Around the world, governments are setting compulsary requirements about installing green roofs and solar panels on residential buildings. Many people argue whether this policy’s advantages outweigh its inconveniences. In my opinion, despite theoretical usefulness, the new policy is impractical due to several technical and biological issues.
On the one hand, the method enacted by the goverment officials seems impractical for several reasons. Firstly, green roofs could cause pests and rodents to travel into residents’ homes. Those pests and rodents could often carry diseases and dirt into residents’ houses, making the environment poorly hygienic. Furthermore, as green roofs should be watered regularly, accidental excess watering could lead to leaking water into houses loc ated on highest floors. This could cause both financial and medical concerns, firstly because severely damped walls often need expensive renovation and secondly because the moist could cause bacteria and fungi infection. Solar panels often need frequent maintenance, frequently having hardware issues. Since residential companies will rarely cover the technical maintenance of solar panels, they will most likely be left unused by residents.
On the other hand, the green roof and solar panels policy could be beneficial for both governments and residents. Specifically, residents can significantly cut on food costs by growing their own fruits and vegetables on their rooftop. Also, while vegetables in supermarkets are transported for days, the rooftop grown vegetables are picked hours before being consumed, guaranteeing the freshness. Furthermore, governments are focusing their effort into solar panels because they do not consume electricity, but rather provide it to both residents and the government itself. Many solar panels send excess power back to municipality, cutting on costs and making money at the same time.
Alternatively, solar panels benefit the environment by reducing traditional methods of producing electrity, one of the main factors influencing the climate change.
To summarize, I believe that although the new policies could be beneficial is executed ideally, they would be impractical today.