The technology of recovery: White roofs reflect a cooler future

With apologies to T. S. Eliot, this is the way the recession ends, this is the way the recession ends, this is the way the recession ends . . . not with a bang, but a whimper.

On Wednesday, The New York Times (NYT) published a story on "white roofs," an energy-saving technique that uses light colors to reduce home cooling costs and scale back climate change. Basically, the process involves painting or otherwise covering dark-colored roofs in order to reflect light and heat back into space. By cutting down on the amount of heat that a building absorbs, white roofs also reduce the amount of money that it costs to cool structures, and can help cut the ambient heat surrounding them.