ACS puts its green on top

It’s been an egg-frying-on-the-sidewalk kind of summer here even for the nation’s capital, but the other day, we got a refreshing break as the temperature mercifully stayed in the 80s. But when I got out of the car and hit the black asphalt in the parking lot of a local shopping center, I swear the temperature jumped 10 degrees.

I’ve often thought we could make a major dent in global warming if someone invented a kind of paving that would actually reflect the sun rather than invite it in to roast us even more. Those sunscreens for the car and truck windshields really do a fine job, so this reflecting principle can work. Trees and the shade they give also help cool things down in some places, too, and I enjoy the neighborhood park near our house for this reason.

Another way is to build roofs covered with plants. And I am very proud to say that I work for a society that is so concerned about the environment that it has just begun construction of this kind of roof. ACS this week took another major step in transforming its headquarters into one of the most energy-efficient and sustainable structures possible with existing technology by starting construction of a meadow on the roof -- a “green roof” for its headquarters building.

Only 1 in 10 office buildings in the Washington, D.C., area have these innovative surfaces, according to Joanna Brosnan, director of ACS’s Facilities Department, who initiated the project. Green roofs use green plants growing on a specially engineered surface to absorb carbon dioxide from the air, save energy on heating and cooling, promote cleaner air, and reduce stormwater runoff that can overburden city sewers.

When completed in the autumn, the ACS’ Clifford & Kathryn Hach Building, 1155 16th Street NW, will sprout a garden consisting of a specialized mix of plants that thrive in the harsh, dry, hot conditions that exist at roof level. Employees will be able to enjoy lunch or breaks in an observation area and enjoy the wildflowers, grasses, and water-storing, drought-resistant flowering sedums in the meadow-on-the-roof.

“We are delighted to be able to transform our headquarters building into an even-more environmentally friendly and sustainable structure,” said Madeleine Jacobs, ACS Executive Director and CEO. “This project is consistent with the core values of ACS, the world’s largest scientific society -- to work for a more sustainable city, country, and world.”

To read more, go to green roof.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons