"Dirt grass and a goat get you a LEED point - does the dirt grass and a goat make it work better? No! But you do feel better about yourself! Dirt is not insulation it's just freaking dirt"
Gotta love greenwashing. A real forward thinker would also start a second startup simultaneously to undo the damage green roofs will cause down the line to a building. :)
Edit: In case somebody misses the point the video from which the quote is sourced is well worth watching if you are curios about building science.
tl;dw - What is efficient and good for the environment is counterintuitive. Green roofs often cause more harm than good because reasons.
I didn't mean anything in an unfriendly way. The quote is not dumb but it needs a lot of context I suppose that might be missing.. definitely the key point is "if done right".
I can't really condense the video for you, the guy in it does throw in a bunch of jokes from the perspective of a frustrated Canadian building science guy that might put you off but his information is great.
My best attempt at a condensed parable: I once found myself driving around with a very environmentally minded person and she refused to turn the AC on in her car but cranked open the window instead.
> the guy in it does throw in a bunch of jokes from the perspective of a frustrated Canadian building science guy that might put you off but his information is great.
As someone else who works with civil (but not structural) engineering in Canada, I agree to a certain extent with his points, but found his tone incredibly condescending and offputting. For example:
> Does the dirt, grass, and a goat make it work better? No. But you just feel better about yourself. I mean dirt is not insulation, it's just freaking dirt. If it was insulation we'd put it in our walls, and that'd be stupid. [...] 'well we can store water up there' - Why? You're an idiot. The whole idea of a roof is to get the water off of the damn roof.
- Soil is insulating, just with a very crappy K value. You wouldn't use it somewhere that was space sensitive (eg a wall). You wouldn't use it instead of other insulation. But it is absolutely an insulator (that's why we only have to put frost walls 4-8feet deep to prevent frost heave). If your only goal is to insulate the roof better, install an extra inch of rigid foam rather than a foot of soil, it'll work the same.
- Storing water where it first strikes is good for reducing site runoff (with safeties installed to cope with bigger rainfall events).
> I once found myself driving around with a very environmentally minded person and she refused to turn the AC on in her car but cranked open the window instead.
How fast were you driving? There's a breakeven point, depends on the car - I know with mine, it's about 80 km/hr (slower than that, open the window. faster than that, AC is more fuel efficient)
You got the gist of what I was saying which is physics is at play and the answer is always "it depends". But people don't like that. Hence, AC off I'm a good person. Green roof I'm a good person. 'etc.
> I agree to a certain extent with his points, but found his tone incredibly condescending and offputting
That kind of says it all, doesn't it?
Personally I found it good natured tongue-firmly-in-cheek conspiratorial humour. Considering he is an actual authority on the subject and has seen a lot of incredibly idiotic behaviour and expensive and downright dangerous mistakes I think you can forgive him if his comedy schtick is not to your taste as long as the info is good.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lstiburek (https://youtu.be/iHBYvqr2_io?t=2224)
Gotta love greenwashing. A real forward thinker would also start a second startup simultaneously to undo the damage green roofs will cause down the line to a building. :)
Edit: In case somebody misses the point the video from which the quote is sourced is well worth watching if you are curios about building science.
tl;dw - What is efficient and good for the environment is counterintuitive. Green roofs often cause more harm than good because reasons.