Albedo

Research needed for this page

Say hypothetically you destroy some forest and then pave the area with some highly reflective material. Would this make the climate warmer or cooler? How would the warming from the carbon released be weighed against the cooling from the increased albedo?

Physics should be able to answer this with reasonable certainty. We just need to gather the right datapoints and do the math. ^{[ELABORATION needed]}

Note:

• Even if it turns out that paving would actually cool the earth slightly, that still doesn't mean it's a good idea. Deforestation harms the planet in other ways too. This isn't to advocate for destroying ecosystems. It's a thought experiment to gain better knowledge for other situations, such as designing green architecture.
• Don't get caught up in the trap of thinking "it's just one acre of forest, the effect is too small to measure". We can estimate the difference of light reflected vs the carbon going into the atmosphere. We just need to know if it's a net warming or cooling for the planet (marginal utility type calculation).
• If paving with concrete, need to consider the CO2 released from that. But keep it separate, in case there's any other reflective paving option.