Cooling the earth to combat 'climate change'

A very uncomplicated, low-tech method, for people who believe the earth is warming

Climate change - the climate has always been changing. Is man-made warming real? Let’s just assume that it is for the purposes of this article. Even if it is naturally occurring, this works. To demonstrate the “elite” want power, not results, a solution that doesn’t require changing the entire world economy and would add only very minimal costs over a decade or two is ignored.

TLDR: If all roofs and parking lots worldwide were painted white, the Earth's albedo (reflectivity) would increase by ~0.24-0.47%, resulting in a cooling effect of ~0.6-1.3°C globally. Localized cooling in urban areas would likely be more pronounced due to reduced heat absorption.

The best parts are, this is reversible by changing colors if it becomes necessary and it doesn’t require retooling the world economy. It is low-tech and doesn’t require global control.

The calculations:

Step 1: Current Earth's Albedo

• Earth's average albedo: ~0.3 (30%)

  • This means Earth reflects about 30% of incoming solar radiation.

• Urban areas make up roughly 1-2% of Earth's surface.

  • About 40% of urban areas are roofs and parking lots.

Step 2: Albedo of Surfaces

• Typical dark roofs/parking lots: albedo ~0.1-0.15 (10-15%).

• White roofs/parking lots: albedo ~0.6-0.8 (60-80%).

Step 3: Global Impact

1. Surface Area of Urban Areas:
   Earth's total surface area: 510 million km².
   Urban areas: ~1-2%, or 5-10 million km².
   Roofs/parking lots: ~40%, or 2-4 million km².

2. Change in Reflected Energy (∆Albedo):
   Switching from dark to white increases albedo from ~0.1 to ~0.7, a ∆Albedo = 0.6.

   Total ∆Albedo:

   ΔAlbedo=∆Albedo for roofs/parking lots×areaEarth’s total surface areaΔAlbedo=Earth’s total surface area∆Albedo for roofs/parking lots×area​ΔAlbedo=0.6×(2−4 million km²)510 million km²=0.0024−0.0047ΔAlbedo=510million km²0.6×(2−4million km²)​=0.0024−0.0047

   So, Earth's albedo would increase by ~0.0024 to 0.0047 (0.24-0.47%).

3. Cooling Effect (Energy Reflected):
   The average solar radiation at the top of Earth's atmosphere is ~340 W/m².
   The extra reflected energy due to the albedo change:

   ΔEnergy=ΔAlbedo×340 W/m²ΔEnergy=ΔAlbedo×340W/m²ΔEnergy=0.0024×340 W/m²=0.816 W/m²ΔEnergy=0.0024×340W/m²=0.816W/m²

   (Range: 0.82 - 1.6 W/m²).

4. Global Temperature Impact:
   Using a simplified climate sensitivity factor of ~0.8°C per W/m², the global temperature decrease is:

   ΔT=ΔEnergy×0.8 °C per W/m²ΔT=ΔEnergy×0.8°C per W/m²ΔT=0.82×0.8=0.66 °CΔT=0.82×0.8=0.66°C

   (Range: ~0.6-1.3°C cooling).

Assumptions:

1. Total Roof and Parking Lot Area: ~3,060,000 km² which is about3.06 billion m².

2. Paint Coverage:

   • On average, 1 gallon of paint covers about 350 square feet (32.5 m²) for a single coat.

   • To ensure good coverage and durability, assume two coats.

It would take a lot of paint (188 billion gallons or so) to do it all at once, but properties of paint are well known, paint doesn’t not require strip mining and the like to obtain materials for batteries/solar panels etc, and it doesn’t require re-tooling the global economy. Painting wouldn’t be the best solution since shingle roofs are regularly replaced (10-15 years) and roads are regularly repaved (3-5 years or resurfaced every 10-20), changing the color of the replacements would only change the price marginally.