Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Los Angeles is spending $40,000 per mile painting asphalt streets white to try to prevent global warming.
Los Angeles painting city streets white in bid to combat climate change
By Travis Fedschun | Fox News
California officials are hoping their latest attempt to stem the rising tides of climate change leads to a more socially conscious — and cooler — summer.
Officials in Los Angeles have been painting streets white to reduce the effect of urban “heat islands” and combat the effects of climate change.
…
The LA Street Services began rolling out the project last May, which preliminary testing shows has reduced the temperature of roadways by up to 10 degrees. The project involves applying a light gray coating of the product CoolSeal, made by the company GuardTop.
…
While each coasting could can last up to seven years, they are also pricey, with the estimated cost of $40,000 per mile, the L.A. Daily News reported.
…
Outsiders might be tempted to suggest that Los Angeles has more pressing problems than the color of their streets, such as soaring rates of homelessness, drug abuse, crime and financial distress for poor people.
Obviously we outsiders have got it all wrong – the solution to Los Angeles’ horrendous social problems is taxpayer funded truck loads of white paint.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The piles of schiff people deposit around LA will really stand out on these new white roads.
What about snow blindness? It never rains in Southern California (allegedly). Does this mean that LA is going to pay for everyones Raybans? and medical costs especially taxis drivers and delivery people who work the road every day . . .
Have you ever read a book out in the sunshine. The white page will give you an effect very much like snow blindness. I can just imagine trying to drive in bright white… poorly thought out and a waste of money.
Depends on the paper used. Glossy white pages, yes. Matte white pages, not so much.
The identity politics, diversity bunch won’t like their streets painted the evermore distastful color white. Next they will be asking citizens to all dress in white. They may have to compromise with rainbow colours.
When temperature drops due to a quiet Sun, they’ll take the cake and taxpayers credit.
Is this a delayed April fools day newspaper article?
The saying goes, it is fools’ day 365 day a year in Kalifornia. Except leap year.
Besides roadways they should paint all hard surfaces including roof tops and even solar panels. They will have better luck with this then with trying to reduce CO2 emmissions. Wit this approach, how many degrees of global cooling will result per dollar per year. How much energy is required to produce the paint, deliver the paint, and then apply the paint. The real problem is ro reduce the emmisivity of the ocean that borders LA. For that problem they have no solution.
Good. They will have someone to blame when global cooling gets in.
You think LA has problems with misuse of public finances! In the UK we have the “Climate Change Act” (CCA) under which billions of pounds annually of taxpayers’ money have to be re-distributed to fund numerous organisations which benefit from the CCA, provided they declare allegiance to the Climate Change Faith. Here[1] is just one taken at random from many.
Bullet point #1 reads:
“Global mean temperatures are increasing at rates unprecedented in human history, with human activity a major contributory factor through release of “greenhouse gases” such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. This leads to both chronic and acute changes in weather patterns and an increase in extreme events such as droughts, floods and storms.”
Further on: “[The Woodland Trust will] raise awareness of climate change, including through campaigning [and will] continue to work in partnership with relevant coalitions, such as The Climate Coalition, to ensure the benefits of, and the threats to, the UK’s trees and woodland are included and given adequate consideration in the wider climate narrative.”
Separately, the UK National Trust and the Department of the Environment seek to create new area of actual swamp, such as by turning off the drainage pumps in the West of England, or demolishing sea defences, for the benefit of wading birds.
While Trump is draining the swamp, May is creating it, both literally and metaphorically!
[1] UK Woodland Trust: Position Statement on Climate Change. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/mediafile/100609255/ps-wt-090615-climate-change.pdf?cb=d5a0186602074068871119b822072367
“The goal of these efforts are reducing the risk of heat-related deaths, to save energy by reducing air conditioning..”.
I just looked it up: There are over 23,000 miles of roads in Los Angeles alone, and it is only one city among tens of thousands.
At $44,000 per mile, that comes to well over $1,000,000,000, even if you round it down to 23,000 even.
And how long will a road stay shiny and white? How long will paint even last on a travelled road?
Is this a leftover April Fool’s day joke?
Or maybe a “dig holes and fill them back in” jobs plan?
Because it for darn sure aint gonna have no effect on the climate of the Earth.
Which, by the way, there is nothing unusual going on with, except for some very unseasonable cold weather in large areas of North America, Asia, and Europe.
Oh, and thickening ice over both poles.
I have been trying to keep my done more polite, but seriously now…how the hell did these idiots get their entire skulls so far up inside their own rectums?
Oh, yeah…here:
http://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr01.php
Some more juicy tidbits from the “Man, you don’t never go full retard” department:
Paint is made primarily from this substance.
Do not forget to phrase your answer in the form of a question.
And the follow up:
This group of chemicals is the leading cause of heat trapping smog in smog laden Los Angeles.
*Cue Double Jeopardy Music*
If you make all Los Angeles businessmen wear white suits instead of black or charcoal, when they are outside, would they not be doing their bit for a cooler world? And require all cars to be white?
Don’t give them ideas.
Hollywood does. You think it better?
Too Southern.
Where’s all the titanium going to cone from for this TiO2 based paint? China? Russia?
Part of the rationale I guess is the photo-catalysed removal of some pollutants like nitrates from the air by the TiO2.
Note this same TiO2 was in the concrete that the Florida University bridge, for the same reason – “selfcleaning” and anti pollution. It also made the concrete weaker.
I thought ‘white’ was out, a dirty word.
How long before the white turns a dirty grey.
gray is white … cold is hot … weather is climate … solar power is cheap … CO2 is bad … fake data is good … GCMs are time-machines … penguins are rare … plastic shopping bags are satanic … oceans are actually acidic … crickets are yummy … 97% of ‘scientists’ agree … taxation will save the world … eating meat is evil … taking drugs is the answer … everyone needs three tatoos … hipsters are cool … hydroplanning on a painted wet road will not be a problem …
fairly accurate summary.
I just wish it was just 5 line long, but the fact is, you could had written a whole book with such stuff, and still be short.
sigh
The Coefficient of Friction (CoF) of LA roads will be changed for the worse by this coating & sun glare from the surface of the roads will be dangerously increased. Slippery roads in the wet & no white lane lines! Are lane marking paints manufactured in black? I’m very impressed with mental faculties the far sighted geniuses who came up with this idea. Motor insurers will certainly seek reimbursement from the city of LA for vehicle repairs & as for personal injury claims as a result of this “whitening” of the streets, the mind boggles. What will “Black lives matter” say & do about this obvious racially motivated stunt is anyone’s guess? Cof, Cof!!!!!!
https://youtu.be/KHbesH6B5QI
Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.
Can we please let kalifornia secede ?
Already done. Everybody noticed, except a few federal bodies.
Next step: California (Republic of) secede from Kalifornia (People’s Democratic Republic of). Should be interesting.
Let US hope that the bicycling community renews their caution that street paint is slippery, particularly when wet, while oily and wet after cleaning; – with precious water? No upside, all downside.
There is no skin-in-the-game in SoCal.
Anyone ever notice how slippery wet paint is? Asphalt is designed to maximise grip, particularly in the wet, for very important reasons.
This should be ‘interesting’, in a horrific sort of way.
So the road markings will need to be of a contrasting colour? Black or grey perhaps? It will be like driving on a great big strip of negative film.
Negative film.
Of course.
An idea made in Hollywood
So have they investigated whether there’s any difference between using acrylic paint and whitewash? Can’t see it working too well in Oz because we have white lines on the road and the Road Traffic Act isn’t geared for black lines on white roads. ie no overtaking either way on double white lines, etc.
Well, atleast it feels good, which seems to be the most important thing.
White paint, rain then motorbikes. Should make for some interesting stunt riding.