The Contribution of Artificial Turf to Global Warming

Abstract

This article discusses how the substitution of artificial grass for natural grass contributes to global warming. An algebraic model of the atmospheric transmittance in the infrared wavelengths from 0 to 15 microns is used to modulate the Planck law, yielding both the energy absorbed by the atmosphere and that transmitted through the atmosphere as a function of the ground temperature. The calculation shows that the energy absorbed by the atmosphere increases more rapidly than the amount transmitted through the atmosphere with increasing ground temperature. In situ experiments demonstrate that artificial grass reaches significantly greater temperatures than those reached by natural grass under the same meteorological conditions. As a result, artificial grass creates an additional amount of energy absorbed by the atmosphere. With the number of nationwide artificial grass installations, a typical result yields an additional energy deposited into the atmosphere during moderately warm summer days of 10 to 20 gigawatts. The annual nationwide cost savings to local governments by the substitution of artificial grass for natural grass is shown to be trivial.