Why L.A. is coating its streets with material that hides planes from spy satell

Started by cpzilliacus, August 20, 2017, 04:03:07 PM

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cpzilliacus

Washington Post: Why L.A. is coating its streets with material that hides planes from spy satellites

QuoteClimate change conjures up distant images of rising seas and cracking ice sheets, but in cities across the United States the effects of global warming are apparent as soon as you step outside.

QuoteIt's known as the "urban heat island effect,"  and it refers to the pockets of intense heat captured by the concrete, asphalt, dark roofs and the dearth of foliage that define many American cityscapes.

QuoteLos Angeles – surrounded by desert and encased in thousands of miles of asphalt – is the poster child of the heat island effect, experts say, which explains why city officials are exploring innovative ways to combat record-breaking, rising temperatures. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti wants to reduce the city's average temperature by 3 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 20 years, according to the Los Angeles Times.

QuoteOne tactic for achieving that goal may involve coating city streets in a substance known as CoolSeal, a gray-colored coating designed to reflect solar rays. City officials said CoolSeal has already shown promising results. The coating was first tested in 2015 on a parking lot in the San Fernando Valley, one of the hottest parts of town, according to Greg Spotts, the assistant director of the Bureau of Street Services, which oversaw the testing. Summer temperatures in the area – which average in the upper 80s – have climbed above 100 degrees multiple times over the past year.
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Bickendan


hotdogPi

Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

kalvado

Quote from: 1 on August 20, 2017, 09:50:25 PM
Wait... what do planes and spies have to do with global warming?
Probably a few things mixed up. This is a lighter colored material which doesn't absorb that much solar radiation, and has lower radiation efficiency. That means soil underneath doesn't heat as much, and even if heated - wouldn't grill you from below as efficiently. That reduces temperature of whatever is on top - people walking, plants, etc. Global warming is probably a buzzword here - hot day is a hot day no matter what.
Probably same material may be used for IR signature reduction. I heavily doubt anyone would be painting airplanes using asphalt-based material, it is too heavy. Besides, SR-71 radar absorbing coating happens to be black, not light. Zumwalt destroyer is grayish, though..
Light coating likely would be useful for hiding IR signature of internal combustion engines - tanks or what not. IR viewers are fairly cheap these days, and weight is not that important for ground-based vehicles.

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

vdeane

Obviously LA is doing this to hide the layout of its streets from the spy satellites of enemy nations.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

sparker

Quote from: vdeane on August 21, 2017, 08:25:51 PM
Obviously LA is doing this to hide the layout of its streets from the spy satellites of enemy nations.

Outside of the plain between downtown and the port region -- and the San Fernando Valley -- the street layout is a matter of fitting to the topology -- i.e., pretty damn random!  Let the spy satellites get all the info they want; won't do them a bit of good!  As an aside, I can't think of any city in the world whose planning departments operate on the principle that "we want to be just like L.A. as much as possible!"

Tarkus

Quote from: sparker on August 23, 2017, 07:40:21 PM
As an aside, I can't think of any city in the world whose planning departments operate on the principle that "we want to be just like L.A. as much as possible!"

Portland, oddly enough, at least as how the Metro regional government sees it.  Check out Page 11 of this PDF (numbered Page 7):

Quote
When we measure the LA region, we find high densities and low per capita road and freeway mileage and travel times only slightly higher than average. By way of contrast, common perceptions of Los Angeles suggest low density, high per capita road mileage and intolerable congestion. In public discussions we gather the general impression that Los Angeles represents a future to be avoided. By the same token, with respect to density and road per capita mileage it displays an investment pattern we desire to replicate.

sparker

Quote from: Tarkus on August 24, 2017, 09:56:48 PM
Quote from: sparker on August 23, 2017, 07:40:21 PM
As an aside, I can't think of any city in the world whose planning departments operate on the principle that "we want to be just like L.A. as much as possible!"

Portland, oddly enough, at least as how the Metro regional government sees it.  Check out Page 11 of this PDF (numbered Page 7):

Quote
When we measure the LA region, we find high densities and low per capita road and freeway mileage and travel times only slightly higher than average. By way of contrast, common perceptions of Los Angeles suggest low density, high per capita road mileage and intolerable congestion. In public discussions we gather the general impression that Los Angeles represents a future to be avoided. By the same token, with respect to density and road per capita mileage it displays an investment pattern we desire to replicate.

Now that would be intriguing -- to compare the miles of freeway, per capita, of the two metro areas; obviously, someone in Portland Metro did so and found similarities within the resulting data.  Having resided in both places, I can see that density data might proportionally track between the two regions as well.  A further comparison that I'd like to see is a per-mile breakdown of commute times between corresponding (or a close as can be achieved) regional reference points (using the ELA interchange and the eastern PDX Loop, particularly the south I-5/405 interchange/Marquam Bridge/I-5/I-84 interchange as an analog of ELA) as the central city reference; I-84/I-205 compared with I-10/I-605, and I-5/OR 217 compared with I-5/I-605 -- et cetera.   While the static data may indicate similarities, as per the Metro report, I'd guess that comparisons as to just how well the system functions at peak versus off-peak periods would show that there's considerably more hours at or near "peak" conditions in L.A. than in PDX -- and that these persist at more outlying L.A. locations than the corresponding PDX sites.  To accurately compare the two areas the process would need to include some sort of algorithm to adjust for the sheer numbers potentially using each of the systems.

Interestingly, the issues I cited may well "dovetail" into PDX Metro's oft-expressed penchant for favoring transit and other centralizing/collective measures over the prospect of serving individual drivers' needs -- the extended near-peak conditions that characterize the L.A. situation vis-a-vis that of Portland may serve as an indication that Portland's road/freeway network may, if remaining static even with an increased population base, eventually witness the same expansion of peak congested periods that is currently present within L.A.  This would likely be interpreted within Metro planning circles as potentially resulting in a shift from individual automobile usage to collective transit modes -- and as such, an incentive to maintain the status quo regarding extant aggregate freeway mileage within metro bounds. 

And therein lies the difference between the attitudes of the two areas -- Portland planners seem to be convinced that behavioral change within the ranks of the driving public can be achieved; that there's still some measure of elasticity regarding transportation modes that can translate into regional planning efforts that emphasize expansion of mass transit.  L.A. planners, on the other hand, harbor little illusion that anything they do will cause any significant shift in regional traffic patterns or modes; their job is to play "catch-up" as best they can.  The fact remains that despite mass investment in regional mass-transit improvements (Metrorail, Metrolink, express bus service, even the shunting of rail freight into new corridors to avoid interference with passenger rail service) the worsening of region-wide congestion has progressed unabated over the more than quarter-century of such investment.  They're simply overwhelmed by sheer numbers -- with the Inland Empire included, 23 million metro residents and counting -- and the old adage that one can't build their way out of the problems extends well past road construction to all transportation/transit modes!  Urban influx, infill, sprawl -- every pattern of growth is simply piled one atop another to accommodate the inbound populace.  If it were not for Camp Pendleton and the Rincon area between Ventura and Santa Barbara, where the mountainside literally empties out into the sea, the entire coast between the Mexican border and Gaviota Pass would be a single line of housing and supporting businesses (and the area east of Pendleton is seeing increased development between Escondido and Temecula, which may simply "bypass" the Marine base in short order).  The sole matter of contention is regarding whether SoCal is planning hell or just planning purgatory!  Barring some major disaster that puts a damper on the area's influx, the situation isn't likely to see much in the way of relief.  In that respect, Portland is fortunate that while attractive as it is as a region, it can't match L.A. in terms of sheer level of favorable attributes (weather, beaches, entertainment, sports, and so on and so forth).  I lived in greater L.A. metro for 41 of my nearly 68 years (albeit in 2 distinct shifts) -- but the thought of returning except to occasionally visit is one that I'm not about to entertain.         



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