The use of proper indoor lighting, outdoor landscaping and various roof structures can help the construction of buildings towards overall environmental sustainability according to the The US Green Building Council's LEED Rating System. The LEED guidelines are also a certification process meant for construction managers, landscape architects, interior designers and other professionals involved with Sustainable Building construction and development. This essay covers just the aspects that the LEED guidelines consider as environmentally sustainable, meaning that the use of certain building and landscape structures can save on energy consumption but also save on environmental waste or pollution. The areas of emphasis include retaining, rerouting or detaining storm water runoff; proper indoor lighting to reduce light pollution at night and creating more green space with the use of plants and trees to reduce what is called the 'Heat Island Effect'. Suprisingly the use of proper roof structures and proper landscaping efforts aid in the proper routing of storm water runoff. Storm water runoff is said to be the leading cause of clean water pollution due to the fact the pollutants such as grease, oil, fertilizers, etc get into the sewar system but can also infiltrate clean water supplies such as groundwater as the pollutants are picked up off of streets and then eventually drain into soils. According to certain organizations, there are a lot of landscape structures that can be built to reduce the pollution from storm runoff water. One effective method is to reroute storm water from built roof structures that are guided to landscaped area instead of streets or pavement structures. Another method can be related to alter the landscaping and/or soil structure so that water drains more faster and effectively through the ground, which makes it harder to reach streets and pavement quicker. This may include the use of subsurface pipes. The landscape itself can also be modified to contain modified sod - grass drainage structures that can be part of the landscaping or even be used for parking lots as is advertised by certain companies. Other effective methods include using cisterns or other water storage / collection structures that store the storm water.
It has even been commented that the use of 'Green Roofs' can also aide with proper storm water drainage. Green roofs strangely enough are plant material perhaps with sod/grass structures that inhabit rooftops. However, Green roofs are a hot topic also in that they are also known to reduce the overall heat emitted from roofs thus reducing the Heat Island Effect. The reduction of heat emitted from rooftops is one effective method in reducing the environmental heat built up during the day. It has been said that the rooftops from buildings account for at least 30 percent or more of the heat contributing to this Island Effect. Other methods involve the use of more trees in landscaping areas, especially areas that are close to pavement or streets. Providing for more green spaces and trees in landscaping is a method encouraged by LEED to reduce the heat island effect. It has also been shown by organizations, as stated earlier, that Green Roofs reduce the heat island effect also. Other methods to reduce heat on roofs and landscaping areas is adding reflective or light colored surfaces to concrete, pavement or rooftops. This reduces heat through higher solar reflectivity. For example, some roofs can use a lighter vinyl based coating that has been known to reflect up to 70 % of the solar radiation. Another building construction technique is to modify indoor lighting structures so that they do not emit much light out of glass window or door structures. Another method includes the use of automated control of non-essential indoor lighting. These methods are known as Light Pollution Reduction as stipulated by LEED guidelines. For example, a clever but effective technique is to space out indoor lighting structures within buildings so that the light rays intersect and cancel each other out. This is light interference effect that can effectively reduce light emitted from within buildings out into the atmosphere. In summary, effective use of green space, roof drainage structures and other landscaping methods can assist environmental sustainability by both reducing the daytime accumulated heat and prevent contamination of our urban clean water through proper ground drainage or even storage. The reduction of heat implemented with the use of green space landscaping can also save on energy consumption by reducing the need for more air cooling ventilation in buildings even though the heat is generated and mostly contained outdoors.
KEYWORDS: green roofs, heat island effect, stormwater runoff management, green spaces, LEED guidelines, sod grass stormwater drainage, light pollution reduction, reflective roof pavement coatings,
stormwater retaining, non point source pollution from stormwater, green space parking lots, sustainable green landscaping
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