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Air Conditioners Contribute to Global Warming

bicycleman

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This isn't smart. In a country that's among the world's highest greenhouse-gas emitters, air conditioning is one of the worst power-guzzlers. The energy required to air-condition American homes and retail spaces has doubled since the early 1990s. Turning buildings into refrigerators burns fossil fuels, which emits greenhouse gases, which raises global temperatures, which creates a need for -- you guessed it -- more air-conditioning.

A.C.'s obvious public-health benefits during severe heat waves do not justify its lavish use in everyday life for months on end. Less than half a century ago, America thrived with only the spottiest use of air conditioning. It could again. While central air will always be needed in facilities such as hospitals, archives and cooling centers for those who are vulnerable to heat, what would an otherwise A.C.-free Washington look like?

At work

In a world without air conditioning, a warmer, more flexible, more relaxed workplace helps make summer a time to slow down again. Three-digit temperatures prompt siestas. Code-orange days mean offices are closed. Shorter summer business hours and month-long closings -- common in pre-air-conditioned America -- return.


In the heat wave, the case against air conditioning

If America has to get rid of air conditioners, I predict the murder rate will go up. I know I will be the first to go, and that's by my wife, who cannot live without AC. She is undergoing the change, and is meaner than a junk yard dog when she gets hot. The bright side is that I save oodles of money in the winter because I am not allowed any heat in my house. My only saving grace is that I built a new PC with an 850 Watt power supply, and my 700 watt satellite transceiver puts out additional heat as well.
 
It's actually a decent point. We've gotten so dependent on AC. People start complaining at 80 degrees when they used to wait until 90 or 95. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine was complaining about a heat wave. I checked the temp for her area. High was 84. All this technology is making us weak!

And hey, maybe the "take time off" or "take a nap" response to summer work hours might make us all live longer. Stress reduction and whatnot.
 
It's actually a decent point. We've gotten so dependent on AC. People start complaining at 80 degrees when they used to wait until 90 or 95. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine was complaining about a heat wave. I checked the temp for her area. High was 84. All this technology is making us weak!

And hey, maybe the "take time off" or "take a nap" response to summer work hours might make us all live longer. Stress reduction and whatnot.

I don't like the idea of taking a nap because that would make me get home, later. My hours already contribute well to saving on the electric bill because I go in at 6:30 AM and get off at 2:30 PM. Unfortunately, the entire office doesn't share my ideas of early to work, early to get off. Most would rather come in at 9:00 AM.

Now, if you eliminate AC, quite a few buildings are going to have to be redesigned, in that they must have windows installed, and those building with windows, must have new windows installed that open. Better fans will have to be installed as well. I do have a small desk fan that comes in quite handy whenever the AC goes out, but since our windows can't be opened, then there is absolutely no ventilation, and the fan moves hot air around.

Regarding kids being outdoors riding bikes and creating their own wind, that's a croc. I ride in all seasons, and I can attest to the fact that riding does create a draft, but when the air temp is 98 degrees with heat radiating off the pavement, the only draft I am going to generate is an additional blast furnace. I carry lots of water as in a large 70 oz. Camelback and 2 additional water bottles fortified with ice, but it doesn't make my summer rides any more pleasant.

I was one who grew up without the benefit of AC in my home because in the 50's, it was merely a luxury, which movie theaters had. Not even major department stores possessed AC. I went to school up to the middle of June and started back the first week in September in 100+ degree days in schools without air conditioning. We didn't even have fans unless the teachers brought them, but our schools did have windows that opened. No classes were ever cancelled because it was too hot. Summer school ran all summer in sweltering classrooms. What you never had, you never missed.

Cars weren't even air conditioned. I will agree that Americans have grown way too soft. As a cyclist and runner, since I know I am going to sweat when I go out for my ride or run, most of the time, I will open both windows of my truck and drive home without AC, but I'm in the minority. I can't help but notice all the vehicles passing by that have their windows shut tight, denoting those running the AC. Many times, it's not even all that hot. Another problem is that Americans are out of shape and too fat, and can't handle heat because of their weight.
 
It's elitist arrogance at it's best. AC saves lives. AC makes lives better. AC kicks ass.

I don't give a DAMN how much energy it takes, AC is everywhere because, da da dum! People don't like to roast. You personally don't like AC, great, turn yours off. You own a business, and you want to take a stand for Mother Gaia by having an AC Free Store, more power to ya, your floor space will go to a smarter business shortly.

Amazing how all the things that make our lives better, are evil... this isn't about the Earth, it's about GUILT. Misguided guilt at that.
 
It's elitist arrogance at it's best. AC saves lives. AC makes lives better. AC kicks ass.

I don't give a DAMN how much energy it takes, AC is everywhere because, da da dum! People don't like to roast. You personally don't like AC, great, turn yours off. You own a business, and you want to take a stand for Mother Gaia by having an AC Free Store, more power to ya, your floor space will go to a smarter business shortly.

Amazing how all the things that make our lives better, are evil... this isn't about the Earth, it's about GUILT. Misguided guilt at that.

And if I don't have the AC on, my wife is going to kick my ass.

There's one thing the elitist liberals forgot about. When they eliminate AC, they might as well eliminate computers and the rest of technology because computers generate a lot of heat and must be cooled. I'm a gamer and my PC puts off lots of heat. I cool it with 8 fans, 4 case fans, one processor fan, 2 video processor fans and one power supply fan, but that PC enjoys the cool air it is able to suck into the case from my air conditoned cooled house. On those days that it is cool enough to have the windows open, the PC generates much more heat and makes my computer room intolerably hot. When I worked on computer equipment on the aircraft carriers, the shop was maintained at 50 degrees all year around, not for our comfort, but to keep the equipment cool. Guess the liberals didn't consider that removing AC is going to create a domino effect and take down everything.
 
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It's actually a decent point. We've gotten so dependent on AC. People start complaining at 80 degrees when they used to wait until 90 or 95. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine was complaining about a heat wave. I checked the temp for her area. High was 84. All this technology is making us weak!

And hey, maybe the "take time off" or "take a nap" response to summer work hours might make us all live longer. Stress reduction and whatnot.

This is yet another one of those points that really doesnt need to be legislated. Please...by all means...have someone come and disconnect your central air. Dont wait for a government law to be passed...just do it. Lead by example. Have the AC unit removed from your car and the freeon properly disposed of and just do it. Some thing with your refrigerator and freezer...you dont need them. Shop daily, drink warm beer. No government mandates...just DO it.

I personally get a little tired of hearing rich democrat politicians and Hollywood elitists with their own private Islands talking about evil businesses and their corporate millions. look...why wait for a government solution...sell off all your ****, buy a little cottage and live a nice, humble existence. this issue is no different. If the author is sincere he should lead by example. And you. And you know...EVERYONE that agrees with it...just DO IT.
 
Modern-AC units are MUCH better. Problem is that most people don't have a new unit and sure as hell can't afford them anytime soon! Just like cars and everything else.

An ideal alternative, then, is if people just set their AC's at 80 - gave themselves some time to adjust (a few weeks) - that would chop off $$ and emissions like a sheep's fluffy wool coat! I think people just have forgotten how they can adjust to it - if they ever knew. There's no reason, when it's 75 outside at night and breezy (even in Arkansas nights are nice!) that the windows should be shut and the AC running the whole time.

There are surprising benefits to letting go of AC dependency:
You save money like you wouldn't believe, even if you have a more energy efficient model.
You can handle the heat outside better - no heat shock and so forth.
Night time temperatures are comfortable - AC isn't necessary at all if it's 75 outside.
 
Shut off AC in the congress and Whitehouse first. While you are at it shut off their heat in the winter also
 
Modern-AC units are MUCH better. Problem is that most people don't have a new unit and sure as hell can't afford them anytime soon! Just like cars and everything else.

An ideal alternative, then, is if people just set their AC's at 80 - gave themselves some time to adjust (a few weeks) - that would chop off $$ and emissions like a sheep's fluffy wool coat! I think people just have forgotten how they can adjust to it - if they ever knew. There's no reason, when it's 75 outside at night and breezy (even in Arkansas nights are nice!) that the windows should be shut and the AC running the whole time.

There are surprising benefits to letting go of AC dependency:
You save money like you wouldn't believe, even if you have a more energy efficient model.
You can handle the heat outside better - no heat shock and so forth.
Night time temperatures are comfortable - AC isn't necessary at all if it's 75 outside.

You are free to live at 80. I keep my ac at 62 and heat at 74
 
I live in a very rural area. They don't spray for bugs in the summer. We have this tiny little bug, smaller than a gnat called a no see um. The little guy is so small, he can slip right through your screens. Therefore, we have to keep the windows shut so he doesn't get in. You'll know he's in your house, when your head starts itching like crazy because that's the first thing he goes for is your head. If a woman has perfume and hairspray, all the better, then these little guys will leave me alone. I especially like it when my mother-in-law comes over because she loves to wear the finest clothes and sprays with the best perfume. Then I'll be glad to leave the windows open when she's over.
 
I hate to break it to the conservatives posting here, but nobody actually advocated banning AC. In fact, the article specifically said it was a good thing during a heat wave. What the article is driving at is cranking up the AC when it's 80 degrees out to drop your building back down to 70 is wasteful. Energy is not an unlimited resource.
 
I hate to break it to the conservatives posting here, but nobody actually advocated banning AC. In fact, the article specifically said it was a good thing during a heat wave. What the article is driving at is cranking up the AC when it's 80 degrees out to drop your building back down to 70 is wasteful. Energy is not an unlimited resource.

It's in the title what the left wants to do. The whole article talks of the bad air conditioner. I bet you don't work outside, nor does the author of this article. The article talking of the ills of air conditioners was typed up on a PC inside the confines of an air conditioned building. Maybe we should get rid of the PC and bring back typewriters, too. Heck, let's get rid of electricity and go back to burning kerosene. Oh no, that comes from a fossil fuel. We'll have to go back to burning whale oil. Oh no, we can't do that because Greenpeace would get upset. Well, we'll just have to go to candles. No, candles pollute the ozone. Well, lets' just sit in the dark, something liberals have been in for a long time.
 
they can endure an Australian summer without AC, i'm ****ing not.

Same here. Its fricking 98 outside right now and its not even the hottest part of the day yet.
 
Same here. Its fricking 98 outside right now and its not even the hottest part of the day yet.

Buncha wimps. Now in my day.......................................................................................................
 
It's in the title what the left wants to do. The whole article talks of the bad air conditioner. I bet you don't work outside, nor does the author of this article. The article talking of the ills of air conditioners was typed up on a PC inside the confines of an air conditioned building. Maybe we should get rid of the PC and bring back typewriters, too. Heck, let's get rid of electricity and go back to burning kerosene. Oh no, that comes from a fossil fuel. We'll have to go back to burning whale oil. Oh no, we can't do that because Greenpeace would get upset. Well, we'll just have to go to candles. No, candles pollute the ozone. Well, lets' just sit in the dark, something liberals have been in for a long time.

... ahh, so you're going for the "make an absurd extrapolation of what I think the article says" method. Your idea of what "liberals" think is ridiculous. Here, I'll play that game too: You like smaller government, right? Therefore you like NO government, as that would be the smallest government possible. Why do you want to disband the United States, you traitor?

Did you read the part where it said that AC is a good thing during a heat wave?
Also, air conditioning help you much when working outside, chief?
 
I hate to break it to the conservatives posting here, but nobody actually advocated banning AC. In fact, the article specifically said it was a good thing during a heat wave. What the article is driving at is cranking up the AC when it's 80 degrees out to drop your building back down to 70 is wasteful. Energy is not an unlimited resource.

Forget about advocating a ban...you thought this was a good idea...and apparently so did the OpEd writer...so DO IT. Live that spartan lifestyle...really LIVE the things you profess to believe.
 
Forget about advocating a ban...you thought this was a good idea...and apparently so did the OpEd writer...so DO IT. Live that spartan lifestyle...really LIVE the things you profess to believe.

I do attempt to avoid wasteful behavior already. I use CFLs, drive a very efficient car (and use my bike when able), keep my heat to a minimal level, and have yet to turn on my AC this year. (confession: living in Minnesota makes that easier)

Furthermore, I believe it is in the best long-term interests of this country if the majority of the population does the same. Since not many will do so of their own accord, making other incentives (not mandates. incentives) for them to do so is desirable. Additional tax credits for renewable energy sources, further investment in nuclear power generation, and yes, even gradual increases in taxes on oil consumption so as to have the price of gasoline reflect the actual long-term cost to society as well as provide reason to begin a transition away from these limited sources of energy.

Nobody is advocating a "spartan" lifestyle either. Nobody wants you to give up heat or light. Just a more intelligent and less wasteful lifestyle. For example, driving an H2 on dry pavement, by yourself with no significant cargo, to go work in an office? Wasteful. Driving a pickup truck because you have large, heavy objects that need moving? Appropriate!

I think of it this way: Every gallon of gasoline I burn is a gallon of gasoline my grandchildren aren't going to have access to in a time where such things are becoming more scarce.
 
I live in Florida you do not want to meet my wife if we have no AC
 
I do attempt to avoid wasteful behavior already. I use CFLs, drive a very efficient car (and use my bike when able), keep my heat to a minimal level, and have yet to turn on my AC this year. (confession: living in Minnesota makes that easier)

Furthermore, I believe it is in the best long-term interests of this country if the majority of the population does the same. Since not many will do so of their own accord, making other incentives (not mandates. incentives) for them to do so is desirable. Additional tax credits for renewable energy sources, further investment in nuclear power generation, and yes, even gradual increases in taxes on oil consumption so as to have the price of gasoline reflect the actual long-term cost to society as well as provide reason to begin a transition away from these limited sources of energy.

Nobody is advocating a "spartan" lifestyle either. Nobody wants you to give up heat or light. Just a more intelligent and less wasteful lifestyle. For example, driving an H2 on dry pavement, by yourself with no significant cargo, to go work in an office? Wasteful. Driving a pickup truck because you have large, heavy objects that need moving? Appropriate!

I think of it this way: Every gallon of gasoline I burn is a gallon of gasoline my grandchildren aren't going to have access to in a time where such things are becoming more scarce.

I drive a scooter in the city that gets 60+ mpg. A 1500cc between cities that gets about 45. And a big ass truck to pull the boat and go camping. I dont keep my house at a frigid 60 degrees. I think the point would be MOST people arent running around LOOKING for ways to burn gas and waste energy. Articles like the one in the OP are the kind of bloated tripe we we expect from the do as I say, not as I do, jackass global warming crowd. ANd the point still stands...instead of him writing an article he should live off the grid, make tallow candals, recycle his own water and waste...not write some grandstanding article.
 
This is just more junk about how we all need to sacrifice. I'd love to hear about how we should move forward in ways that would make energy more affordable for all. That way everyone could be more comfortable in their daily lives, not less. We already have people suffering in the heat and cold because they can't afford to keep the temperature where they want it. I thought we lived in a country where we wanted our children to have a better life than we did. It seems we are being governed by people who want us to go back in time rather than to move forward.
 
This is just more junk about how we all need to sacrifice. I'd love to hear about how we should move forward in ways that would make energy more affordable for all. That way everyone could be more comfortable in their daily lives, not less. We already have people suffering in the heat and cold because they can't afford to keep the temperature where they want it. I thought we lived in a country where we wanted our children to have a better life than we did. It seems we are being governed by people who want us to go back in time rather than to move forward.

Energy will never be as cheap as it used to be, barring some magical technological breakthrough. Demand is going up, and supply is going down. If some wonderful energy breakthrough occured that halted our need for CO2-emitting fossil fuels while simultaneously being as cheap as oil is, we liberals would be jumping for joy along with everybody else. Relying on something like this to happen, however, is like cliff diving without a parachute.

We all want to keep this quality of life. We all want to be able to run the AC 24/7 in the summer time and the heat 24/7 in the winter time. The world doesn't work that way, unfortunately. Your quality of life is being artificially sustained with the consumption of a resource that is in limited supply. Even if America froze its energy consumption at the present levels and we exterminated every other human being on the planet so as to keep all the oil for ourselves, we're still going to run out of the stuff. Our energy usage, however, isn't going to stay level on its own and the rest of the world certainly isn't going to do it either. If China and India had the per-capita consumption that the US does, a second planet earth would be necessary to sustain them. To think that we somehow have the right to consume at this rate with no planning to the future is arrogant and suicidal, and the price of that arrogance will be paid by our grandchildren.

You want to keep your quality of life. You can't. Not forever. It's impossible.
 
Energy will never be as cheap as it used to be, barring some magical technological breakthrough. Demand is going up, and supply is going down. If some wonderful energy breakthrough occured that halted our need for CO2-emitting fossil fuels while simultaneously being as cheap as oil is, we liberals would be jumping for joy along with everybody else. Relying on something like this to happen, however, is like cliff diving without a parachute.

We all want to keep this quality of life. We all want to be able to run the AC 24/7 in the summer time and the heat 24/7 in the winter time. The world doesn't work that way, unfortunately. Your quality of life is being artificially sustained with the consumption of a resource that is in limited supply. Even if America froze its energy consumption at the present levels and we exterminated every other human being on the planet so as to keep all the oil for ourselves, we're still going to run out of the stuff. Our energy usage, however, isn't going to stay level on its own and the rest of the world certainly isn't going to do it either. If China and India had the per-capita consumption that the US does, a second planet earth would be necessary to sustain them. To think that we somehow have the right to consume at this rate with no planning to the future is arrogant and suicidal, and the price of that arrogance will be paid by our grandchildren.

You want to keep your quality of life. You can't. Not forever. It's impossible.

No, I don't want to keep my quality of life, I want it to be better. We are Americans. We have always left the following generation better off. Just because Obama says things like we aren't going to be able to keep our homes the temperature we want, eat what we want, drive what we want, doesn't make it true. He's not going to be in office forever. Hopefully our next president will have a better vision for this great country. There's no reason, if we all pull together, that we can't undo all the damage he has done and get us back on the track to prosperity.
By the way, I didn't mention oil, but since you did, I'll say Drill Baby Drill. As long as we are using oil, it should be from our own resourses. But we need to utilize all forms of known energy and invest in new ideas. Conservation is only a small part in the big scheme of things.
 
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