Whether you believe in Global Warming or not, many think that it is on an increasing path. A new method for reducing the speed and cost of this occurrence is quite simple and relatively inexpensive but requires a little time and physical labor (minor expenses for saving the planet). The new fight against Global Warming is white paint. Painting roofs with the white paint actually helps to cool the planet. With the paint applied, some of the sun's radiation is reflected back into space which means that our planet will receive less of the sun's energy. Along with this, less energy means less heat therefore keeping the temperatures inside the homes and buildings with white roofs cooler. Less electricity would be needed for air conditioning which means fewer greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. It is predicted that having the white roof reduces one's energy costs by 20-30% per year. Wow! Along with white roofs, it is possible to apply white glazes to buildings and use light-colored concrete. Of urban surfaces, this could increase reflectivity by 10%. This could cancel out 44 gigatons of carbon dioxide (where in comparison, the world emits 28 gigatons per year from fossil fuel emissions). California researchers estimate that painting the roofs white or installing white tiles could offset 1.5 years or man-made carbon emissions.
This is a nice example of simple things that can be done that have a potentially large effect. The costs are minimal and the downsides appear to be few. Small things add up! If we are to achieve the reduction in CO2 that many believe is necessary, we will need many more creative solutions like this.
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