Question by Mr Average Joe: Would covering our roofs with aluminum foil decrease green house warming?
I heard that painting our roofs white would decrease global warming.
How about aluminum foil?
We could cover our entire earth that is “bare” with reflective cheap aluminum foil.
Will that produce a significant drop in global temperature?
Best answer:
Answer by thegeologist
By painting dark surfaces with a more reflective color, solar energy could be radiated back out in to space before it turned into infrared energy (heat). Foil would be more effective than white paint, but the additional costs would probably outweigh any benefits.
The main purpose of the lighter colors would be to keep buildings from absorbing the extra heat and requiring more energy to keep them cool. That reduction in energy consumption would allow for less burning of fossil fuels and thereby reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released.
There won’t be a significant drop in the global temperature right away since the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has a residence time of several decades to over a century.
One rather fanciful proposal was to put a large foil shade out in space that would cut the amount of sunlight reaching Earth.
Add your own answer in the comments!