One reason we need the arctic is to reflect energy from the sun? Could this effect be reproduced?

Question

For instance, so much solar energy is reflected by the vast white surfaces of the arctic. If this is lost it is my understanding that our planet will begin absorb more heat and energy from the sun.

Is there a white material that can reflect solar energy as well (or perhaps more effectively)? What if such a material were used in commercial or home roofing.

There would be no "massive block" of reflection such as in the arctic, but if the total coverage were the same in square miles but instead via a distributed fashion (across many homes) would the result be the same as still having the arctic regions covered in ice?

Answer 1

I  remember some silver metallic paint you can put on to cover roofing. It moderates the temperature of a building a little more. It reflects away unwanted heat in summer,  then in winter acts as a thermal blanket, actually "reflecting back", some heat that is trying to escape from within, through the side where it was painted on...

    Using reflective roofing could help, but how do we enforce it? A black roof actually saves on some heating bills in winter.  It is an added coast that only a thoughtful home owner with extra funds has access to...

  Standard Roofing is usually black, because tar is the main ingredient, but lots of other things like Solar panels could be added on which is even better.

Answer 2

In theory, yes we could slow down or maybe even stop global warming by covering the ground with reflective materials, but it would take millions of square miles of surface area.  The arctic and antarctic ice caps cover around 10 million square miles of the earth, or more than one sixth of the total surface of the globe.  All the rooftops in the world probably add up to a few thousand square miles.  It would be impossibly expensive to cover them all, and probably not enough area to make much difference.