I recently read a blurb in Country Living Magazine that estimated there are seven million wild birds that are killed every year from the use of residential pesticides.  These are the chemicals we put on our yard and gardens for aesthetic reasons, not to grow our own food.  You can read more about how to save the birds at the National Audubon Society.

Over the last year I have read or seen reports of what the continued dumping of industrial chemicals, old medicine and pesticide runoff is doing to our water supplies here in the U.S.  In some places it is already affecting frogs and other susceptible animals in enormous ways.  There are those who feel that the rise in cancer and cancerous growths are due to a large degree of this same chemical waste.  What we do know is if we continue to dump all this stuff into our environment it will eventually catch up with us.  My question is; is having an aesthetically pleasing lawn worth knowingly killing anything?  I certainly hope not.  The next species just might be us.

If you really want to go green, think about installing a sod roof.  If you would like to try it without committing to the entire house, try it on a garage on shed roof.

You may need to bolster your roof to support the additional weight produced by the dirt needed to grow and maintain the sod.  Three inches of dirt will add about seventeen pounds per square foot so this can be a huge factor in having a sod roof or trying something else.

While you are beefing up for weight, also think about sealing the roof decking with a good water and ice shield.  It’s good to create a barrier between the shield and the dirt with a layer of heavy duty plastic sheeting.  Since this plastic could cause the dirt to easily slide off, put roofing fabric down for a more stable base and use flashing around the edges to help with erosion and to contain the dirt.

This green roof system will give you great insulation from the sun and will help keep your space cool in more ways than one.