Countering climate change with cool pavements
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Countering climate change with cool pavements
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Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#2> “cool pavements” [..] reflect more solar radiation and emit less heat than conventional paving surfaces.
Darn, I thought they were going to talk about using heat pipes driven deep into the ground to turn the pavement into a heat sink and was wondering how they were going to get the pavement to conduct heat to the heat pipes. Now I'll never know. ;)
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#3> “Conversely, by reflecting light — called incident radiation — onto nearby buildings, cool pavements can warm structures up, which can increase AC usage in the summer and lower heating demand in the winter.”
this is one of the reasons why i'm an advocate for street trees, and urban foliage in general (cuts down both incident and reflective radiation), and why i'm maddened when i see urban trees cut down or cut back (as been happening quite often in my urban neighborhood in LA). the tree trimmers i see doing this have no idea what they're doing, being low-paid laborers paid only to run a chainsaw/trimmer, not to contemplate consequences or consider other options. trees take decades to become effective shade, and minutes to butcher irreparably.
that's not to put down cool pavements, which are really cool (haha), but that trees can provide all the same benefits and more, which makes it the better first option, with cool pavements being reserved for where tree shading is difficult or impossible (like roadways and parking lots).
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#4It's interesting that the effects are so complex and nuanced. I also wonder - they didn't specify - just how reflective these surfaces need to be, and how "bright" they are to look at. I could see glare being a potential safety hazard if the surface is reflective enough, but I'm assuming that any surface rough enough to make good pavement won't be _too_ bad to look at.
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#5> “Conversely, by reflecting light — called incident radiation — onto nearby buildings, cool pavements can warm structures up, which can increase AC usage in the summer and lower heating demand in the winter.” this is one of the reasons why i'm an advocate for street trees, and urban foliage in general (cuts down both incident and reflective radiation), and why i'm maddened when i see urban trees cut down or cut back…
I also like urban trees but remember they cost a fortune to maintain! For example, urban trees have to be expertly managed for disease along transit lines.
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#6This totally nerd-sniped[0] me, and now I'm going down the rabbit hole wondering if there's a business opportunity for generating electricity via the thermoelectric effect[1] and thus literally cooling the pavement by pulling some energy out and putting it to good use.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_generator
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#7> “Conversely, by reflecting light — called incident radiation — onto nearby buildings, cool pavements can warm structures up, which can increase AC usage in the summer and lower heating demand in the winter.” this is one of the reasons why i'm an advocate for street trees, and urban foliage in general (cuts down both incident and reflective radiation), and why i'm maddened when i see urban trees cut down or cut back…
I also like urban trees but remember they cost a fortune to maintain! For example, urban trees have to be expertly managed for disease along transit lines.
Why would they cost a fortune to maintain? Apart from leaf collection and end-of-life removal, what costs are associated with street trees?
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#8Why wouldn’t you just plant some trees. You don’t need any fancy pavement if it is below a tree..
European cities are filled with trees to cool the streets below them.
Obviously, you’d need smaller streets that fit pedestrians and bicycles instead of massive urban highways for trees to be effective.
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also like urban trees but remember they cost a fortune to maintain! For example, urban trees have to be expertly managed for disease along transit lines.
Why would they cost a fortune to maintain? Apart from leaf collection and end-of-life removal, what costs are associated with street trees?
They require water, which requires irrigation (may not already be in place and of course has logistical problems), trees also root systems can lift and crack sidewalks/pipes/other things, you now have biological contaminants, there's bugs and fungus and things that can spread, and so much more.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do this. I really like seeing plant life in cities and I think it really makes a psychological difference (I _love_ living in a city with a lot of green spaces and trees everywhere). But it is nowhere near as simple as placing a tree in the ground and cleaning the leaves.
Re: Countering climate change with cool pavements
#10Well in Portugal (thats is kind of hot) we use limestone or other kind of white stones:
https://fotos.web.sapo.io/i/o90119e17/18254271_eGMbD.jpeg
Not only is cooler, it looks much better than cement… It can be expensive as it uses a lot of hand labour.