One Answer to Climate Change Is Right Under Your Feet

[CousinIT]

When heat waves hit, people start looking for anything that might lower the temperature. One solution is right beneath our feet: pavement.

Think about how hot the soles of your shoes can get when you’re walking on dark pavement or asphalt. A hot street isn’t just hot to touch—it also raises the surrounding air temperature.

Research shows that building lighter-colored, more reflective roads has the potential to lower air temperatures by more than 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit (1.4 C) and, in the process, reduce the frequency of heat waves by 41 percent across U.S. cities. But reflective surfaces have to be used strategically—the wrong placement can actually heat up nearby buildings instead of cooling things down.

As researchers in MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub, we have been modeling these surfaces and determining the right balance for lowering the heat and helping cities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s how reflective pavement works and what cities need to think about. . . .

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lighter-pavement-can-cool-cities-by-2-degrees-and-reduce-heat-waves

[rickford66]

1. One reason I never paved our driveway.

Just dirt, grass and gravel. Cool all Summer.

[MagickMuffin]

2. Good to know they are catching up, I've known this for decades.

It really isn't rocket science.

Black asphalt adds to the heat index no doubt about it.

[GoCubsGo]

5. Yup, and it's been long known that all that pavement affects weather patterns.

Atlanta sees more thunderstorms because of the increased urbanization. All that asphalt and concrete absorb heat, maintaining higher temperatures into the evening. The higher temperatures create a low air pressure dome, which pulls in cool air. The resulting wind pushes up hot air to trigger thunderstorms.
Share:

[mitch96]

3. I had a home that had a dark roof. Painted it white and my summer electric bill went down

about $30/month... Works for me!!
m

[GoCubsGo]

4. When I replaced my roof, I went from grey-black to a light brown.

That helps with the summer power bill, although probably not as much as putting on a white one would. But, not cutting down my trees, like many of my neighbors have been doing, more than makes up for it. The brown helps the heating bill in the winter, though.

A light-colored roof helps a lot, but I wish people would stop cutting down their trees, so that their stupid-ass lawns can grow better. Trees do as much to mitigate warming as does making pavement and roofs lighter.