Kyle Kraynak

Kyle Kraynak

Undergraduate: B. S. in Parks and Resource Management, Slippery Rock University

Hometown: West Middlesex, PA

Interests: Green Roofs and Design, Forestry

Philosophy of Sustainability

Today peril and danger are evident all over our planet. Some of the catastrophes and natural disasters are ordinary occurrences that have always and perhaps will always occur. With a keen and perceptive eye, however, one can see that the actions of our human race over the last 100 years are having profound consequences. Rapid ice melts of glaciers, drying of lakes, prolonged drought, mountain top removal for coal, more intense hurricanes, larger wild fires, global warming, deforestation, habitat fragmentation, species and biodiversity loss are just a few of the problems humankind faces today. The only way to ensure we as a species can survive on the only planet suitable for life we must follow a sustainable path. Implementing an energy efficiency overhaul, designing vehicles better, and increasing mpg standards during the 21st century is a must. By imposing caps on how much CO2 can be emitted and enforcing the regulations, emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases could be curbed. Developing a massive effort toward renewable energy will be the only way to break our addiction to foreign oil. It is necessary to ensure that our public lands are not butchered for development and resource extraction. This can be achieved by using solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, photovoltaic energy sources, and other strategies that may be developed in the future.

Area of Interest

I am focusing my research on green roof design. In doing some research on conventional building design compared with “green design”, the savings are substantial and greenhouse gas emissions are lessened. The leader in green design is the country of Germany where all commercial buildings are required to be designed with green roofs. Coordinating with two other students from the sustainable systems masters program from Slippery Rock University we seek to develop green designed buildings for the Robert A. Macoskey Center, an educational center that provides examples of sustainable systems education and research. Roofs can represent up to 32% of the horizontal surface of buildings. Roofs are important in energy flux during hot and cool periods and also in water relations. A green roof on a structure can reduce energy required for maintaining interior climates by intercepting and dissipating solar radiation. Green roofs also decrease the amount of runoff by absorbing and retaining precipitation, thus reducing the amount of storm water runoff into storm sewers. While green roofs are more expensive to install at first, they will make up the cost over the span of the roof due to energy savings. By offering incentive programs to convert to sustainable green roof design, increasing environmental standards, and continually improving design features, green roofs will provide aesthetic, economic, and environmental benefits for generations to come.