INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU KAMPUS IPOH,

31150, ULU KINTA, PERAK DARUL RIDZUAN.

PROGRAM IJAZAH SARJANA MUDA PERGURUAN DENGAN KEPUJIAN

AMBILAN JANUARI 2011 (SEMESTER 1)

TUGASAN KERJA KURSUS PENDEK

NAMA PELAJAR : NUR FARIHAH BT. SEMAN (26360)

NO. K.PENGENALAN : 910815-02-5114

KUMPULAN / UNIT : J14

KOD DAN M.PELAJARAN : ENGLISH LANGUANGE PROFICIENCY TERAS

(WAJ 3102)

NAMA PENSYARAH : EN. AHMAD MASDIL FADZLI B. MOHAMED

TARIKH SERAHAN : 07 MARCH 2011

Table of contents

Content Page

Acknowledgement

Essay on Environment

Green roofs

References

Reflection

Appendices

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thanks to God Almighty finally I can finish this English Language Proficiency

(Teras) in the time given completely and successfully. I have chosen this topic on

environment which is green roofs.

First of all, a special appreciation to English Language Proficiency lecturer,

Mr. Ahmad Masdil Fadzli b. Mohamed for his guidance and useful advices on

choosing a good topic for this assignment. He also sacrifices his precious time to teach

me how to construct an essay on the chosen topic.

Besides that, thanks also to all my friends who help me most in giving brilliant

ideas and share their beneficial information. Also give support when I am lack in Idea

and not to forget for spending our time together in library searching for wanted

information.

And the last but not least to my parent who lend their hand in financial and

give support throughout the time. Thanks for understanding and be patient with me in

order to finish up this course work.

Essay on Environment

A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with

vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also

include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. The

use of “green” refers to the growing trend of environmentalism and does not refer to

roofs which are merely colored green, as with green roof tiles or roof shingles.

Containers garden on roof are not consider as green roofs because the plant are

maintain in pots while a rooftop ponds are consider as green roof which acts to treat

greywater. Other than that, green roof were also known as ‘living roofs’. The green roofs

serve several purposes such as absorbing rainwater, providing rainwater, creating a

habitat for wildlife and also helping lower urban air temperature.

Besides that, the term green roof also may used to roofs that use some form of

green technology like cool roofs and solar thermal collectors. It also refers as vegetated

roofs, eco-roofs and living roofs. Green roofs can be categorized into intensive and

semi-intensive or extensive depending on the depth of planting needed and

maintenance needed.

Intensive green roofs utilize a wide variety of plant species that may include trees

and shrubs, require deeper substrate layers. They are generally limited to flat roofs,

require ‘intense’ maintenance, and are often park-like areas accessible to the general

public. In contrast, extensive roofs are limited to herbs, grasses, mosses, and drought

tolerant succulents such as Sedum, can be sustained in a shallow substrate layer,

require minimal maintenance, and are generally not accessible to the public.

The application of the green roofs is wider in a few countries like in United Kingdom,

Canada, Greece, Spain, Iceland and Egypt. In British, examples can be found at

the University of Nottingham Library, and in London at the Horniman

Museum and Canary Wharf. The Ethelred Estate, close to the River Thames in central

London, is the British capital largest roof-greening project to date. Toxteth in Liverpool is

also a candidate for a major roof-greening project.

In the United Kingdom, green roofs are often used in built-up city areas where

residents and workers often do not have access to gardens or local parks. They have

also been used by companies such as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, who have one of the

biggest green roofs in Europe. The world largest living roofs were Ford Center. The

10.4 acre sedum roof insulates the building, provides a habitat for birds and insects

produces oxygen to offset the factory’s carbon dioxide emissions, and purifies

rainwater. Instead of having a chemical-based storm water treatment plant.

Green roofs are not only a visual improvement over traditional flat or shingled

roofs; they provide many environmental benefits as well. They are excellent insulators,

filter rainwater, and can protect your roof from damage and decay. Studies shows that

we could save up to 75% of cooling costs and 25% of heating costs with a green roof.

The layers of plants and growing material not only provide additional insulation to the

structure beneath, but the respiration of the plants actively cools the surrounding air.

Besides that, green roofs reduce sound reflection by up to 3 dB and improve

sound insulation by up to 8 dB. This is important for people who live near airports,

noisy discotheques, or industrial parks. Additionally, electromagnetic waves from

transmitting stations can be effectively shielded by the vegetation layer.

The main disadvantage of green roofs is the higher initial cost. Some types of green

roofs do have more demanding structural standards especially in seismic regions of

the world. Some existing buildings cannot be retrofitted with certain kinds of green roof

because of the weight load of the substrate and vegetation exceeds permitted static

loading. Depending on what kind of green roof it is, the maintenance costs could be

higher, but some types of green roof have little or no ongoing cost. Some kinds of

green roofs also place higher demands on the waterproofing system of the structure

both because water is retained on the roof and due to the possibility of roots

penetrating the waterproof membrane.

As a conclusion, the green roofs application should be applied all over the

country in order to improve our environment and reduce the effect of green house and

as a remedy using a natural technique.

References

Internet

Green roofs: http//www,greenroofs.com. Accessed on 26 February 2010

Research on Green Roofs: http//www.rd.com. Accessed on 26 February 2010

What is Living Roofs: http//www.living_roofs.info.com.Accessed on 26 February 2010

Article in Journal

Getter, K.L., D.B.Rowe, G.P. Robertson, B.M. Cregg, and J.A.Andresen.  2009. 

Carbon sequestration potential of extensive green roofs.  Environmental Science and

Technology  43(19):7564-7570.

 

Getter, K.L., D.B.Rowe, and B.M. Cregg.  2009.  Solar radiation intensity influences

extensive green roof plant communities.  Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 

8(4):269-281.

Getter, K.L. and D.B.Rowe.  2009. Substrate depth influences sedum plant community

on a green roof.  HortScience 44(2):401-407.

REFLECTIONS:

By: Nur Farihah bt. Seman 910815025114

I have choose topic under environment when doing this coursework. The green

roofs topics was not very familiar to our country rather than in the Europe and other

countries. That why, I really interested to choose this topic and hope that people who

read my essay will have a knowledge about the green roofs.

A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with

vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. Mostly the

first world country will have this application a long period ago. There are many benefit

when the application is applied.

There are many benefit, when use this application like, reduce the noise, use the

space and more. I have find the fact and more info about the green roof in the library

using article in the magazines and also from the newspaper. One of the problem I had

when doing this coursework is lack of reference in form of books. There is no book that

write about this application.

Luckily, I had surfing the internet and get an information from there. Besides that,

there are some of my friends who know that I’m choose this topic give some reference if

they have.

From the information collected, I have learned to be more cooperative and

compromise with all my friends. If I am unsure on the topic I will discuss it with my

friends and tried to ask my lecturer.

In closing, I would like to add that I have really enjoyed the experience of this course

work. It has been good for me to learn to communicate with people and build my level of

confidence and foster the spirit of togetherness of my friends.

What is a green roof?

An extensive green roof covers the garage providing an aesthetically pleasing view for the building occupants (Photo courtesy of Behrens Systementwick

An intensive green roof atop the Coast Plaza Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, has the appearance of a wooded forest.

Green roofs involve growing plants on rooftops, thus replacing the vegetated footprint that was destroyed when the building was constructed. Germany is widely considered the leader in green roof research, technology and usage. It is estimated that 12% of all flat roofs in that country are green and the German green roof industry is growing 10% to 15% per year. Modern green roofs can be categorized as ‘intensive’ or ‘extensive’ systems depending on the plant material and planned usage for the roof area. Intensive green roofs utilize a wide variety of plant species that may include trees and shrubs, require deeper substrate layers (usually > 10 cm (4 in)), are generally limited to flat roofs, require ‘intense’ maintenance, and are often park-like areas accessible to the general public. In contrast, extensive roofs are limited to herbs, grasses, mosses, and drought tolerant succulents such as Sedum, can be sustained in a shallow substrate layer (< 10 cm (4 in)), require minimal maintenance, and are generally not accessible to the public.

Benefits of green roofs

A typical ugly commercial roof that provides no ecological, economic, aesthetic, or psychological benefits.

Flowering sedum and Allium schoenoprasum on a roof in Amsterdam.

 

As our forests and agricultural lands are replaced with impervious surfaces due to urban development, the necessity to recover green space is becoming increasingly critical for the health of our environment as well as our well-being. Vegetated or green roofs are one potential remedy

for this problem. Establishing plant material on rooftops provide numerous ecological and economic benefits including stormwater management, energy conservation, mitigation of the urban heat island effect, increased longevity of roofing membranes, as well as providing a more aesthetically pleasing environment to work and live. The mitigation of stormwater runoff is considered by many to be the primary benefit because of the prevalence of impervious surfaces in urban areas. The rapid runoff from roof surfaces can exacerbate flooding, increase erosion, and may result in raw sewage that is discharged directly into our rivers. The larger amount of runoff also results in a greater quantity of water that must be treated before it is potable. A major benefit of green roofs is their ability to absorb stormwater and release it slowly over a period of several hours. Green roof systems have been shown to retain 60-100% of the stormwater they receive. In addition, green roofs have a longer life-span than standard roofs because they are protected from ultraviolet radiation and the extreme fluctuations in temperature that cause roof membranes to deteriorate. Furthermore, the construction and maintenance of green roofs provide business opportunities for nurseries, landscape contractors, irrigation specialists, and other green industry members while addressing the issues of environmental stewardship.

What is a Green Roof?by Sarah Dowdey

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Inside this Article1. What is a Green Roof?2. What Does a Green Roof Do?3. Lots More Information4. See all Green Science articles

Alternative Energy Videos

An aerial view of most urban areas shows swathes of asphalt, black tar and gravel-ballasted rooftops. Heat radiates off of the dark roofs, and water rushes over the hard, hopefully impermeable surfaces. Yet, there is a new trend that breaks up the monotony of common roofs: green rooftops. Long popular in Europe, green rooftops have begun to appeal to homeowners, businesses and even cities as an attractive way to promote environmentalism while solving the problems of conventional roofs. Green roofs supplement traditional vegetation without disrupting urban infrastructure -- they take a neglected space and make it useful.Green roofs last longer than conventional roofs, reduce energy costs with natural insulation, create peaceful retreats for people and animals, and absorb storm water, potentially lessening the need for complex and expensive drainage systems. On a wider scale, green roofs improve air quality and help reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect, a condition in which city and suburban developments absorb and trap heat. Anyone who has walked across a scalding parking lot on a hot, summer day has felt one effect of an Urban Heat Island.The layers of a green roof must, like any roof, accommodate drainage and protect the building from the elements with a waterproof membrane. But they also must create a growing area and potentially provide support, irrigation and root protection barriers while staying as light as possible.

Green Living Pictures

Photo courtesy of courtesy of DOE/NREL I Photographer: Katrin Scholz-BarthThe Chicago City Hall green roof helps cool the building and minimize water run-off. See

morepictures of green living.Two types of green roof exist: intensive and extensive. Intensive green roofs are essentially elevated parks. They can sustain shrubs, trees, walkways and benches with their complex structural support, irrigation, drainage and root protection layers. The foot or more of growing medium needed for an intensive green roof creates a load of 80-150 pounds (36-68 kilograms) per square foot. Extensive green roofs are relatively light at 15-50 pounds (7-23 kilograms) per square foot. They support hearty native ground cover that requires little maintenance. Extensive green roofs usually exist solely for their environmental benefits and don't function as accessible rooftop gardens.One of the most famous American green rooftops, Chicago's City Hall, combines extensive, intensive, and the intermediary semi-intensive systems on one retrofitted roof. Under the Mayor's direction, the City ofChicago's Department of Environment City Hall pilot program kicked off a citywide push to support green rooftop systems with incentives and grants.In the next section, we'll learn about the cost of green roofs and the benefits that make them worth their weight

Green Roof BenefitsBesides being aesthetically pleasing, a green roof can provide numerous environmental, technical and owner benefits.    

Ecological Benefits...

Mitigates Urban Heat Island: Green roofs cool and humidify the surrounding air creating a microclimate which has beneficial effects within the immediate area.

Natural Habitat for Animals and Plants: Green roofs create biodiversity, encouraging wildlife, such as birds, butterflies and insects, to remain within urban areas.

Reduction of Dust and Smog Levels: Green roof vegetation helps to fi lter out dust and smog particles. Nitrates and other aerosol contaminants are absorbed out of the air and rainfall and bound within the soil.

Technical Benefits...

Storm Water Retention : Depending on the design, a green roof can typically reduce storm water run-off by 50 to 90%. Additionally, the peak flow volume is greatly reduced and the peak flow period is delayed by as much as 4 hours, minimizing the impact on existing sewer systems.

Additional Thermal Resistance: Green roofs can improve the thermal resistance of the roofassembly throughout the year, especially in summer months by helping to reduce cooling costs.

Reduced noise levels: Typical extensive green roofs (3” - 4” growing media) reduce reflective sound by up to 3 dB and improve sound insulation by up to 8 dB. This is most effective with buildings near airports, factories or busy freeways.

Owner Benefits...

Increased Life Expectancy of the Roof: A green roof, much like a PMR (Protected Membrane Roof ) Assembly, protects the roof membrane from climatic extremes and physical abuse, thereby greatly increasing the life expectancy of the roof.

Additional Usable Space: Converting or designing normally unused roof areas into green roofs, simply makes sense. Increase your property value by reclaiming the fifth elevation of a building and make it an amenity to be used by the buildings occupants.

Building Incentives:More and more municipalities and other government agencies are providing incentives that can help off-set the cost of a green roof.

duction of Urban Heat Island – Research in Tyndale Centre for climate change suggests we need a 10% increase in green space in our cities to combat climate change. This is particularly relevant to the reduction in the Urban Heat Island [UHIE]. Green roofs are recognized to have a positive effect on reducing the UHIE

Biodiversity - Green roofs can provide important refuges for wildlife in urban areas. Research in Switzerland and the UK has demonstrated that green roofs can provide important refuges for rare invertebrate populations.

Water - Green roofs can significantly reduce the surface run off volumes and rates of rainfall leaving roofs. As a source control mechanism in the Sustainable Urban Drainage System green roofs can help reduce flash floods as a consequence of intense rainfall events. This will become increasingly important as a consequence of climate change.

Green roofs also improve the quality of water and although the amount of water is reduced it is possible to rainfall harvest from roofs that have been greened.

Thermal Performance - Green roofs cannot be given a U-value at present. However they have been shown to significantly reduce the need for air conditioning in summer and can provide a degree of insulation in winter.

Sound Insulation - The combination of soil, plants and trapped layers of air within green roof systems can act as a sound insulation barrier. Sound waves are absorbed, reflected or deflected. The growing medium tends to block lower sound frequencies whilst the plants block higher frequencies.

Protection of Waterproofing - The original green roofs in Germany stem from covering wet bitumen with 6cm of sand, which became vegetated. This covering was to protect the wet bitumen from fire. Green roofs have now been shown to

double if not triple the life of waterproofing membranes beneath the green roof.

Air Quality – airborne particles and pollutants are filtered from the atmosphere by the substrates and vegetation on a green roof.

Amenity Space – in dense urban environments there is often a lack of green space for residents. Roof Gardens and roof top parks provide important green spaces to improve the quality of life for urban residents.

Urban Agriculture - Urban Rooftop Food Growing – roofs, where strong enough provide a space for urban food growing. Although many large flat roofs may not have the loading capabilities to hold food growing some roofs will and the many balconies in are urban areas are ideal.