The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Chu Roofing

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The White House was aware that U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu would call for flat-topped roofs (both current and new construction) to be painted with white reflective paint. Chu made the remarks on Tuesday at a conference of Nobel laureates in London. “[Chu’s] press people said there wouldn’t be much press coverage,” says a White House aide familiar with the vetting of Chu’s trip. 

Chu claimed that a government plan to mandate white reflective roofs would achieve the environmental equivalent of pulling all of the world’s cars off the road for eleven years.

Chu indicated that government regulations would most likely have to require construction firms and developers to paint the flat roofs of building white, and slanted roofs colors that would reflect heat and energy. 

A Democratic staffer working on the House Energy and Commerce Committee says that such a policy could be tied to federal housing financing through HUD aid or via tax credits to encourage homeowners to renovate their homes’ roofs with new materials that reflected heat, and the proposal could be included in the upcoming global warming legislation.

Becky| 5.27.09 @ 9:00AM

The building codes, zoning laws, subdivision covenants already are deterring that goal of "affordable" housing for many. Every time an authority adds a requirement for your home, it not only raises the costs, but makes the process more complex and longer.

I attended a HBA seminar on the new Michigan Energy Code earlier this year. Supposedly we were going to find out what the state requires. What it ended up being was a presentation by a qualified Energy Star "rater" who gave a sales pitch. Actually the state code and energy star requirements are almost nil from what I could decipher. What the state did is leave room for a fellow like this one (who spends time testifying before the state legislators) to be in business. You cannot get the little blue sticker unless you hire someone like him (a builder cannot rate his own house to avoid a conflict of interest (lol)), to come in for about $2,000.00 to check behind the builder to make sure he insulates and just previous to the owner moving in does a blower door test for changes of air per hour. My notes say a .35 air changes per hour is assumed without the blower door test. .15 is too tight. We wondered, what if it fails the blower door test, who is responsible, the rater, or the builder? Supposedly the rater's job is to make sure it will qualify for the sticker, that's why you have to pay for him to visit the site during construction. We also got the old "Who moved my cheese?" lecture.

From what I got out of the seminar, the difference between following the code and paying for this guy is a marketing gimmick. My good builder friend wants me to go be a rater because there will be a big demand (And I could rate his houses cheaper). I looked into it, and while the price is not prohibitive, I can't do something I don't believe in. I think things like this will retard housing. You can add on up to 500 s.f. without having to meet the new code.

Monica from ACCCE | 5.28.09 @ 4:07PM

Look, we all know that affordable electricity is an essential part of protecting consumers and American businesses. During the America’s Power Factuality Tour, our team traveled all over the country to document the places, people and technologies involved in producing cleaner electricity from domestic coal. We even went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, home of the Walter Scott Energy Center – one of the most efficient coal-based plants in America. This facility generates more than 1,600 megawatts of affordable electricity, which has a positive long-term economic impact on the region—one that includes a Google data facility.

Take a look at the plant and meet the people who keep it running.

7878| 12.8.09 @ 9:00PM

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FLASHBACK TO: 1995

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Angel| 5.27.09 @ 12:10AM

Yeah right! Does Al Gore's multi-million dollar mansion have a flat, white roof? They're nuts.

MattSwartz | 5.27.09 @ 12:15AM

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/09/shipping-pollution

MattSwartz | 5.27.09 @ 12:18AM

The comment above merely points out that 15 container ships emit as much pollution as all the world's cars.

Better to keep harping on about CAFE standards for cars, though, it scratches a certain itch for the liberal body politic.

Admr. Frank N. Beans| 5.27.09 @ 1:23AM

Wha? No tin foil?

Paul Curley| 5.27.09 @ 3:30AM

In what parallel universe do these people reside?

Crusader| 5.27.09 @ 2:17PM

Roads are next.

Lorna Spangler| 5.27.09 @ 7:25PM

Won't all that reflected heat cause the air to be warmer? The presence of cement reflecting sun light causes the air to be hotter.

Smitty| 5.27.09 @ 8:43PM

Good point, Lorna. I know all of the cement and asphalt in Phoenix have made the city about 10 degrees hotter on average. Looks like libtards have struck again.