Pale British Sunbathers Reflect Heat Out of Atmosphere, Reducing Greenhouse Effect
Britain may be in a state of lockdown, but over the last few days the sun has finally come out of its cloudy isolation.
For those of us with little-to-zero outdoor space, it feels as if the sun is mocking us… the once-a-day walk we’re allowed hardly cuts it.
A photo from Martin Parr’s Life’s a Beach collection.
But those of us who are lucky enough to have gardens and balconies have been stripping off our wooly winter layers, crawling out of our caves and exposing our skin to the elements.
Many of us in this country aren’t blessed with beautiful brown skin. Instead, if you’re like me, you’re pasty white… especially after the winter. Typically, I attempt to feign a golden glow by smothering myself in fake tan. But fake tan is hardly at the top of the shopping list in times like this… it’s a struggle to even find eggs at the supermarket at the moment… and who am I trying to impress while isolating anyway?
So rather than blessing artificially baked buttocks, the rays of sunshine hit powder pale cheeks. Cheeks that, in many cases, haven’t seen the light of day for the best part of a year.
This is having an unintended effect on the climate, however. As so many pale people are sunning their skin at once, there has been a sudden increase in the average reflectivity of Britain’s land surface.
Pale bodies everywhere are beaming infrared radiation back out into space, reducing the amount of heat energy on the earth’s surface and in the atmosphere. This has had a cooling effect on the climate here in Britain and we should expect to see a drop in temperatures over the coming week. It is said that the low-pressure effects of this phenomenon may result in high winds in neighbouring countries!
;-)
In all seriousness though, reflective surfaces do help to reduce global warming. But unless you’re the size of a very large glacier, it’s unlikely you’ll notice a temperature drop by stepping into your garden in a bikini.
Albedo is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. The word itself is derived from Latin; albedo translates to “whiteness”.
As the average global temperature increases, sea ice melts, sea levels rise, land is flooded, habitats are lost, species become extinct, etc. etc. etc.
But not only does the melting of ice sheets cause sea levels to rise; less ice sheet coverage also reduces the earth’s albedo, further enabling the greenhouse effect. More infrared radiation (heat energy) is kept within the earth’s atmosphere, and in a vicious downwards spiral, more ice sheets melt; less heat energy is reflected away from the planet; the earth’s temperature increases; more ice sheets melt… and on it goes…
What can we do about this? Support positive change towards combatting climate change. Listen to and support climate change activists. Pressurise governments and authorities to act and enforce stricter regulations on polluting industries. Boycott companies that are acting unethically and destructively towards the planet. Demand change from your favourite brands. Buy less. Produce less. Recycle more.
