After a recent visit to the California Academy of Science, which finally reopened in their new digs last September, I was immediately struck by the sustainable architecture, which earned it a platinum LEED rating (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Actually, what struck me immediately was the long line (1/2 hour) to get inside, but once in, the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights catch the eye — and capture the sunshine for purposes of natural lighting.

My first stop was the living roof, which I’ve been wildly curious to see since it was first announced as a design element. Living roofs are actually not a new concept — as Viennese artist-architect Friedenreich Hundertwasser could well attest — but they’re still not exactly commonplace. This roof is designed to capture up to 3.6 million gallons of rainwater per year, act as a source of natural insulation, and provide electricity and whimsy via a Saturn’s ring of solar panels fringing the exterior. Best of all is the clever quirk of topography, turning the twin domes of the planetarium and the rainforest room into a series of rolling hills up above, each planted with native, weather resistant plants such as beach strawberries, stonecrop, and the ubiquitous California poppy. Next I headed for the Steinhart aquarium to commune with the jellyfish (ballerinas of the sea!), and check out the salt water tanks replete with coral, sharks, and stingrays — perambulating in water pumped straight in from the nearby Pacific Ocean.

The final exhibit I visited was also the most sobering, dealing as it did with climate change. At various stations one encounters extinctions, melting ice floes, habitat loss, and other tragic consequences of global warming. A large scale built with five counterweights examines individual energy use, rating the user’s personal energy consumption from dangerous red to vibrant green. I’m happy to say, that even with airplane travel, my space heater habit, and my dependence on imported coffee, I am well in the green. The habit that tipped the scale in my favor? My car-free lifestyle. So change your light bulbs to compact fluorescents, yes please, vacation locally, and throw out the microwave if you want. But if you haven’t cut back on the car — you haven’t really cut back on the carbon. That’s science.