Cities' Albedos

The Arctic cools our planet because it reflects sunlight back into space. Ice is white, and white reflects sunlight; therefore, ice reflects a great deal of sunlight back into space, instead of being trapped in our atmosphere. This is called the albedo effect. However, now the ice is melting into water, which is a darker substance. With a darker Arctic, sunlight will be absorbed into either the atmosphere or the oceans, which will further accelerate climate change and biodiversity loss. This is a tipping point.

Using this same principle, billionaires could paint our major cities white to mitigate the effects of our warming planet. Though it doesn’t solve the root of the issue, painting the roofs of buildings white, the pavement white, covering the large swaths of space with either trees or light colored materials, etc. could do a substantial amount to cool cities down.