Go Highmark!

In one fell swoop, Highmark has raised the green roof square footage in the city of Pittsburgh from 31,484 to about 53,484 (about 70%). I'm getting my numbers from the green roofs website. They list 5 sites with green roofs in Pittsburgh, including 2 at CMU and the measly 64 sq ft Children's Museum token of a roof.

Clearly, we as a corporate city have more work to do. If Ford can have the largest green roof in the country, and UPMC is building an LEED-certified hospital, where's their green roof? How about PNC with its flagship LEED-certified branches and office towers?

Highmark plans to lower their energy costs by 12% with this roof. Doesn't that sound like a good plan in the face of unstable energy prices and an unhealthy dependence of foreign energy? Somehow, no one seems to mention green roofs in their stump speeches though.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08289/919942-53.stm)