Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Bright Is The New Black: New York Roofs Go Cool

Via NASA/Goddard, a report on cool roofs: On the hottest day of the New York City summer in 2011, a white roof covering was measured at 42 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the traditional black roof it was being compared to, according to a study including NASA scientists that details the first scientific results from the […]

Read more »



A Rooftop Revolution: Changing Everything with Cost-Effective Local Solar

Via Energy Self Reliant States, a summary of a new report out looking at residential solar’s business model: With the cost of solar power plunging and retail electric prices rising, 100 million Americans in the nation’s largest cities will be able to “go solar” for a lower price than grid electricity in the next ten […]

Read more »



When It Rains, It Pours: Rainwater Collection Could Save Urban Consumers $90 Million a Year

Via Think Progress, a report on a cheap, abundant resource that could help consumers save money and fight climate change: rainwater.  As the article notes: Residents in eight cities around the U.S. could collectively trim up to $90 million a year off their water bills with simple rainwater collection techniques, according to a new report. […]

Read more »



New NYC Planning Proposal Would Make 1,200 Acres Available For Rooftop Farming

Via L Magazine, a report on an interesting zoning proposal in New York City that would provide an exemption for rooftop greenhouses.  As the article notes: Time to reassert Brooklyn bragging rights! And some potentially amazing news: Rooftop gardens like Eagle Street Farm, the Brooklyn Grange and even Roberta’s homegrown carrot supply have been making […]

Read more »



World’s Largest Rooftop Farm Plans Move And Expansion

Via EcoLocalizer, a report that the world’s largest rooftop farm plans to move: For those wanting to see what happens with a community garden located on the rooftop, go visit the Brooklyn Grange – which is not in really in Brooklyn, but in Queens. Now what is considered the world’s largest rooftop farm is expanding […]

Read more »



Cool. Down. Under – White Roofs Make For Cooler Buildings

Via Energy Daily, a report on an Australian study that looked at the cooling effects of white roofs.  As the article notes: New research launched by the University of Melbourne and the City of Melbourne will give buildings owners across Melbourne access to information that can help their buildings absorb less heat and stay cooler […]

Read more »


About This Blog And Its Author
As potential uses for building and parking lot roofspace continue to grow, unique opportunities to understand and profit from this trend will emerge. Roof Options is committed to tracking the evolving uses of roof estate – spanning solar power, rainwater harvesting, wind power, gardens & farms, “cooling” sites, advertising, apiculture, and telecom transmission platforms – to help unlock the nascent, complex, and expanding roofspace asset class.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy. Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation. He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”