Another way technology works to help the environment, a very cool idea.
'Cool paint' among first of climate-change rules
By Jim Downing - Bee Staff Writer
Published 5:07 am PDT Friday, June 22, 2007
To help California begin the process of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, the state Air Resources Board on Thursday mandated a technology that anyone who's been through a summer in Sacramento can relate to: "cool paint" for cars.
By blending in special pigments, car paint of any color can be made to reflect much of the sun's heat energy. That will keep the vehicle's interior cooler and reduce the demand on the air conditioner -- which in turn improves fuel efficiency and cuts carbon dioxide emissions a bit.
The cool paint requirement was one of five emissions-cutting strategies adopted by the state air board in the first package of regulations authorized by Assembly Bill 32, the climate-change law enacted last year. The plans will now wind their way through the state's rule-making process, and are scheduled to become law by Jan. 1, 2010.
