LONDON: US President Barrack Obama's energy adviser has suggested that as part of efforts to slow global warming, all the world's roofs should be painted white.
According to a report in the Telegraph, Professor Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, said that the unusual proposal would mean homes in hot countries would save energy and money on air conditioning by deflecting the sun's rays.
More pale surfaces could also slow global warming by reflecting heat into space rather than allowing it to be absorbed by dark surfaces where it is trapped by greenhouse gases and increases temperatures.
The Professor described climate change as a "crisis situation", and called for a whole host of measures to be introduced, from promoting energy efficiency to renewable energy such as wind, wave and solar.
The Nobel Prize-winning physicist said the US was not considering any large scale "geo-engineering" projects where science is used to reverse global warming, but was in favour of "white roofs everywhere".
He said that lightening roofs and roads in urban environments would offset the global warming effects of all the cars in the world for 11 years.
"If you look at all the buildings and if you make the roofs white and if you make the pavement more of a concrete type of colour rather than a black type of colour and if you do that uniformally, that would be the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars in the world by 11 years - just taking them off the road for 11 years," he said.
