Ultra-white paint could reduce the need for air conditioning

White houses are often boring, but they might just save the planet. As USA Todayreports, Purdue University researchers have developed an ultra-white paint (it just earned a Guinness World Record) that reflects 98.1 percent of solar radiation while outputting infrared heat. As this leaves the surface cooler than the environment (regular paint warms the surface), it could effectively replace air conditioning in some cases -- it produces a cooling power of 10kW for a 1,000sq. ft. roof, or more than...