It is time for Pittsburgh's "Green Triangle"

It is time for the city of Pittsburgh to be a leader and innovator among green cities. The city was actually ranked #1 for total LEED certified buildings back in 2005, however, other cities with more aggressive green goals have either caught up or surpassed Pittsburgh in the green building rankings. So what can we do now to stand out? How about putting green roofs on every possible building in downtown Pittsburgh? How about we transform downtown's Golden Triangle into the Green Triangle?

Imagine seeing this view as a visitor flying into town for the first time:


Personally, I find the green rooftops much more visually appealing than the typical black and gray tar and concrete rooftops. But this is not about making Pittsburgh "pretty." This initiative is about making Pittsburgh the leader in green roofs and setting an example of how going green can save businesses and government buildings in downtown districts millions of dollars in heating and cooling costs and, in addition, providing the following benefits to the general public:

• Reduction of surrounding air temperatures
• Improved air quality/reduced C02 emissions
  
• Storm water retention/reduction of pollution in runoff water
• A greener and more productive work environment

These are just a few examples of some of the beneifts that are listed out on greenroofs.org and greenroofs.com.

Pittsburgh currently has a number of green buildings, several of which have been around for a while including two at Carnegie Mellon University. It is too bad that this Trib Review article from two years ago mentioned the cost savings potential of green roofs yet here we are today without much progress in this green area. Since our political leaders are reluctant to take (most, with the exception of BP) a chance on something this big, it is up to us green bloggers and green advocates here in the burgh to organize and take action. Please email me if you are willing to create a task force or if you are already part of a green group that would like to round up volunteers and obtain funding to take on the work of this massive and ground breaking green project.

	Pittsburgh buildings with green roofs (from greenroofs.com) Project Year Location Roof Size Alcoa Headquarters Current Pittsburgh, PA, USA 13920 ft² 1293 m² Carnegie Mellon University, Hamerschlag Hall 2005 Pittsburgh, PA, USA 4200 ft² 390 m² Children's Museum Pittsburgh 2005 Pittsburgh, PA, USA 64 ft² 6 m² Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon Institute 2005 Pittsburgh, PA, USA 1300 ft² 121 m² Heinz 57 Center/Gimbels Building Restoration 2001 Pittsburgh, PA, USA 12000 ft² 1115 m² Total Queried Roof Size: 31,484 ft² (2,925 m²)