Greening Your Mail

Neither snow nor rain nor heat could stop the U.S. Postal Service from unveiling a new two-and-a-half acre green roof last week.

Sitting seven stories above a mail processing plant in Manhattan, it’s one of the largest green roofs in the country. It came with a price tag to match — $4.4 million. But it is expected to save the facility $30,000 annually in energy costs, last for 50 years, and provide employees an oasis with one-of-a-kind-views.

The project is part of the Postal Service’s efforts to green-up its operations. Their planned purchase of 1,600 fuel efficient vehicles will give them the largest alternative fuel fleet in the country. Not sure if that is enough to off-set all that junk mail, but at least it's a start.

(Photo by Sigal Ben-Shmuel/EKLA)