Green Solutions

I get a daily dose of Discovery news delivered to my inbox.  This past week two stories have particularly caught my eye.  The first is a piece on transforming parking lots into more environmentally friendly environments.   The image on the right is an idea of putting solar panel/shade rooftops over large parking lots, keeping the lots cooler while generating energy.

Imagine if huge shopping centers such as Walmart or malls employed these parking lot energy savers.  What an awesome way to use this (ugly and hot) space in a beneficial way!

The second article was about interstate noise barriers.  My family moved when I was five years old because the interstate was to be constructed closer to our house.  My parents were concerned about increased traffic in the area, and along with that, interstate noise.  

According to this article, researchers in Ohio are working on a Chia-pet like wall that would work like a traditional concrete noise barrier, but would look waaay better, like the image to my left.  

I am a huge fan of green space, such as trees and parks, etc. (in case you couldn't tell by my blog background).  Whenever I am in cities I am usually very uncomfortable with the amount of people and buildings breaking up the green space.  If we can incorporate natural walls into our interstate systems, at least we can take back some of the green.