Roof Top Sedums proves going 'green' can be economical and beautiful

  Springfield ,  IL  / July 19^th, 2011 - Cattle and hogs aren't the only animals being watched at the Illinois Department of Agriculture these days.  Employees at the State's Department of Agriculture building have been following the progress of three families of Killdeer that have nested in the 20,000 square foot green roof that was installed June 15, 2010.   These fledglings are showing the w or ld just one of the many benefits of a green roof.  

The Department of Agriculture building is one of the largest projects to date grown by Roof Top Sedums of Davenport, whose portfolio includes prototype projects in tornado-devastated   Greensburg ,  KS  , a town that is arising from the rubble of one of the worst episodes of tornado destruction in recent memory.    Greensburg   is re-inventing itself as a laboratory for green construction methods.   The LiveRoof® Hybrid Green Roof System grown by Roof Top Sedums, LLC covers both Greensburg 's   Kiowa   County   Commons   and the Silo Eco-house, one of the world's first buildings designed to be tornado resistant.  The LiveRoof® System is also featured on the roof of West Des Moines Historic City Hall at Valley Junction and Iowa City's new East Side Recycling Center which shares a building with Habitat for Humanity's Re-Store resale shop.   Additionally, hospital patients at  Genesis   Medical   Center  at East Rusholme in   Davenport   have been enjoying a lush view of more than 42 varieties of sedum and allium plants that now cover the center portion of the facility's rooftop.  Each project saw a green roof as a beautiful way to save money and improve their environment. 

In addition to providing a habitat in the midst of crowded cities, green roofs provide natural heat and sound insulation to buildings.  Green roofs extend the life of roofing materials by protecting them from the extreme variations in temperatures and photo degradation.  Green roofs reduce the 'heat island' effect in cities and reduce storm water run-off and reduce carbon dioxide in the environment.  While some green roof systems can take many years to establish, the LiveRoof® System grown by Roof Top Sedums of Davenport, IA allowed certified LiveRoof® installers to quickly convert a barren rooftop into a lush mix of well-established, custom-grown sedum ground cover plants.  "LiveRoof® not only adds beauty to the project, it is extremely efficient and low-maintenance.  It enhances the environment, wherever it is," said Roxanne Nagel, General Manager of Roof Top Sedums. 

Besides using well-established plants grown in soil specially engineered for the extremes of a rooftop environment, the LiveRoof® System also features a patent-pending hybrid design that combines the best features of all green roof systems. The LiveRoof® System creates tremendous savings on maintenance costs because the 95% fully-vegetated modules have mature plants that act as their own living mulch.

Roof Top Sedums is a Regional LiveRoof® Licensed Grower servicing  Iowa, Western Illinois, Eastern Nebraska, Eastern Kansas, and most of Missouri and has been in business since 2007.  The business is 100% women-owned and certified nationally as a Women's Business Enterprise as well as an Iowa Targeted Small Business.  Co-founder Teresa Nelson explains, "We have had tremendous success in the past four years and are excited about the reputation and attention our company is getting as our business grows." For more information on projects previously grown by Roof Top Sedums or information about the LiveRoof® System, visit www.rooftopsedums.com and follow the link to www.liveroof.com.                                         

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Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) released thefollowing statement after the vote on the debt ceiling:

"The simple truth is, today's vote is a symbol of everything that's wrong in Washington: partisan brinksmanship, broken promises, backroom deal making, and kicking the can down the road. Enough is enough. I've been demanding a balanced approach of shared sacrifice from both the President and the Speaker since the beginning of the year. I've listened to my constituents at multiple town halls. Iowans know that when times are tough, families don't just tighten their belts, they also take on extra jobs to increase their income. Today's vote squarely places the burden of deficit reduction on middle class families, while demanding nothing of millionaires, billionaires and corporations making record profits. My constituents don't agree with that, and neither can I."

In recent months, Rep. Braley voted to cut nearly half a trillion dollars from the current budget:

He called for an immediate withdrawal of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, which would save over $1 trillion dollars.

He opposed the invasion of Libya, which has cost taxpayers over $700 million dollars in our 5 months of involvement.

He fought for legislation to end waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, which would save up to $700 billion.

He opposed the Bush tax cuts,which have already cost over $1.8 trillion dollars. And last December he opposed the extension of President Bush's tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. By not ending tax cuts for the wealthiest, we will spend another $700 billion over the next decade.

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ROCKFORD, IL (08/02/2011)(readMedia)-- The following students attending Rockford College were named to the Dean's List for the spring 2011 semester, earning at least a 3.5 GPA with no grades below "C":

Kayla Norris, of East Moline, IL

Gregory Wilken, of East Moline, IL

Rockford College's Spring 2011 Dean's list includes those students who meet all requirements at the time the list is compiled. Students who have incomplete coursework as of the date the list is compiled would not be included in the current list. This list should not be considered an official confirmation of award. Official confirmation will be recorded on students' transcripts.

Rockford College is a four-year, co-educational institution founded in 1847 offering more than 70 majors, minors and concentrations in traditional liberal arts and professional fields. In addition, the college offers a Return-to-College accelerated program for a B.S. in Management Studies. Through its Graduate Studies department, degrees are extended to include the Master of Arts in Business Administration and Master of Arts in Teaching. Rockford College is home to one of only 11 Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) chapters in Illinois, the most prestigious honor society in the United States. Named by The Princeton Review as a Best Midwestern College and one of only 81 colleges in the nation as a "College with a Conscience," Rockford College currently serves approximately 1,300 full-and part-time students.

Senator Chuck Grassley issued the comment below regarding his vote against the deal with the White House to increase the federal debt limit.

"I voted against the plan because it delays meaningful spending reductions, fails to address entitlement spending in a way that will save the programs for future generations of retirees, and leaves open the possibility of tax increases.

"In fact, the White House said yesterday it will seek to increase taxes in the second part of the deal.  Tax increases are the wrong answer for a struggling economy, and recent history proves that higher taxes don't go to the bottom line.  Instead, they're a license for Washington to spend even more.  Since World War II, for every dollar in new taxes, the government has spent $1.17.

"The federal debt will continue to climb another $7 trillion under this deal, and the promise of cuts down the road, rather than making those decisions now, is more of the same from Washington.  Congress can always change the promises made in this deal, and the sad reality is that Congress has a record of abandoning fiscal responsibility when it's time for tough decisions.  Putting the decisions off, as this deal does, raises skepticism about whether the commitment to dollar-for-dollar reductions will be met along with this historically high debt-limit increase, especially considering the fact that until Memorial Day, the President wanted to increase the debt limit with no strings attached.

"Remember also that in February, President Obama submitted his budget proposal to Congress that refused to address looming deficits and debt.  His budget would have added another $13 trillion to the national debt over ten years.  Then the President delivered a speech in April that magically found $4 trillion in spending cuts.  So, in just a matter of weeks, President Obama found $4 trillion in spending that no longer needed to be spent.  The American people have to wonder how Washington can be serious about budgets and spending if the President, in a matter of weeks, can find $4 trillion of spending that was of national importance on February 14, but is no longer necessary on April 13.  It's this type of behavior that leads people to be cynical of Washington and the federal government.  It's little wonder that lofty commitments from Washington are most often received in Middle America as just more empty promises and political rhetoric.

"During the last five years, debt-limit increases have averaged $800 billion for six months, so this $2.4 trillion increase is an extraordinary expansion of government debt, just the opposite of what we ought to be doing.  I wish this plan was proportional to the size of the problems we face."