Turns out all we may need to stop climate change is 139 billion gallons of super-duper white paint::According to one professor, we may be able to stop climate change if we used a new super white paint to cover the entire United States
I assume at least half of this needs to go down the throats of oil tycoons in order to have any real effect.
according to this the total land area of built up human development and infrastructure is also around 1%, seems a hell of a lot easier to mandate every building have a white roof. Especially considering most buildings have black roofs, it will be even more of a difference. Also will reduce energy consumption from AC because, as said in the article buildings panted with it have reduced need for cooling.
Roads could also maybe be painted or have a whiter material used, might make it harder to drive though
Even glossing over the more complex problems with the idea, sooner or later we’re going to run out of things to paint white.
It’s another dead end idea thats being wheeled out by neoliberals so they can keep their snouts in the trough a little longer.
There is no one solution to climate change, but requiring lighter roofs for all new builds/replacements would be a simple step to start with. It doesn’t just increase the amount of light reflected back out to space, but it also significantly reduces cooling requirements, meaning less power required during peak hours.
When it comes time to change my roof, I will be considering lighter shades.
Terrible article. It even leads with a photo to mock the idea.
The benefits of painting a home’s roof with any white paint are enough to justify making it the standard. The article doesn’t even mention that the super white paint can reduce indoor temperature by 8 or more degrees. That’s a lot of energy not needed to cool the home. Even more effective is placing a second white roof above the roof on posts to shield it from solar heat. It would make sense to make a secondary roof solar panel ready. It would also extend the lifespan of the original roof.
"The paint’s properties are almost superheroic. It can make surfaces as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit cooler than ambient air temperatures at midday, and up to 19 degrees cooler at night, reducing temperatures inside buildings and decreasing air-conditioning needs by as much as 40 percent.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/climate/white-paint-climate-cooling.html
The article sounds like a hit job to ridicule a simple and effective idea.
Yes, any high-tech barely tested solution rather than change our life-destroying habits please!
i mean, what’s a more realistic solution? a small group that finds a high-tech development which can help us, or getting the majority of humanity to cooperate on what should be an obvious and necessary goal?
my bet’s on the tech, at least with A.I. assisted research.
something has eroded my optimism towards the reliable and cooperative nature of our species. if we’re putting our money on that, i consider us all doomed.
