Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Green Roofs: Why Don’t All Buildings Have Them?

Via The Conversation, a report on how green roofs improve the urban environment – so why don’t all buildings have them? Rooftops covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are investing in green roofs, drawn to […]

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Well-irrigated Green Roofs Have Cooling Effect on PV systems

Via GreenRoofs.com, a look at how well-irrigated green roofs can have a cooling effect on PV systems: Scientists in the Netherlands have assessed how the so-called blue-green roofs can help reduce the operating temperature of rooftop PV panels and have found they provide a significant cooling effect. The irrigation system used for the research project […]

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Largest Rooftop Solar Project in New York State Completed

Via Environmental Leader, a report on the largest rooftop solar project in New York State: The largest rooftop solar project in New York State, located on the Medline Industries distribution center, reached completion and will now power over 1,600 homes annually. The center produces 7.2 megawatts of solar energy, generated from more than 17,000 panels. […]

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We’re building roofs wrong. A different approach can save money and lives.

Courtesy of The Washington Post, an article on innovative roof technology which can help combat extreme heat: Years ago, I walked onto the roof of the Palo Alto Research Center. The nondescript beige building in Silicon Valley, known for groundbreaking technology, is the birthplace of the mouse, laser printer and Ethernet. That afternoon, researchers were sending heat […]

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Rural India Hospitals Find Reliable Power In Rooftop Solar

Via The Diplomat, an article on how – with India’s electrical grid under strain – rural hospitals and clinics have found reliable power in rooftop solar: In the searing heat that often envelops Raichur, an ancient town in southern India, a ceiling fan that spins without interruption brings sweet relief for the newborn babies and their […]

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Guidelines for Biodiversity Green Roofs Released for Melbourne, Australia

Via Greenroofs.com, an article on some useful guidelines for biodiversity green roofs recently released for Melbourne, Australia: Staff of City of Melbourne & University of Melbourne writes: Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world, and the major cities are experiencing rapid population growth and increasing densification. It is estimated that by […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
As potential uses for building and parking lot roofspace continue to grow, unique opportunities to understand and profit from this trend will emerge. Roof Options is committed to tracking the evolving uses of roof estate – spanning solar power, rainwater harvesting, wind power, gardens & farms, “cooling” sites, advertising, apiculture, and telecom transmission platforms – to help unlock the nascent, complex, and expanding roofspace asset class.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy. Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation. He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”