eikons

Omg, I didn't know this!

That would have saved the show!

Actually, the glasses don't produce more energy - they actually reduce the amount of light that reaches your eyes. The light they filter specifically is in between the optimal red and green wavelengths, so you end up receiving less ambiguous light signals and your brain can do a better job of separating the colours.

If we raised the albedo of all man made structures (paint roads, parking lots, roofs etc white, or cover them in white sand) - would that move the needle at all?

Here's a good technical explanation: https://youtu.be/QHKXb3tXj24?t=13m43s (it's a long video but I skipped to the point where he explains it)

TL;DW: The glasses filter out "confusing" wavelengths of light, giving your green and red cones less ambiguous signals.

I've watched all his lectures three times over. Very thought provoking and has some brilliant stories in it (particularly the history behind Koko and other sign language apes really stuck with me).