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Painting rooftops white can make a great impact on global warming.

U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, a Nobel Laureate, noted that basic changes can have a great impact at a climate change symposium in London last weekend.

"If you take all the buildings and make their roofs white and if you make the pavement more of a concrete type of color rather than a black type... it’s the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars on the road for 11 years," said Chu.

Lighter colors reflect the energy of the sun so by consciously making such changes, or geoengineering, we can help curb emissions.

In fact, according to the research (.pdf) Chu referred to, white roofs and roads could mean a one-time reduction of 44 billion tons of carbon dioxide.

Something to think about next time you're painting the house or debating a black car versus a white one.

Come August, California law will require "cool roofs" for all new low-sloping residences. Click here for videos on light-colored cool roofs.

Click here to read more about geoengineering.

photo by Sarey used under Creative Commons license.