Now we can battle climate change!

[trekkiedane]

All we have to do is paint everything that isn't moving white (like the English did on army bases throughout the world in olden days).

Story (BBC)

Mr Gold may not be a scientist but his idea is based on the simple scientific principle that when sunlight is reflected off a white or light-coloured surface, solar energy passes back through the atmosphere and out into space, rather than warming the Earth's surface.

It's an old idea and I haven't seen any hard scientific evidence that it might work, but I suppose this is the first large scale experiment with the 'technology' and we'll just have to wait for the data to come in.

Good idea or crackpot scheme? -what do you think?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I thought the whole problem with global warming is that we're dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which traps heat and keeps it here. Painting shit white just reflects it back up into the upper atmosphere, where it will be bounced down again thanks to all that CO2.

I don't know, this seems rather misguided and silly, but probably harmless.

 

[Pingfah]

This idea is ridiculous, obviously the real answer is to wrap the planet in tin foil.

 

[trekkiedane]

This idea is ridiculous, obviously the real answer is to wrap the planet in tin foil.

That's actually not a bad idea!

After pouring some oil on it and wrapping it in tin foil we'll just have to let it sit for a little while and we'll have a delicious planet with crunchy crust and a chewy centre

 

[shivkala]

I have it on good authority that painting the Earth white will only allow the neutrinos from the recent solar flare to cook the Earth's core quicker. That and and the fluoridation of salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, and ice cream.

 

[Canadave]

I thought the whole problem with global warming is that we're dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which traps heat and keeps it here. Painting shit white just reflects it back up into the upper atmosphere, where it will be bounced down again thanks to all that CO2.

I don't know, this seems rather misguided and silly, but probably harmless.

Not necessarily, actually. Albedo is a significant factor in the global climate, which is part of why the polar ice caps are such a big concern—the smaller they get, the less sunlight they reflect.

That said, I'm rather doubtful this will have a terribly significant effect...

 

[StolenThunder]

This idea is ridiculous, obviously the real answer is to wrap the planet in tin foil.

Shiny or matte side up!?

 

[trekkiedane]

 

[RJDiogenes]

The idea isn't intrinsically crazy-- as Canadave said, albedo is a factor in overall global temperatures. This is part of what triggers Ice Ages; a cooling trend causes increased snowfall and glaciation, which increases the planet's albedo, which causes more snowfall and glaciation. However, I doubt that anyone could paint enough rocks white to make a difference.

If we all started wearing white hats, however....

 

[trekkiedane]

^Tin-foil hats reflect better -and they keep the mind control rays out!

 

[Lindley]

See, this is how metaphors get started: white hats versus the eeeevvillll black hats....

 

[gturner]

They picked a good time for the experiment, as the Pacific Decadenal Oscillation is changing back to the cold phase from the warm phase it's been in for the past 30 or so years. Be prepared for cooler temperatures.

 

[Pingfah]

This idea is ridiculous, obviously the real answer is to wrap the planet in tin foil.

Shiny or matte side up!?

If you were a super brainy scientistic type like me, the answer to that would be obvious.

 

[StolenThunder]

We can not all be so lucky!

How about painting the foil white?

 

[nevermore]

In all seriousness, in cities with lots of black tar roofs, people have been painting them white for ages. There is some data that suggests it may help to defuse the urban "heat island" effect. Whether that can usefully be extrapolated out to a global level is questionable.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I thought the whole problem with global warming is that we're dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which traps heat and keeps it here. Painting shit white just reflects it back up into the upper atmosphere, where it will be bounced down again thanks to all that CO2.

I don't know, this seems rather misguided and silly, but probably harmless.

Unfortunately the OP's title and post are somewhat misleading in that the article itself has nothing to do with reversing climate change globally and is simply about restoring a single glacier in the Peruvian Andes; a much more practical proposal which can be tried on other glaciers if successful. He's the one who suggested expanding it to a global "paint everything white to battle climate change" idea, not the article.

 

[Mr. B]

The absurity and arrogance on display with this idea is truly striking... as if some white paint is going to make so much as an infinetesimal impact on our climate.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

The absurity and arrogance on display with this idea is truly striking... as if some white paint is going to make so much as an infinetesimal impact on our climate.

Read the article, or the post right above yours.

 

[Rii]

The absurdity and arrogance on display in that post is truly striking... as if some reading is going to make so much as an infinitesimal impact on my indignation.