Asphalt Earth In the 1960s Esso Oil (now part of Exxon Mobil) proposed that coating the earth with black paving materials like asphalt would increase air temperature enough to spur formation of cumulus clouds and encourage rain. (discovermagazine.com)
Mostly in cumulus clouds, though, which is why the moist adiabat is important. (planet3.org)
Stevens, D.E., A.S. Ackerman, and C.S. Bretherton, 2002: Effects of domain size and numerical resolution on the simulation of shallow cumulus convection. (pubs.giss.nasa.gov)