Professor Steven Chu: paint the world white to fight global warming

Times Online ^

[Sub-Driver]

Professor Steven Chu: paint the world white to fight global warming

Mark Henderson, Science Editor

The Nobel prize-winning physicist appointed by President Obama as US Energy Secretary wants to change the colour of roofs, roads and pavements so they reflect more of the Sun’s light and heat to combat global warming, he said today.

Professor Steven Chu, speaking at the opening of the St James’s Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium, for which The Times is media partner, said this simple and “completely benign” approach to “geo-engineering” could have a vast impact at low cost.

By lightening all paved surfaces and roofs to the colour of cement, it would be possible to reduce carbon emissions by as much as taking all the world’s cars off the roads for 11 years, he said.

Building regulations should insist that all flat roofs are painted white, while visible tilted roofs could be painted with “cool coloured” paints that look normal, but which absorb much less heat than conventional dark surfaces. Roads could be lightened to a concrete colour so they do not dazzle drivers in bright sunlight.

“I think with flat-type roofs you can’t even see, yes, I think you should regulate quite frankly,” Professor Chu said. “I would be in favour of that.”

Asked whether governments should be promoting white paint as a solution to climate change, he said: “Yes, absolutely? White roofs everywhere, yes.”

[Nervous Tick]

>> Amen. And all that chipping in between paint jobs.

Hey, maybe we’ve discovered the 3 million new jobs Bambi was promising...?

(Or was it three billion? Bambi’s Big Big Numbers all run together after awhile.)

[Vigilanteman]

Actually, light surfaces reflect heat just as dark surfaces absorb them. I restore the black color on my driveway about every other year because surface snow and ice will actually start melting in the mid-20's when the sun is out. It saves me a lot of work on scraping and a lot of money on ice-melt chemicals since 25 degrees or so is an average winter high for SW Pennsylvania.

On the downside, of course, I have to put up with a driveway which is extra hot in the summertime. But the science of surface coloring, unlike the science of global warming, is sound. If global warming were a real problem, this would be a far more realistic remedy than cap and trade, CO2 emission regulations and some of the other cockamamie solutions being bantered about.

Here's another logical remedy:

Qattara Depression

If Greenland melted down completely, 88% of the excess water produced could be contained by flooding the uninhabited Qatarra Depression in northwest Egypt, producing thousands of miles of valuable lakefront property, generating electrical power as water flowed from the Medditerranean to the depression and potentially turning much of the surrounding Sahara Desert into arable land.

It took Greenland 18,000 years to accumulate as much ice as it has now. How long do you think it will take it to melt?

How long do you think it will take the global warming Chicken Littles to even propose a simple countermeasure such as this?

[reagan_fanatic]

So who’s going to pay for all of this?

Oh, wait - I know this one...

[JaguarXKE]

I’m sure glad he’s not suggesting anything crazy or nonsensical like the scientists in the 70’s who seriously proposed dusting the ice caps with coal dust to fight “global cooling.” God I hope somehow the sheeple get a clue and fight this nonsense!

[GOP_1900AD]

Drop us into an ice age. Death become him.

[JoanneSD]

I think the black asphalt drive ways in the north, are also valuable in the fact they absorb what little heat there is, and helps melt the snow..thus saving a snow blower, or snow plow on a pick up, or a regular snow plow...if the snow is not terrible deep on the drive way...

[griffin]

Ah yes, led based paint will work best. Mixes well with the mercury in the new light bulbs....

And I want white solar panels too!

[Red in Blue PA]

LOL!

[GOP_1900AD]

Death becomes him ... need more caffeine for slow fat fingers ...

[griffin]

BUT, don’t give me any of those nasty wind turbines that hurt all those nice little birdies and have those ugly power cables all over the place. I don’t want any of that even if it is white.

[Freedom_Fighter_2001]

How about red?

[griffin]

Uh-oh....but his skin absorbs lots of heat too! Maybe we need to bleach everyones skin! Michael Jackson had the right idea for the environment..

[griffin]

led = lead. Duh. (sigh)

[Sherman Logan]

To all those making fun of this solution.

Don’t.

It works. I do building inspections, part of which is inspecting roofs and attics. Buildings in which the roof is more reflective don’t pick up nearly as much radiant heat as those that are less reflective. Radiant heat transfer is largely not stopped by insulation and is a major cause of discomfort even in air conditioned homes.

Every roof must be replaced every so often. What’s so terrible about picking a more-reflective material when you’re replacing it anyway? As a neat side benefit, dark roofs, because they get so much hotter, don’t last as long as more-reflective roofing materials.

Save money on energy, save money on roof maintenance and replacement, have a more comfortable building.

What’s wrong with that?

[Steve Van Doorn]

[Steve Van Doorn]

"What’s wrong with that?"

government legislation of accepted colors.

[rbg81]

What a great idea. Good thing he’s in charge. [/s]

[sportutegrl]

I could never understand why in states in the Deep South where you run the A/C year round, the roof shingles are always black. If you are building new or re roofing, often the only shingle choices are black or dark brown. Why aren’t there white roof shingles?

[ScottinVA]

Nice to know we have such reasonable pragmatists at the levers of power. NOT!!

[ScottinVA]

Tell ya what, Professor Chu — YOU pay the costs and I’ll have my house re-roofed with lighter-colored shingles. Deal?