The California legislature is considering regulating the color of cars and reflectivity of paint to reduce the energy requirements to cool them. A presentation on the proposed legislation by the California Air Resources Board is below.
The problem isn’t the color per se, but the reflectivity of the paint overall. And dark colors just don’t reflect well, so they are likely out. “Jet black remains an issue,” says the report.
Anyone who’s ever entered a very hot car knows that it can be cooled down immediately by driving a few feet with the windows open, effectively neutralizing any color-caused heat issues before engaging the air conditioner. But whatever, black is evil.
The new regulations would be phased in beginning in 2012, so if you want that black car, you better buy it soon. More on Autoblog and CrunchGear.
And you thought that black Toyota Pious you bought made you such a good person. Think again, you tree hating energy slob. Luckily, black websites are still ok, even though they, too, use more energy.
final_cool_cars_workshop_presentation31209 – Free Legal Forms
seriously, that is really really dumb
I disagree.
It is an insult to the word dumb and all dumbness everywhere to be associated with this idea.
If I could vote you up, a la Digg or Reddit, I surely would!
Black or white is only for visual spectrum EM wave absorption. For IR heat rays, how shiny/dull the car is – is all that matters. An ounce for non-science people.
Considering who is leading that state – I’ve nicknamed him ballsack due to the numerous times he has been caught on video walking around free-ballin it.
i dont know about all of you, but my car doesnt even have air conditioning.
Do you have a blog? Or a howto? That could help. Maybe a couple of Youtube videos explaining the how and why of it all? Pop science is a good tool since it reaches out to more non-geeks and they pick up the momentum if they identify with the cause.
Actually, there may be something to it. I used to own a black honda without air conditioning, and I can assure you it took more than a few moments to cool it down after parking in the Menlo Park sun for a while.
Now I’ve got a white honda, with AC, but I don’t need it much.
Yeah, and there might be “something to” that thing called liberty. Under the guise of environmentalism, the nanny state now wants to tell you what color car to drive. Next will be what temperature you can set your a/c at in the house, or what color clothes to wear, etc. You should have the freedom to choose to whether you want the hot black car or the cooler white one. Let them persuade you that the hot black car is bad for the environment – that’s fine – but leave the final choice to YOU. Otherwise, every politician and bureaucrat will come up with their own restrictions on what you can do with your life – oops, they already do that, don’t they?
We’ve done a really good job saving energy on our own… NOT!
I wonder what the carbon footprint was of the study, and how much these wackos got paid to be stooges for Al Gore? Thank God I live in Indiana where this kind of nonsense gets thrown out. What happened to the budget deficit? California has so much money they can spend it on frivolous bullcrap like this? I think not. Our Government needs to step aside and get the hell out of the way for the people, not vice-versa.
Educated people can be soooo ignorant.
I’m moving out of California as soon as real estate returns to near-normal so I can sell my house.
Here’s what the governement has made me do in the past 6 months:
- remove my chain link fence
- install a brand new redwood fence
- then paint the very nice-looking new redwood fence (no this is not a condo with condo association rules, and there are no CC&Rs when I bought my house either, the City of San Jose just threatens me with a $2500 a day fine if I don’t paint the fence)
- no storage of any motorcycles in my back yard of my house
- no shed allowed in the backyard of my house (I had to tear down the shed in my backyard that had been there 40 years or the City of San Jose would start fining me, yep, $2500 a day for code violation)
- in the middle of replacing my single pane energy inefficient windows with double pane new windows I was forced to stop and either install windows that looked *exactly* like the old 100-year-old windows or return to the single pane windows I’d already removed or the City of San Jose would fine me….$2500 per day (don’t try starting a windows installation company here)
That’s not a complete list. California is…government in your entire life, PERIOD.
Plant trees, damn you!
Make a video of personally planting of 100 saplings over five years a mandatory requirement for contesting any public office.
Much more effective regulation. I challenge The Democratic Party to pass this into law.
What’s next ? Non White minorities?
Yes, it it really s Strange Decision..
http://www.smartbloggerz.com
Is that all they have to do ???????.
This is just another way of the government trying to control us…I just bought a black car, and I love it. If I could afford to relocate and move to another state I would do it in a heartbeat. What next are they going to tell us we cant wear a black bathing suit?
What the heck is wrong with California? The automakers should just stop selling cars to them. Let them use horse and buggy… LOL
Now they’re going to tell us what color cars we can drive? Isn’t it bad enough to get the evil eye when you don’t drive one of those PC cars (Prius, et), but now this? Who’s demented brainchild was this? Didn’t someone have a very good day. Didn’t someone get the gold star today. Guess not, cause now we can’t play with black cars.
Oh man, what is the world coming to? Why don’t they just ban air-conditioning, that really is the root of the ‘evil’. How much more ridiculous can you get? I mean really?
They should also ban fast foot, since it increases the surface area of California inhabitants, thus causing them to intake more sunlight. This would help in reducing air conditioner usage.
that’s a good point.
apologies for the repeat post, but this is probably pardonable:
http://www.tech...comment-2675528
We have to recognize that California has always been at the cutting edge of what? “progress?” – Well, maybe. So, what is next, banning black clothing? I am sure the Hollywood types would freak out big time.
And… here we are, getting closer to Germany circa 1939. Is anyone surprised? Don’t we have a “Governator?”
Hm. So you believe that steps like these are akin to the rise of fascism and the onset of mass murder and believe that one of the key indicators is the governor’s place of birth. Wow. We need obviously your brilliance to lead us.
Let’s outlaw black buildings, houses and roofs as well. Why stop there? How about black motorcycles, black bicycles, black leather jackets, black pavement, black tires, black people, black eyes, and black bathing suits.
Do any of these, except buildings, impose additional cooling efforts (e.g. airconditioning)?
Then probably not.
lemming.
Black roofs are already banned in CA, a move which resulted in a massive improvement in energy efficiency. The rule applies to flat roofs only, though…
My, aren’t we the radical today?
Hmmm … Twitter-monitored and Twitter-controlled Air Conditioning? It’s a 140 character command line, after all and len(cmd+UUID) < 140
The next legislative initiative is toilet paper rationing.
How about a bill mandating brain cell removal from legislators and using them as feed for various barnyard animals?
This will decrease the waste of brain cells currently plaguing Sacramento.
Ahhh,…wouldn’t the poor animals starve to death??????
What about a Black Tesla S? Ordered.
LOL! I LOVE THIS PIC!
If it’s in white, it’s all right.
ha. chris rock reference. nice.
What ever happened to “black is beautiful”?
I guess this proposal cancels it out.
I know, I’m a racist…..
That limo holds 20 people, GL finding a car with that high mpg per person.
Good thing it’s only a consideration and a proposal and not a law. Someone in charge has to see this and say, “Wow. What a dumb fucking idea.” Otherwise, I’m going to leave this state. Who knows what else is in store.
Marc, you are such an optimist
You enter Cali sane but leave a crazy. Haven’t you ever heard that old wives saying before? Its things like this, that’s why.
If enacted you might get so many rebels that it’ll become a law that is just as enforced as jay walking laws (excepting downtown Seattle, of course).
Racists.
lol
my thought exactly, shocked i made it this far into the comments without seeing it. Well done.
+20
That comment is pure win.
Looks like I’m in trouble with my Audi A3 (black)…better upgrade to the Tesla S in 2011
.
http://www.auto...MW-vs-Audi-454/
I don’t think the Tesla S will fare any better…
Holy crap. For a state of reactionary conservatives, CA sure passes a lot of stupid environmental laws.
Right. Seriously, what is more ironic than our broke government telling not to be so wasteful. Get serious Sacramento, or you’ll be out of a job sooner than later.
Huh??? Since when is there anything in CA that even sorta looks like Conservative?
uhh… Orange County?
California is extremely liberal overall.
…And that’s good thing compared to low brow cromagnon states like alabama and south carolina.
I’m a native of California, who recently worked for a month in Birmingham, AL.
Really nice people and a beautiful city.
exactly, while conservatives haven’t done a very good job of being conservative lately, it takes a real left winger to go this far off the deep end
What conservatives we have here have been neutered by the democrats in both the Legislature and the Governor’s office.
Bills are routinely hijacked or killed in committees headed by, guess, democrats. The only influence the Republicans have is during the budget process and there’s a democrat movement to remove the 2/3 requirement.
The media does such a good job that some squishy self-identified republican voters think it’s a good idea.
Unless there’s a paradigm shift in the next year or two, I’m getting the hell outta dodge…
It’s not conservatives, It’s people like maxzine Waters Demo from california who loves socialism. Don’t believe me go to youtube put in her name and see what you get.
I think it’s time to move to Washington, where black cars are plentiful, there is no state income tax and cigarettes don’t cost $7 a pack.
But the scotch is $50 – red (not black or blue) label… And you can only buy them at state sponsored liquor stores with state sponsored sin taxes – no Costco sales. (Exception is beer and wine)
and the AIDS rate is very high good luck with that 1.
it was actually a response to Eli my bad
Isn’t this the same agency that voted down Calfornia’s proposal to set a standard that would cut emissions drastically over the years.
Yes, they were, but they were bought off by the automobile industry so they voted it down. Maybe this will happen again.
cigarettes actually are $8 a pack here now.
What CA gov’t officials do we contact to talk to about this?
I know I’m going to let Sharon Lemieux sclemieu@arb.ca.gov and Marijke Bekken mbekken@arb.ca.gov know how I feel about this stupid legislation!
trust me, they don’t care what you think.
Absolute truth. LOL
My friend Flint who is an enthusiastic guy has developed a site called http://money-ma....synthasite.com which has information about sites where you could make money and you could get his advise on them. He has written every single word on the site by his life experience.
The author of this article needs to fact check. Black websites actually use LESS power because computer screens use a subtractive, not additive method for display color. Or in other words they don’t require as much backlighting and hence are greener than websites with a white background.
Simply plant more trees?
WTF this is the dumbest thing I have ever read. Total Failure.
As a Californian, I think what we have here is a play for power in the GreenZone but it may backfire because what does the color of a car have to do with REAL energy savings. If California were smart they wouldn’t outlaw the color of the car but would rather increase taxes on the darker cars to pay for their costly ideas and waste.
if there really is an energy use issue, they already pay higher taxes for the gas they burn. but i call bullshit on this whole study anyway.
Why did you run this then? It’s not funny.
Why don’t we all just give our entire salaries over to the government and let them make every decision for us and take care of us?
Judith, I bet you’d love it!
Great! Let’s also ban black people!
Actually, people with black/darker skin can better tolerate hotter climates which is why the genetically darker skin (from increased melanin pigment) exists in the first place; the hotter the climate the darker the skin e.g. africans/south americans vs europeans/russians.
So, what you are saying is that “melanine” is similar to black car paint? You are comparing apples to melons… double duh = double ignorant.
Yes, whether the surface is metal or skin the color black absorbs light whereas the color white reflects – which is why white people sunburn easily (hotter surface temperature). It has to do with wavelength. Open a science book sometime.
… “which is why white people sunburn easily” People of *ALL* races get sunburn…
“Open a science book sometime” – Actually, I do it every day: I am a trained physician, and I should say that your obvious ignorance –that means “lack of knowledge” for you, is really sad… Sorry.
oh yeah.. Well my dad can beat up your dad.
Give it a rest
So if black people require less air conditioning due to their higher heat tolerance, the governator should consider prohibiting white people from having children.
Imagine the savings on the co2 budget in the long run!
“People of *ALL* races get sunburn…”
Yes, of course, but how fast and how severe depends on two things: lightness of skin and the intensity of the light/heat.
…not a very good physician. Yes, you should be sorry.
@Patrick. LOL. Arrington articles tend to bring out the most creative comments.
@double duh – Guy, the more you write the deeper you get into your stupidity – Please shut up!
you have no clue. Paul is kind enough to try to teach you something…. but nooooooo, you have to react like a retard. Duh, duh, duh, duh, moronic douche bag!….
>double duh
What an idiot. It is clear that you get your “knowledge” from watching MTV, double douche.
@Josh/Alan – ad hominem attacks convey argument weakness.
http://en.wikip...wiki/Ad_hominem
Focusing on fallacies, rather than the issue at hand, implies you’d rather discuss debate tactics than whatever you’re being pressed on.
Kind of a catch-22.
But this is the internet – argue long enough and you’ll all just be throwing poop.
@herman – I pointed out the fallacy because it was the only rebuttal left to address. And I always leave once poop slinging starts. While this mini-thread has been amusing I’ve grown bored. Cheers.
I think this was meant to be posted next Wednesday morning.
Actually, wouldn’t black websites consume less energy because pixels are turned off?
not for most monitors. http://techlogg...nt/view/360/31/
Agreed Nicholas, early April Fools joke..
Car racism? Hmm – if I drive a white car does this make me a ‘honky’?
no. it just means you care.
Stop it! You’re too funny! Now this is old skool tech message board response. The new gen are like being in an AOL or Yahoo chat room.
Right. Because the “incentive” of the free market to NOT buy a black car due to fuel costs is not enough?
Seriously, this is insane. Not to mention the time, effort, and emissions to enforce such a law.
Anything the government has tried to do for the environment has far been shadowed by the investment/innovation seen in times of energy and fuel shortages in the private sector.
I’m betting the total cost savings is about $2 over the lifetime of the vehicle, especially if you just roll down your windows for a few minutes after you get into a hot vehicle.
good point.
Some bills are just for attention, the politico wants national press. If they are serious a time ban not total ban would be more appropriate.
Instead of banning black cars, they should make everyone drive black cars fitted with highly technical heat exchangers to convert the absorbed solar heat into energy, that then prevents any reflected solar energy from light colored cars reflecting back to be trapped by greenhouse gases! haha.
Also, what’s the difference between black, and metallic black, or pearl black?
Who’s to judge? Would I really have to go argue the color of my car in court?
One of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.
Insane!
April Fool’s must’ve arrived early this year at TechCrunch.
Honestly, isn’t it our job as citizens to take a stand at this point? Seriously, it isn’t the government’s job to regulate car color.
Our government is out of control in so many areas and this measure sums it up nicely!
I really need to move to a different state…
I’m having a hard time locating any mention of “banning” black or dark cars?
Anyone?
they can’t get to the reflective requirements under the regulations with jet black at least, and some other dark colors, with current paint technology.
http://blogs.ed...and-trucks.html
What’s next? A ban on black jackets?
Genius! KKK strikes again! Cleverly getting people’s subconsciouses to equate black to bad!
april fools?
I am willing to bet that this study was a result of some earmark to provide these bozzos with money to waste studying useless subjects. Kind of like one of the latest: “studying pig odor in Iowa”…
I am willing to bet that this study was a result of some earmark to provide these bozzos with money to waste studying useless subjects. Kind of like one of the latest: “studying pig odor in Iowa”…
Welcome to the Socialist Republic of California! Where voting doesn’t matter and the majority either!
Who wants to move to CA and open an underground black car spray painting racket…
This makes sense, everytime I see ManBearPig driving, he’s in a black car. It all makes so much sense now.
LOL
Cap and trade would solve this nicely. We need to monetize externalizes.
Car companies would have to pay higher rates for producing more-polluting colors. They would pass part of that cost along to people who would decide if it’s worth the price. They money would go to clean up the mess.
Done and done.
Another thought! Why don’t we mandate California paint all roads white to help reduce the road heat that contributes to the increase of vehicle temps. And while we’re at that let’s ban black clothing that makes people hot too so they don’t want to use air condition to cool down.
Vote T. Anderson for Governor; I promise to paint all roads white!
I’m inspired. You have my vote.
Haha agreed. Nice point!
What a waste of HUMAN energy! I think the California Air Resource Board has sucked too much smog, or maybe herb.
Why the hell does anyone still live in Kalifornia? Once the land of my dreams – you couldn’t pay me enough to move there these days.
They can institute a one-child policy so there will be less humans to pollute the earth!
If they’re going to ban black cars, then they better ban white ones. Equality people.
Hmmm, does affirmative action fit into this car debate somehow?
Seriously, first black people and now black cars!
Better start repaving our highways with concrete, asphalt is black too.
Yay! No more CHP!
Where’s the moral outrage about the amount of heat retention associated with silicone gel? I mean, does no one see that 80% of mobile female breast mass in greater L.A. is the same material as used in microwavable heat pads?!!??!!!
OK. Out of all replies on this article you’re just sent me into fits of laughter. Brillant!!
Why don’t they BAN black color itself….like here I am typing and it is showing black…so BAN it immediately.
lol
Paint everything to white or yellow..huh?
maybe Black people will soon be banned here too…draw too much heat!
this offends me. i like owning a black car and i would like to continue to own black cars in the future. do not legislate on my taste you dicks!
That’s racist… I’m calling the NAACP and suing.
If you do that, then they’ll accuse you of pulling the race card, sorry, the race car, whatever…
In the spirit of this law I’ll sell my black prius and buy a silver hummer…
I understand California has some major water shortages.
Given “green” craziness in that whacked-out state, we can soon expect legislative proposals for everyone to wear “still suits” like those in “Dune”.
srsly