NYC’s White Roof Project aims to paint every roof in the world white by 2030.
If every rooftop in the world was painted white, the White Roof Project says that 24 billion metric tons of CO2 would be saved, a number equal to the amount of CO2 emitted in 2010. Essentially, this would have the same effect of turning the world off for one year.
In places like New York City, the Urban Heat Island effect causes cities to be much hotter and consume more energy than their rural neighbors. Why is this an issue? The EPA says, “Heat islands can affect communities by increasing summertime peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, heat-related illness and mortality, and water quality.” Yikes.
Surprisingly, just painting a roof white can combat this effect. It’s based on a simple principle: dark colors absorb heat while light colors reflect heat. Would you go outside wearing all black on a hot sunny day? Why should our cities have to?
by Amy Eicher; takepart.com
In addition, the “Urban Heat Island” phenomenon or UHI, which was first studied by Luke Howard in the 1810′s, worsens as we consume more (electrical) energy. Hence, installing or having white roofs can greatly reduce UHI in a sense that, less heat is retained, and less waste heat is released into the surroundings. This waste heat comes from electrically operated equipment, such as air conditioners, which cannot perfectly convert electrical energy into mechanical and other forms of energy. And this waste heat is usually “dumped” into the atmosphere, and adds to the already accumulated heat in the atmosphere.
Lenore Lung
With temperatures getting worse by the day, people are ready to embrace the idea of painting all roofs white, but not just yet. I can imagine how the world would look from space. Probably, our cities would look like cemeteries. LOL! Kidding aside, I think encouraging people to have white roofs for their houses can really help resolve this urban heat island effect.
Joanne Barragan