Can white roofs slow global warming?
It's a basic element of science: the color black absorbs heat and light while the color white reflects it. Builders have known for decades that applying this concept to roofing material will actually lower the home's AC costs during the hot summer months, but now scientists may have discovered a new benefit: slowing global warming.On a global scale, roofs account for 25% of the surface of most cities, and pavement accounts for 35%. As an example, if all of these surfaces were replaced with a reflective material in even just 100 major urban areas, it could potentially offset 44 metric gigatons of greenhouse gases. While this may not be the ultimate solution to reversing the greenhouse effect, it's an interesting angle that many have overlooked.
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