If there are millions of miles of asphalt in roads and roofs what is the heat effect i.e. global warming?

Question

Ashphalt gets to boiling hot tempretures during the day and stays long after the sun sets. With many millions of square miles of road and roofs wouldn't it increase global warming?

Answer 1

In response to everyone's comments:

Just because our paved roads are only just a fraction of the earth's surface does not mean they do not effect the earth's temperature. As a matter of fact, the surface area of pavement in the US is roughly equivalent to the state of Ohio. That's a lot of pavement! Also, cities create what is called a "heat island" which, becuase of all the concrete and asphault, increases the earth's temperature.

Second of all, whoever said the ocean reflects the sun's rays is mistaken. One of the reasons global warming is happening so rapidly is because the ocean's, in fact, absorb more of the sun's rays! As the ice caps melt, the oceans expand, and as they get bigger they therefore absorb more sunlight, which furthers the melting of the caps. It is what is known as a "Damaging Positive Feedback Loop" or, in other words, a vicious cycle.

Continuing on, you cannot paint all of the roads in the United States white. Although this would decrease the temperature, if would do nothing to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere.

Going even further, whoever said that the heat island effect (the pavement) is not what contributes to global warming is also mistaken. You are correct in that it is not the main cause of it, that would be greenhouse gases, but the pavement can indeed make a difference. Deforestation in general can.

At the time of the English colonists, a squirrel could stand in a tree overlooking the Chesapeake Bay (on the east coast of the US) and go west all the way to the Mississippi River (river in the midwest US) without ever touching the ground! This is bad because the trees absorb a lot of CO2 that we emit, and the more of these we cut down, the harder it is for the earth to take our pounding.

It is estimated that in order to offset CO2 emissions by one car for one year, the owner would have to have 500 trees planted on his or her property.

Do you have 500 trees on your lawn?

Answer 2

WOW! Good question! I'm sure it ain't helping things at all... the reflective heat alone could only make the air currents become more erratic (I'd assume...); as far as the actual global warming, I'm not so sure about that. CO2 is the big problem here and so far as I know asphalt & roofs don't produce any significant amounts of the gas. There are many things that we 'do' that must surely change the overall patterns of weather on our planet. This could well be one of them... this definately makes one think about the many long-term effects of "suburban sprawl!!!"

Answer 3

Nothing, what cause global warming is CO2 produced mainly by industrialized countries like USA.

Answer 4

Lets see the earth is covered in 75ish percent water, which reflects the suns rays. Im gonna say it doesnt matter.

Answer 5

Not much. You can paint them white but the heat from the sun is still there and it is only reflected.

Answer 6

i think so. we live out west. if you are in the desert, no houses or buildings around for miles, it is allot cooler at night when we are at home or in the city with many structures and roads around it is allot hotter.

Answer 7

Minimal effect, that is a fraction of the land surface which is a fraction of the earth's surface.

Answer 8

yes but most heat is absorbed by the oceans asphalt radiates heat not absorbs

Answer 9

Heat has to go somewhere is it doesn't heat the roads it will heat something else.

Answer 10

Thank goodness for air conditioning !!!