Buildings absorb heat from the sun throughout the day.  This heat is released at night and actually raises temperature of the microclimate, which can have a negative effect on plants and animals.  This heat also increases energy use in buildings for cooling in the summer. This facility incorporates a white rubber roof (see sample material below), which reflects the sun reducing the “heat island effect” on the micro-climate.  Materials are categorized by their SRI, solar reflectance index, which is essentially the percentage of light reflected from the respective surface. This white roof has a SRI of .84 equating to a temperature rise of about 25 degrees, verses a black roof, which has an SRI of .05 equating to a temperature rise of 90 degrees.