The Chicago Green Sox?
The Chicago White Sox baseball team may want to rename themselves after installing one of the greenest parking lots in the country at U.S. Cellular Field. At 265,000 square feet, it’s about the size of four and a half football fields, but what makes it special is its ability to make rainwater virtually disappear. Parking Lot L uses interlocking permeable pavers with crevices that allow water to pass right between them. And it’s not just a little water – this parking lot can handle a 100-year rainfall event! Once in the ground, the water gets absorbed and cleansed – and that reduces stormwater runoff, a common source of nutrient pollution in lakes and streams. (Learn more about nutrient pollution here).
Viewer Tip: Using permeable pavement for driveways, patios or walkways at home is a great investment. Over the course of its 30-year lifespan, permeable pavement can increase the value of your home by accumulating less ice in the winter, reducing flooding, requiring less maintenance, qualifying your home for LEED certification and improving the overall appearance of your property.
Watch a video about permeable pavement:
(Sources: Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. “U.S. Cellular Field is First Major League Sports Facility to Use Eco-Friendly Permeable Paving.” April 8, 2008. Accessed Online May 15, 2012. http://www.isfauthority.com/news/article.asp?ArticleSource=228; Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute. “Sustainability.” Accessed Online May 15, 2012.http://www.icpi.org/sustainable;
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Green Infrastructure.” Accessed Online May 15, 2012.
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/index.cfm.)
