White roofs and solar panels could help ease climate change
Stephen Chu, the United States’ energy secretary and Obama’s mastermind when it comes to climate change, made a strange proposal when talking to Nobel Laureates at London’s Nobel Symposium. Professor Chu suggested that all the world’s roofs should be painted white to reflect more of the sun’s rays back into space. The typical dark color that roofs have absorbs much more light than a light roof would. The energy secretary mentioned that white roofs would put a brake on global warming and ease electric bills in hot areas. Professor Chu said that the current research that the Berkeley Lab has conducted shows that light colored roofs could slow global warming down up to 11 years.
“If you look at all the buildings, and if you make the roofs white, and if you make the pavement more of a concrete type of color rather than a black type of color, and if you do that uniformly, that would be the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars in the world by 11 years – just taking them off the road for 11 years," said Chu.
The Obama administration has put global warming at the forefront of its energy plan which is a stark contrast from his predecessor. The energy secretary has been given the task of helping make the country more energy efficient. White roofs were just one of the many topics discussed at the three day symposium in England’s capital. Chu promised that the United States would work to become a leader in developing new energy technologies like solar, wind, nuclear and clean coal.
Nobody disagrees with Professor Chu about the idea lowering the cost of air conditioning. White roofs can reflect roughly 75% more light that black roofs, and many companies have adopted the idea, including Walmart. The issue is the feasibility of making a global change. Skeptics are saying that there just isn’t enough paint to make a difference.
Regardless of the true impact white roofs will have, making an effort to do anything we can to protect the environment as more and more people live on it should be a priority. California has already taken the lead by mandating white tops on flat roofed buildings, while the government is looking into a tax credit for people choosing to lighten the color of their roofs.
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