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Last summer, the Obama
administration pushed out there the idea that all homes in the U.S have white
roofs to help save energy. Energy secretary Steven Chu said " it would be
it’s the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars on
the road for 11 years.”
Some arguing against the idea and wonder where
this statistic comes from.
A follow-up story in the Wall Street Journal
said Chu’s stat is wrong. But it reports that it would actually save
more:
“The thing is, secretary Chu actually
understated the potential benefits of global whitewashing. The Lawrence
research he refers to says that white roofs and pavements could mean a
one-time reduction of 44 billion tons of carbon dioxide. That, translates to
removing all the cars in the world for 18 years.”
California is now requiring new roofing to be
painted light colors. If you live in a cold climate, the white roof does have
a winter penalty, according to the Cool Roof Rating Council. But some
companies selling such solutions say it’s not such a big deal. (Of course,
they have a product to sell.)
Saving the planet is all well and good, but
what about my electric bill? A study quoted in this article by green
publication Carbon Offsets Daily said, “two homes with roofs of highly
reflective paint used 35 percent less electricity last summer than the two
with less reflective paint.” The publication also says white roofs are
becoming standard for many businesses: In the United States, they have been
standard equipment for a decade at new Wal-Mart stores.
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