I HAVE AN IDEa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

ok we all no how the whole green house gas theory works right...ok no ill explain the suns waves come through or atosphere and strikes the Earth and heat it up while at the same time some of it is reflected back into space. Now with all of the c**p in ur atmoshere not as much is getting out. Well the color white reflects light the best so if we painted roofs white wouldn't that just make everything a little better???

Answer 1

Yes but the problem isn't reflecting it.  Remember that light loses a little bit of its energy when it comes in the first time.  Some of it doesn't have enough energy left to get back out when it's reflected. As the Greenhouse Gases accumulate, that amount gets to be more and more, because the energy loss gets greater.  Direct from the sun there's always some of its radiance, like Ultraviolet that is energetic enough to penetrate a pretty think atmosphere.  UV is just above the visible light at the violet (high energy) end of the spectrum.  Each loss of energy, whether from being reflected, passing through glass or passing through air shifts the light involved more and more toward the red (low energy) end of the spectrum.  When it drops below the visible red that we can see it is called "infrared, which is heat.

Answer 2

lol nice plan except its infrared radiation that can be absorbed by greenhouse gasses so we got to stop the UV light hitting the earth and changing to infrared so the best color would obviously be violety

finaly some1 a practicle solution.  all for just a couple of cans of paint too

Answer 3

i thought of this, increasing the albedo, but the area is too small. maybe cover part of the sea with a huge floating sheet of white stuff foam or something.

roofs might be better covered in solar panels, and insulation to keep the room below cooler in summer and warmer in winter, green roofs, as in covered in plants, are good for this.

Answer 4

well it might now if we could just convince the rest of the world....also what of the paint wouldn't it just destroy parts of earth because of the pollutants?  i care for earth and i do not want to harm animals,plants,ect......

Answer 5

--  one problem with that is that all of the roofs on the earth constitute less than  0.1%  of the surface of the earth.

it is true, that if there were more white, particularly near the equator where there is more sun, then it would help.  however, you might keep in mind that any paint that'll last more than a year or so is likely not environmentally friendly.

ideas are good.

i just don't think this one will work out.

HOWEVER, if you live in Phoenix, and pay to air condition your house, you certainly should consider painting both your roof and your house white.  it'll help.

someday, when you're walking down the street on a hot day, touch the roof of each car as you walk along.  white cars are noticeably cooler.  remember that next time you go buy a car.

Answer 6

Painting roofs white to reflect is a good idea.  It is actually an idea that people are currently implementing.  While white does reflect light better there are other material that reflect solar energy better.  Below is one of the standards set in place by the USGBC www.usgbc.org

"Use roofing materials having a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI)3 equal to or greater than the values

in the table below for a minimum of 75% of the roof surface.ct better there are other material that reflect"

A roof with a solar reflective index of greater than 75% will have a white appearance.

So good solution you are definately thinking appropriately.

Included in sources is a pdf showing the requirements to achieve a LEED building certification.

Oh yeah and the benefit of this is a reduction of the heat island effect that occurs in major cities, which in turn reduces energy consumption there by lowering the amount of CO2 put into the atmosphere.  Also this is modification that can be made easily to any flat roofed building.  But this only really works for flat roofed buildings because sloped roofs will reflect the solar energy at neighboring buildings.  This could provide for some angry neighbors.

Albedo means solar reflectivity

Answer 7

paint lasts no time in the sun and rain on roofs

metal color from zinc already reflects more

and reflecting the heat where does it go ,have you thought of that

Wheat fields which reflect the sun can cause fatal hot spots miles away (Fatal to agriculture) ,the clouds reflect it back again somewhere else.

Answer 8

No, it is not that part of the light is reflected, it is that light is absorbed, and then re-emitted with a lower energy, longer wavelength.

Any and all light that is reflected, instead of being absorbed and re-emitted, will pass through the greenhouse gasses. So, your strategy works well. Even aluminum or galvanized steel reflects  well.

Tiny steps, yes, but it does have an effect.

we can get even more heat reflected if we convert our land to desert, preferably with white sand. Green leaves absorb a lot of light, and  convert it to long wave low energy , and the part they absorb also causes chemical storage of energy.

We really do not want to go to desert, no matter that it reflects energy. We might even prefer to cover our houses with leafy vines, not to reflect light but to absorb CO2.

Answer 9

This is where the whole greenhouse effect is rubbish. If the heat is trapped then that implies there must be a barrier holding it there. If the barrier can trap heat from leaving then it's reasonable to assume it would prevent heat from entering. That to me is common sense but more and more you hear from so called experts the less common sense prevails.

Your idea of white roofs wouldn't make any difference as the amount of earth surface covered in roofs is nothing in comparison to the amount uncovered. Hope you are just joking or I might think you've been to university where common sense is frowned upon.