How do I feel about air conditioning? On the one hand, I’m extremely hot. On the other, it’s destroying the planet | Emma Beddington

20 comments

1. An enormous percentage of people in the world still don’t have it; giving access to all of them would be the right thing to do from a humanitarian perspective, but raise global energy use/emissions considerably.

   Yet more proof that there are too many people on this planet to sustainably provide a good quality of life to all.

2. Air conditioning may be the thing to make people confront the need for short term adaptations in addition to long term solutions.

   The moral hazard argument falls apart when people are dying from heatstroke.

3. When given a choice between ending misery right now or possibly dying at some undetermined date in the future, most human beings will go with “turn on the A/C NOW!”.

   I started this summer with the idealistic notion of getting used to summer without A/C. Unfortunately, the first sustained heat wave of the summer humbled me pretty quickly.

4. Are AC’s environmental effects comparable to anything else? Like is it equal to a car or having meat? Idk just trying to conceptualize its effects bc I’ll give up a lot before you take this AC out of my sweaty dead hands

5. I don’t like how people act like there is a dichotomy in which either everyone uses air conditioning at maximum levels that are freezing everywhere or else no one ever uses air conditioning and everyone dies from heat stroke. There is a sensible approach to air conditioning use. Combined with other methods for temperature regulation, air conditioning can be used much less while still keeping people safe.

6. I’m actually looking to move into a basement apartment again. No need for air conditioning.

7. I think most people over use it. I also think most people can’t tolerate any kind of heat which we should be able to to tolerate temps to the mid 80s.

8. Solar electricity running an A/C with CO2 as working fluid isn’t particularly bad

9. The vulnerable should have access to it, that’s a priority.

   The rest of the challenge needs to be understood as a racing adaptation efforts, because failure is guaranteed. Societies can’t adapt to climate heating by accelerating the heating; adaptation and mitigation (reducing GHGs) need to go together. And adaptation to heat needs to be complex (including insulation) and systemic, not this DIY rat race. That adaptation is also going to have to include social housing and shelters.

   Adaptation is more attractive, more politically digestible, even foolish nationalists can get in on it. Adaptation will fail if we don’t halt the warming because adaptation requires a static goal to adapt to, a “goal post”, and if GHG emissions continue… that is moving the goal posts. There’s the option of doing pessimistic adaptation (worst case scenario), but it’s not clear what that is and it’s probably too costly.

   A problem in Europe is also the old buildings that need to be “conserved”. There has to be a balance between architecture and the buildings being safe, and that’s going to have to change. And with that, we could also work on standards for cleaning indoor air, since people are *oh so concerned* with the old and vulnerable.

   I don’t see cars and car infrastructure as having a cool future, even if the cars are electric. All that asphalt for roads and parking, all the whining about trees, all the thermal pollution, it needs to stop. The personal car, like the personal AC, is a dead end.

   I agree with the author on the de-motivational effect of “relief”. It’s a form of mismanagement of the commons. It ends badly.

   Lastly, AC can never be the main adaptation, because it fails. When the power demand leads to brownouts and blackouts (or some storms lead to that), AC is useless. And if the temperatures are too high, AC devices lose their effectiveness (you need more and more of them). Having AC fail on mass when you needed it most is a terrible situation, which makes it a terrible adaptation. True adaptation needs to be structural and as passive as possible.

   In this context, I’m also expecting the rise of cooling wearables, because it would be more effective to cool the body instead of cooling the whole indoor space to cool the body.

10. This is a very stupid argument; the emissions from AC are a fraction of a % compared to many other more frivolous items (airline, cruise industry). AC saves lives.

11. Meanwhile, ONE data center consumes as much power as an entire small town.

12. Can’t we power AC with solar?

    The US has 5x more land used for golf courses than solar.

    The planet in general has tons of empty land we can put in solar panels now that the prices have come down so much.

13. Shifting responsibility to consumers who might die without it

14. ive finally experienced AC but every time I turn it on i cry for the homeless and environment, leave it off open windows hell yeah

15. If the grid was solar or similar it wouldnt matter. Individuals having an AC on when its 100f is not the source of the problem. Its how the energy is generated in the first place.

16. I use AC to avoid heat sickness, not just for comfort, like many in the sunbelt. Without modern conveniences the death rate would be much higher and much of the earth uninhabitable. With global warming it will only get worse, many areas populated by humans will be lost. Migration to desirable areas will only get worse, political efforts aside.

17. Air conditioning is the Solution. Do people realise they are heat pumps that can also be used to heat homes in the winter ?

18. Well this is dumb.

    Just make your electricity generation low carbon, problem solved. That’s what most countries are doing.

19. I mean how about we all give up red meat before living in misery with no AC?

20. Kill AI before AC

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