Here's your chance not just to be the mayor, but the original city planner as well! Imagine a medium sized city that would be developed with modern, low carbon transportation in mind, and other strategies to reduce the average citizens' carbon footprints.
What would that city look like? Would that make you more likely to want to live there?
Sustainable City >
Benefits of painting roofs white
A white roof can benefit heat levels in urban areas because a white roof is more reflective of sunlight than a dark roof. White roofs reflect 90% of sunlight compared to the 20% that a black roof reflects. White roofs also reduce co2 emissions. "Replacing dark roofs with white ones every 1000 square feet would result in equivalent co2 offset of 10 metric tons."-the white roof project forums. They also help the increasingly prominent problem of extreme urban heat greatly, with white roofs that help keep heat from getting trapped in urban areas.
This was definitely new information to me. I am shocked by the numbers in these changes and impressed the shingles can offset 10 metric tons of carbon waste.
I think this is a great idea and this information is definately surprising to me. But I think some people may not care that it decreases there carbon footprint because it's an aesthetic thing. Also I believe most people will be too lazy to get someone to come out and paint their roof white.
That is amazing and more people should do this. But some people can be just too lazy and just honestly not care.
New houses should be built with white roofs.
Im suprised that this is a viable solution and that it actully reduces co2 emissions although I also wonder why it hasnt already been done because it seems pretty simple to make roofs white.
Painting roofs white is a great idea. To expand a little more on this idea, the reason that white roofs help to slow global warming, is that they reflect rays of sunlight back into the atmosphere. This reflection prevents the earth from absorbing these rays, which would otherwise heat up the earth. It is best to avoid heating up the planet as much as possible, considering the damage that is already being done by the heating of the earth caused by the greenhouse effect. Not only does this strategy apply to buildings, but roads as well. (1)According to a study by Emeritus Art Rosenfeld, “making roofs and pavements around the world more reflective could offset 44 billion tons of CO2 emissions.” This would be a huge help to slowing down climate change and could make a big impact on the future of our society.