Living Roof

It has become a novel idea to have a living roof, it used to be a best practice. New models of living roofs utilize plastic films and extensive drainage systems, often three layers of plastic. They rely on large scale manufacturing, huge supply lines, and fossil fuels. Then have the audacity to call themselves "green" or "eco". I don't believe I have seen anywhere at any time someone with the gall to question this product. What exactly makes this designed plastic use a sustainable and ecologically sound decision? Is it the need for retail suppliers and instillation crews to make a profit? Is a plastic mat truly an important feature to keep roofs from becoming bogs? Is this retrofit less of a solution and more of a money making scheme? Aren't our roofs waterproofed to begin with?

Shall we investigate how water is shunted from a natural  system? I would say with the correct slope and a bit of clay held together with the root mass from a polyculture of grass will.

I am all for more plants, plants everywhere on everything, but I can't stand for a system that has built in obsolescence and a lifespan of less than 30 years. Plants live and die, but are never wasted and never truly gone.

Concept art for new architecture is laden with trees growing on terraces and vines growing the entire height.

Is it a verdant need for plastic?

You could ask these three fellows how much plastic went into their green roof. I bet you would get the stink eye.  Ask if it leaks, I dare you.

The cumulative heat gain in cities from massive black tar, metal, concrete roof is a factor in the phenomenon known as a heat island. Yes green roofs can drastically curb the retained heat as well as insulate buildings in both summer and winter. Because I am only speculating here I can't say when if ever they become cost effective. If they are simply going to fail then I suspect not. Sustainable means forever, having created enough energy to have created and maintained it's self.

How do I envision a green roof? The fellow's roof in the picture above is most likely made of sod that they cut out in chunks from the prairie. It is suspended on a wood lath that is roughly milled. This is not a bad starting point. The root mat made from such tightly growing grasses and the years it took to create it include layers of thatch which repel water. Why does any roof fail? Water seeps through joints that were not properly sealed or have deteriorated. If your roof actually lives then it should be able to repair its self.

so perhaps a green roof needs to start on the ground.