Paint Your Car White to Reduce Global Warming

Global warming has become one of the major problems of our times. Some politicians argue whether it even exists. To me it's like arguing over whether the earth is actually round. Global warming is a FACT and the scary thing about it is that we are only seeing the beginning effects of it. As many of the most sophisticated states and countries are passing laws to limit Carbon Dioxide emissions of vehicles and factories , other developing countries are expanding their industry. Pollution on a worldwide scale is showing no sign of slowing down while forests are being cleared at the same time.

So are we powerless? Absolutely not! There are many things that we can do as individuals to help reverse global warming. One of the most immediate things I have found is increasing the reflectivity of light on our cars or homes. Silver and white tend to be the most reflective.The reflectivity is often referred to as albedo.  One of the big problems with global warming is that as the temperatures have been climbing since 1880 the icecaps have been retreating. As the icecaps melt, less light is reflected back into space which means even more heat is being absorbed by the surface.

According to some research on NASA's website there is now a theory that points to decreased albedo of snow due to an escalation of soot.

"A soot content of only a few parts per billion (ppb) is needed to reduce snow albedo by 1%. We estimate that soot reduces snow albedos about 3% in Northern Hemisphere land areas, 1.5% in the Arctic, and 0.6% in Greenland. Climate simulations show that this modest albedo effect would cause a global warming that is more than a quarter of the warming observed in the past century "
James E. Hansen

"We suggest that, in addition to being a major cause of global warming, soot may directly contribute to near world-wide melting of ice that is usually attributed solely to global warming."
James E. Hansen

The image below shows the average watts per square meter. The energy that would be reflected back into space over a year simply by choosing a white or silver car over a black car would be dramatic. The black circles represent the area needed in solar panels to power the surrounding region with solar power.

Here are a few simple things you can do to help:

1. The next time you're choosing a vehicle, choose a light color like white or silver.
2. Paint your roof white.  Not only will it help the environment, it will save you money in cooling).
3. Begin to think of creative ways to reflect more light into space.
4. Grow some white flowers or even create a white rock garden.

So, in summary, if we all can reflect a little more sunlight back away from earth we can create a brighter tomorrow for future generations.