, ferns, switch grass, and roses.
Aesthetically, it sounds beautiful. But there’s also eco-substance to the style. The eco and practical benefits include:
- Helping to prevent flooding by capturing rainwater that would otherwise become runoff water (seems the UK needs to get movin’ greening their roofs)
- Saving on gardening water costs — by capturing the rainwater
- Keeping down heating costs due to the insulating effect of the layer of soil and plants
- Keeping down air conditioning costs
- And, in urban areas particularly, helping to cool down an area’s oppressive — and energy-sucking — summer heat. Cool. Yeah, literally.
Hmmm. Wonder if Bill plans on turning the White House into a Green House if he becomes the nation’s first First Man?
Where’s the money?
There actually is a money angle here. Many states and cities are offering subsidies and other financial incentives for both commercial and residential property owners to green their roofs. I just saw a piece about Washington, DC’s green roof subsidy program being extended.
So, you may actually be able to get the government to kick in some green for your green roof. Your non-green neighbors will be green with envy, and will surely then believe the ole’ “the grass is greener on the other side” bit. I’ll stop myself now.
Stay with us for more on green roof $$ incentive programs and/or check out Green Roofs’ website for project, financial incentive, and various other green roof info.
Pic: The building is the real McCoy. As the garden is not completed yet, good pics don’t seem to exist (unless you like seeing a dump truck dumping dirt). So, I took some liberties using pics of my own roses — check out the article for the ’sweet’ bit about yellow roses. A favorite of mine, too.
One Comment
If the U.S. had chosen to be a moral people, and leaving Iraqi oil alone, and following Al Gore, decided to develop the South Western deserts, with the technology of the times - solar/thermal-molten sodium - electricity installations, for the same amount of money as that war cost, ($650 Billion), today, we would be tapping into the largest, renewable, sustainable, energy source the world has ever known. It would have paid every energy bill in the U.S.A. for maintenance fees only - FOREVER! It would be equivalent to an oil field that can NEVER run dry! Low cost electric power, and storeable hydrogen gasoline replacement from the electricity, for all!
After the millions of murders, and $650 billions of dollars, borrowed from our children’s futures and pissed away, with thousands of our own and others maimed and disfigured for life, millions of families utterly destroyed, ours and theirs, we are no closer to Iraqi oil production than the Iraqis are!
The next time you hear a blithering idiot spoiled brat, drunken, drug addicted, sociopath, rich Arabic saber dancing daddie’s boy oilman, stand at a microphone and threaten YOUR safety with someone ELSE’S weapons, remember what you lost America, remember, and weep! (also see http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-solar-grand-plan)