How the little-known ‘dark roof’ lobby may be making US cities hotter

As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark-roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules

• This story is co-published with Floodlight

It began with a lobbyist's pitch.

The Tennessee representative Rusty Grills says the lobbyist proposed a simple idea: repeal the state's requirement for reflective roofs on many commercial buildings.