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New!!: Dr. John Ray's
GREENIE WATCH
Posted on 09/18/2008 3:32:31 PM PDT by PROCON
A can of white paint should be part of the planet's arsenal against global warming, say California researchers, who have calculated that installing white roofs in the world's cities could offset 1.5 years of man-made carbon emissions. Light-colored roofs cool the planet in two ways. First, they reflect a certain fraction of radiation back into space, which means that the earth receives less of the sun's energy. Second, a cooler house requires less air conditioning--and hence results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
The new study focused on the first effect. To analyze the impact of a change in the reflectivity of city roofs, scientists with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the state of California estimated the global number of roofs and asphalt surfaces in cities. They made a conservative estimate that those surfaces make-up 1% of the Earth's surface. Modifying the roofs with light-colored tiles, the team found that using light-colored concrete, or applying white glazes to buildings, could increase the reflectivity of urban surfaces by 10%. That adjustment would negate the warming effects of 44 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the researchers report in an upcoming issue of Climatic Change. (The world currently emits roughly 28 gigatons per year from fossil fuels.) Halting all deforestation of tropical forests could eliminate about seven gigatons of emissions, by comparison.
"We were really surprised. We didn't expect such a big [cooling] effect," says LBNL climate scientist Surabi Menon.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenow.sciencemag.org ...
Ping!
HOA’s be very afraid
A white roof attracts tornados... that is why if there is a trailor within 10 miles of a tornado, the funnel will head straight for it.
Will have to approve it with the HOA and my HOA are Nazis in disguise....
The Japanese have been doing this for years in Okinawa.
Hooray! The libs two greatest fears can be eased with a can of white spray paint. Paint your windows white for nuclear war and paint your roof white for global warming! What color spray paint do they need to ward off Sarah Palin?
Click on POGW graphic for full GW rundown
New!!: Dr. John Ray's
GREENIE WATCH
Why don’t we paint everything white? Forrests, oceans, deserts, Al Gore’s giant, pulsating head.
I’ve also read (or heard) that putting dirt up on the roofs and planting low, ground-cover evergreens or grass will cool and insulate buildings and help freshen the air. I think they’re doing it in Chicago or Milwaukee or somewhere...Perhaps, I heard Paul Harvey talk about it...he’s from Chicago.
There are buildings near Royal Gorge in Colorado that have that approach of dirt and plans on the roof....they do keep quite cool in the summer.
Are these people for real or ist this a spoof?
“Why don’t we paint everything white? Forrests, oceans, deserts, Al Gore’s giant, pulsating head.”
Careful there ...
the Obomination doesn’t like “white” people.
I painted my roof white YEARS ago. Got a 5-gallon bucket of white roof paint and rolled it on in a few hours. Makes a noticeable difference, especially over the part of the house that does not have a crawl space. Worth doing if you don’t mind the appearance.
“the Obomination doesn’t like “white” people.”
Does that mean he hates himself?
Think I'll pass on far left moonbatery, GOREBUL Warming, cure-alls and panaceas--especially up here in the People's Socialist Republic of Vermont.
Tonight, although we are only in mid Sept., the forecast is BELOW freezing tonight.
Can any Environmental Wacko edify me on how a "white roof" would benefit me?
In the immortal words of those two paragons of virtue and obviously mensa-qualified, Celebitches, Lidsay Lohan and Pam Anderson: All you EnviroNuts "can suck it!
I was going to write to the scientist and offer my solution that we just eliminate the the hours of daylight.. say between 6am and 7 pm on our clocks. Then we would always have night time and when the earth cooled we could put the hours back in all the clocks.
That’s it. I’m in Michigan and I’m installing a new roof this fall. It’ll be black.
“the Obomination doesn’t like “white” people.”
Does that mean he hates himself?
Just the half that is white along with his white grandparents who raised him from a dysfunctional family. The black half is exalted. So, no “white” stuff.
Few years ago there was a study that global warming could be slowed if macadam was white as well.
Hubby’s old fire station had a red roof. They reroofed it and did shingles in a dark dark brown. The air conditioner ran all the time and you could definitely tell the difference.
"Cause that might actually be worth it !
I don't need any kind of specific statistics or calculations to know this is an extreme overestimate. It *might* be 1/100-th of that, and I suspect even less.
Here’s a much better idea. Aerogel insulation. “Frozen smoke”, one of the best insulators around. 99.8% air.
Within the last year, they have figured out how to make sheets of aerogel that are much less expensive and flexible, not brittle.
Just a few millimeters of aerogel can keep you hot in an Antarctic blizzard. They could also drop the power demand for a refrigerator or a stove considerably.
Imagine what it could do for your home? Slashing heating bills in winter and air conditioning bills in summer.
Its melting point is 2,200F.
Why stop there. Lets also spray paint cows, horses, make all of our roads white with black lines, ban dark clothes, make all cars white, paint all people white, make car tires white.
Hey, a Mason, dad’s a Mason and I was in Job’s Daughters ...
Hey, a Mason, dad’s a Mason and I was in Job’s Daughters ...
It's very popular in Norway, etc. They usually put a goat or two up there to keep it trimmed. Wisconsin has a Norwegian restaurant that does that. It's cute. However, I have a three-story house; a goat on top would endanger the goat and anything it fell on...namely ME, LOL!
Now if only someone could invent white asphalt....
The problem is Africa - OK so does that now make me a racist?
The problem is Africa - OK so does that now make me a racist?
Here we go. Al Johnson's in Door county, WI.
yup... Past Master of my Lodge. good for you. pls say hello to yer Dad for me, and remember, the Eastern Star is always there for you.
While it may not save the planet, this approach can save people in Florida or Arizona a great deal of money.
I have always thought dark shingles are a particularly idiotic thing to put on your roof in a hot climate.
BTW, a roof pool works even better. It’s just a flat roof with a 4” lip around the edge. Keep it filled with water and essentially no radiant heat is picked up through the roof.
Whether anthropogenic global warming is true or not, saving energy and money is a conservative thing to do.
Mom’s an Eastern Star - don’t have enough time to enjoy ... busy with work and other things. I do go for dinners though.
And Thanks .... Dad’s Scottish Rite ....
Jane
Mom’s an Eastern Star - don’t have enough time to enjoy ... busy with work and other things. I do go for dinners though.
And Thanks .... Dad’s Scottish Rite ....
Jane
This is a perfect example of why hippies are stupid and can’t even express an idea in a way to highlight its good points. Here hippies, watch the capitalist pig and learn if you are able; A WHITE ROOF COULD SAVE YOU MONEY. There see that, I made a point that people might actually give a rats rump about instead of having to make up something as stupid as global warming. Of course a can of white spray paint is a really bad idea, tacky and dangerous. Anyone that would spray paint their roof is surely a hippie deep inside or just really really cheap.
If we paint all the asphalt white, they won’t be able to use it as solar collectors.
i'm a Yorkie...
Dad has a tie clip with that same symbol ....hand made in fact.
Dad has a tie clip with that same symbol ....hand made in fact.
The roofing contractor told us homes with lighter covered roofs are about 8 degrees cooler in the summer.
We went with the light colored composition shingles. Looks great too.
“Are these people for real or ist this a spoof?”
Totally true! Why is white so cool and black so hot in the summer? White reflects light and black absorbs it. If you have a white roof thats all the more that is bounced back.
Sure it doesnt sound like a lot, but if everyone in the US did it we’d reflect a heck of a lot of sunlight! Its one of those things that will never happen but goes to show how far the little things can help (like tire gauges, ironically)
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