Related Posts
Water vapor and global warming
Water vapor, a potent heat-trapping gas, absorbs sunlight and re-emits heat into Earth’s atmosphere. Its concentrations in the...
Recovery from global warming may take earth 100.000 years
As an opening statement from a current venue by The Geological Society in London, geologists have warned about...
Annual State of the Climate Report Says “Global Warming is Undeniable”Last night, I was watching the Weather Channel and something rather interesting was brought to my attention. A...
Global Warming Bites!
It’s a good guess that most people do not sit down with the latest scientific paper or magazine...
Global warming encourages tree growth but dries up wetlands, studies show
Longer growing seasons and higher concentrations of CO2 may encourage faster growth rates in trees, according to a...
Get your Eco Starter Kit
Create an account and start harvesting Carbon Credits! Exchange your Carbon Credits for green goodies, like the Eco-Hatchery Starter Kit!
-
Green network users
3,049 Users - Show All
Green Directory
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
The Easy Fix That Isn’t: White Roofs May Increase Global Warming
Image by Walmart Stores (source: Flickr)
If you’re interested in staving off climate change without trying too hard, painting your roof white seems like a complete no-brainer. It’s far cheaper than trading in your SUV for a Prius, and it turns the laws of physics to best advantage. Dark roofs absorb sunlight that heats up your house, office tower, or apartment building. That means you’re bound to crank up the energy-intensive air conditioner to keep pace in the summer months — and since electricity in the U.S. comes largely from fossil fuels, the net result is more heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, and more global warming.
But a white roof does just the opposite. It bounces sunlight right back into the sky, just as light clothing helps you stay cool in the summer. Cooler buildings need less air conditioning, which translates to fewer emissions of heat-trapping gases. That’s why Energy Secretary (and Physics Nobel prizewinner) Steven Chu endorsed the idea back in 2009 and why cities like New York and Philadelphia have launched white-roof projects.
Unfortunately, what seems obvious is not always true, and a new study available online and soon coming out in the Journal of Climate reveals some potentially bad news for white roofs. When Stanford University engineer Mark Jacobson, and his grad student John Hoeve modeled the total climate response to white roofs and other urban surfaces, they found the lightening may actually cause more global warming.
Here’s why: the sunlight that bounces off white roofs doesn’t all fly out into space. A lot of it is absorbed by particles of soot and other dark-colored pollutants that float around in the atmosphere (those same particles are already responsible for a good portion of global warming). The particles heat up, just like your house would have, and the net result is a warmer atmosphere. You house might be cooler, but it would be at the expense of heating the planet.
In short, says Jacobson in a press release: “There does not seem to be a benefit from investing in white roofs. The most important thing is to reduce emissions of the pollutants that contribute to global warming.” So much for trying to take the easy way out.
On the other hand, says Jacobson, there is another way to use your roof in the fight against climate change: cover it with solar panels. The panels intercept sunlight before it hits the roof, so your house doesn’t heat up so much. They don’t bounce the light back into the atmosphere where it can heat up soot particles. And they generate at least some electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. It’s not quite as cheap as painting your roof. But unlike that feel-good solution, it’s actually likely to be effective.
By Alyson Kenward.
Original blog post by Climate Central.
Tags: climate central, climate change white roofs, global warming, white roofs global warming, white rooftops
One comment
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Tree-hugging hippies and bloodthirsty killers – environmentalism makes strange bedfellows
You wouldn’t expect Greens, who often refuse to eat animals, to have much in common with hunters, who enjoy shooting and eating them. But shared perspectives on factory farming, personal responsibility and an affinity for nature are providing much needed common ground in order to bring about important political and societal change concerning environmental issues. Funny how looming disasters have a way of bringing some people together. The ecology movements around the world have diverse origins in terms of politics, philosophy...
CNN’s ‘Eco Solutions’: In-vitro Flesh and Paul McCartney’s Meat Free Mondays
Remember those rumors a few years ago about Kentucky Fried Chicken changing its name to KFC because it no longer used actual chickens, but rather some ghastly headless lab-grown creatures kept alive by tubes? Well those rumors were true. OK, they weren’t. But in a bizarre twist of technological fate, scientists are now developing lab-cultured “in-vitro meat” as a less expensive, healthier and more eco-friendly alternative to conventional livestock farming. This is eerily – and I admit as a huge scifi fan,...
Monkey news: Study says gorillas play tag
Video footage taken by researchers at five different European zoos shows gorillas tapping each other on the shoulder and then running away while the gorilla who has been tapped gives chase. The young gorillas appear to be playing a game of tag, just like human children. A group of scientists from European universities has published research in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters exploring how gorillas play and test what is socially acceptable behavior. From an article in the Telegraph: By playing both...
Start a love train: Belgium’s solar rail tunnel
When one thinks of Belgium three things immediately spring to mind: alcoholic monks, acne and ethnic strife. Wait, that’s not quite right. What I mean to say is that when one thinks of Belgium three things immediately spring to mind: fine Trappist beers, gourmet chocolates and a thriving multiculturalism. It’s funny how that came out on my first try. I must have momentarily become some kind of stereotyping, Daily Mail-reading, grumpy old cynic. Anyway, one thing that this boring little non-country, excuse...
EPA Announces Plans for Stricter Drinking Water Standards
Today, the EPA announced plans to tighten drinking water standards. Stricter limits will be placed on 4 contaminants believed to cause cancer. These new rules will be in place within the next year. The suspected contaminants found in drinking water include: tetrachloroethyleneylene, trichloroethylene, acrylamide, and epichlorohydrin. Those compounds are certainly a mouthful and they are also quite harmful. The first 2 can be found in industrial and textile processing and sneak their way into drinking water from contaminated ground or surface...
Rio+20=Earth Summit 2012 in Brazil
The world is facing a mounting crisis. In recent years we have experienced a combination of a global financial crisis, a food crisis, volatile oil prices, accelerating ecosystem degradation and an increasing number of climate-induced extreme weather events. These multiple and inter-related crises call into question the ability of a growing human population to live peacefully and sustainably on this planet, and demand the urgent attention governments and citizens around the world. –Earth Summit 2012 website The UN Conference on Sustainable Development,...
Tuvalu-ra-loo: global warming causing Pacific paradise to wave goodbye
In a recent article about the almost-failed state of Nauru, I mentioned the ecological fate of another Polynesian island called Tuvalu, a thin sliver of tropical heaven on Earth and pristine ecosystems that is being swallowed by the rising waters the warming Pacific Ocean. A tiny New York Times brief dated September 14th, 2007 cites a study giving the island 30-50 years before it is consumed by the waves. That’s not a lot of time. Nor does it offer much hope...
Q: Is wool a cruelty-free product?
If wool doesn't come from dead animals, why do some vegetarians and vegans refuse to wear wool clothes? Don't sheep need to be shorn to remove their excess wool? A: Most people don’t realize that the wool industry involves exploitation of sheep and a lot of cruelty. If you think it’s less cruel than leather or fur production, you are wrong. As you know, wild sheep do not need our help. When winter is over, they shed their coat...
The Green Maven: when you are searching for all things Green
Think the world can’t get any more green in their business pursuits? Well, Green Maven is about to prove you wrong. Green Maven is a search engine and website directory specifically dedicated to listing and promoting all things “green”. Launched in 2006, they host over 10,000 websites today, with “green” categories ranging from clothing to restaurants to travel, and even eco-weddings! If you are one that is dedicated to living a “green” lifestyle, then this website is something you will...
Not just a walk in the park: Botanical gardens focus on ecosystem restoration
Just as zoos underwent an image makeover in the 1990s from carnival-like places to gawk at exotic animals into ‘bastions of conservation,’ so are formal gardens similarly being re-branded. No longer just ornamental green urban escapes, the world’s leading botanical gardens are focusing on conservation and biodiversity. In a time when ecosystems and biodiversity are degrading at an alarming rate, formal gardens play an increasingly important role. Not only do they act as museums or places to conserve rare plants, but...
View all articles
I was about to dance with joy while reading the first part of the article, then all of a sudden a splash of cold water came at the last part…Lesson learned, there is no such thing as SHORT CUT for great stuff…..hehehehhhe nice one