Ian's all white idea | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

On the roof there's room for two. Down below the world won't bother you. But, reports Rowena Orejana, the world below will benefit if you take a pot of white paint with you.

Ian Montanjees is at a crossroads in his life. He has just spent nine years restoring a house and wonders what to do next.

"Now, I want something to do with lots of people," says Mr Montanjees, who has a background in building, architecture, physics and inventing.

The forthcoming Global Climate Working Bee on October 10 has given him the impetus to start painting New Zealand roofs white.

Mr Montanjees explains this is to mimic the way polar icecaps reflect sunlight back into space and cool the planet.

"A white roof reflects about 55 per cent sunlight and much of this goes back into space, whereas a dark roof converts most of the sunlight into infrared wavelengths which get absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and do not get back into space."

By his estimates, if half of the roofs in New Zealand were white, the cooling effect would permanently cancel the global warming produced by all New Zealand's vehicles.

"I looked into it myself. I heard what the climate scientists had to say. I think they're right. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about it. I'm just trying to reach people who already feel that it's a real problem and want to do something."

Mr Montanjees says there are people who are motivated to make a change but don't know how. "This simple idea gives people an immediate action plan," says the 56-year-old inventor.

Dorothy Brown, a NZ Order of Merit awardee for her services to education and a founding member of the Aotearoa New Zealand Peace and Conflict Studies Centre Trust, also supports the project. Her roof in Mt Albert is Mr Montanjees' first call.

"I think we should do what we can to try and prevent global warming. I think that this looks like quite a small thing to do but, if everyone did it, it will add up," she says.

Mr Montanjees hopes to extend the project to Waitakere and eventually to all of Auckland. He also hopes to attract funding so he can work full-time on the project.

"I haven't really started to put the word out strongly quite yet. At the moment, it's me with a few people cheering me on."

A paint company will give discounts to people who join the project.

Mr Montanjees' long-term goal is to trade in carbon credits. "White roofs aren't recognised for that yet. I hear that in about two years' time they will be calling submissions for changes to the act. "I know it sounds a bit like a crazy scheme but, then, you look closer and it stacks up."

Over the top

Mr Montanjees estimates a house with a roof area of 100sq m offsets 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, or about the same as is emitted by two cars.

To have your roof painted white (or  off-white) and join a register of white roofs,
email ian.montanjees@whiteroofs.org.nz, or go to  www.whiteroofs.org.nz