If you pay close attention to 'Weather on the 8s', you'll notice that when we show you the high temperatures throughout the summer, Camp Mabry is almost always hotter than ABIA. That's because Mabry is under the influence of the urban heat island effect, while the airport is in a more rural area. Basically, developed areas get hotter than areas full of grass, plants and trees.

Green rooftops (rooftops covered with greenery) can help reduce the urban heat island effect, as well as provide many other benefits. Other big benefits include using less energy to run the A/C and minimizing flooding during extreme rain events.

Behind the scenes at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, they are conducting tests to find out what combination of soil, sand, rocks, plants and roof materials will yield the best results for our area.

The research is actually nothing new at the Wildflower Center. In fact, it's been on hold for a while. But the ball is rolling again as the City of Austin has helped provide a rain machine. This will help researchers to better simulate the weather patterns in Central Texas when we go from hot and dry conditions to heavy downpours.

Have an idea for a future Go Green! segment? Send an email to green@news8austin.com