Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
I am a bit surprised by some of the comments. A lot of commenters are basically saying that they will pay for air conditioning no matter how expensive electricity gets. They will fight tooth and nail to keep their air conditioning.
Air conditioning is very different from motor vehicles but has some strong similarities in its effect on the environment. The CFCs and other gases that are eventually released are bad for the ozone layer. They put an enormous strain on power companies during summer months, forcing ever more carbon into the air from the burning of natural gas and coal. Homes built in the past 30 years have lost their energy saving and natural cooling features, making us ever more dependant on air conditioning.
I live in Florida, and we have a huge amount of elderly retirees. Let me tell you, air conditioning is keeping them alive. We would probably lose 5% of southern florida's populations to heat related death if electricity failed during the hottest weeks of summer. We were lucky last year, because after hurricane Wilma, we experienced cool temperatures. If the power goes out for a few weeks this summer, and temperatures are at record highs, thousands will die. _________________ "If humans don't control their numbers, nature will." -Pimentel
"There is not enough trash to go around for everyone," said Banrel, one of the participants in the cattle massacre.
"George W. Bush loves poor people. He keeps making more of them." -unkn
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:57 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
Newsweek had an article last fall that claimed air-conditioning is the only reason the Gulf Coast is as populated as it is. The rise of cheap air-conditioning coincided with a period of unusually low hurricanes.
Before, there were mostly poor people living on the coast, and not many of them. It was too hot and humid.
Now we have millions living in harm's way, thanks to air-conditioning. _________________ "The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place." - Albert Einstein
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:02 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
Before air conditioning came to Florida, Key West (currently a town of 24,832 people) was the largest city in the state. It is surrounded by water and the northwest prevailing winds come from off the ocean.
The entire southern tier (especially the gulf coast and the desert areas) of the united states will become uninhabitable as the grid and instrastructure falters _________________ ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
Part of the problem is the size of the massive houses being air conditioned. What if one had a tiny house with only certain parts air conditioned? It wouldn't be nearly that big of a deal then.
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:07 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
I've lived like that and it can be depressing. I had a crummy big loft in NYC and a tiny bedroom with a wall unit. I hid in there from the heat. _________________ ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap
Joined: Oct 12, 2004 Posts: 1012 Location: In the suburban sea of strangers
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:09 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
My chronic power failure plan is to hang out in the basement with my family in front of a 12 volt solar powered fan and squirt each other with spray bottles of water. Ok, maybe it's stupid, but at least I have a plan. _________________ The battle to preserve our lifestyle has already been lost. The battle to preserve our lives is just beginning.
Joined: Mar 18, 2005 Posts: 2691 Location: Minnesota
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:13 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
I've noticed that "getting used to" AC will impair your ability to sweat, thus the body doesn't cool down properly...so YES it is addictive.
I'm on my 3rd summer without AC and what i find most disturbing are the peoples reactions to it. They are completely & utterly dumfounded that i'm not using it. Many people will no longer come over because of it. People look at me like a leppar when they hear i don't use AC...it's actually kind of frightening. _________________ Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 2897 Location: East Texas
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:32 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
My family's been down here long before the advent of A/C; but I've never gone without it for more than a few days at a time. Having had a short hot period without A/C last year after Rita (3 days), I came away with a few insights. I think the biggest problem we have is improper furniture. We have to much padded, fabric covered stuff, and not enough bare wood with a seat cushion. We've got inside sofas, instead of front porch wooden swings. Houses are built to air-tight, hard to make them breathe. We're to used to sitting inside during the heat, instead of on the porch or under a tree in the yard. Screendoors are more often the exception, not the rule. To much sticky carpet too.
All of these things are fixed easy enough when the time comes, but for now, office buildings and homes will remain the realm of dry, cool, unsweaty people.
Joined: Apr 06, 2005 Posts: 1022 Location: 38 km west of Warsaw, Poland
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:36 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
Having lived most of my life in the US, I can testify (always wanted to use that word here) that life without AC is 'non-negotiable', most noteably in the SE US. Most people find it unbearable just to walk from their parking space at Walmart to the front door. I can't even imagine how cranky everyone will get when AC is unavailable.
AC is just arriving here in Poland (ok, it has been here for awhile, but nobody felt the need) but it is not really necessary. Very low humidity. Block houses also seem to help. As do trees... It is not really necessary here, but marketing and sales people heave convinced the wealthy upperclass that it is.
I just hope the collapse happens before the western marketing machine totally takes over the rest of the world so we can all continue our lives without the hype.
Hope that makes some sense... _________________ Remember, with globalisation "everyone is a winner" in the "race to the bottom". - rogerhb
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. A.C. Clarke
Joined: Sep 14, 2004 Posts: 6625 Location: Rural Virginia
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:44 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
SoothSayer wrote:
I didn't realise that they [AC units] were essential anywhere in the USA.
Ho! Live and learn, chum. Many parts of the US are among the hottest, most miserable places in the world. In pre-Revolutionary times, British officers stationed in the Mid-Atlantic area received extra pay because the region was classified as subtropical.
AC is essential to life (as we know it) in vast swaths of the US, especially the Southeast, where it's not just the heat, it's the humidity. When doing heavy labor outdoors in the late spring, summer, and early fall I have to change my shirt two or three times---it gets as wet and dripping as if it was dunked in a bucket of water. (Of course I could just go shirtless, but then the sun fries me and the mosquitoes and deer flies feast on my blood.)
An America without AC would indeed be an America with a smaller population and an entirely different way of life. _________________ "Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog
"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:55 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
It is amazing how people cry like babies in 90+ degree heat. Come on, it is not that bad!!! I will take 90 degree heat anyday over 10 and below cold, especially in an environment where heating fuel may be scarce. In heat, dress in light, cotton clothes, drink water copiuously and simply relax and take it easy. It is not comfortable but it certainly is not the end of the world. For males, if necessary going without a shirt is also an option and quite comfortable. Obviously not a realistic option for females however.
I guess I should remember however that my complexion is of a darker hue and we are probably better adapted naturally for hot conditions. A dripping shirt is not that bad as well. It is only an issue if you are in an office type job or formal atmosphere where being unsweaty is necessary. _________________ For ionizing radiation “…the human epidemiological evidence establishes—by any reasonable standard of proof—that there is no safe dose or dose-rate…the safe-dose hypothesis is not merely implausible—it is disproven.” Dr. J.W. Gofman 4
Joined: Jun 03, 2005 Posts: 217 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:01 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
Quote:
I'm on my 3rd summer without AC and what i find most disturbing are the peoples reactions to it. They are completely & utterly dumfounded that i'm not using it. Many people will no longer come over because of it. People look at me like a leppar when they hear i don't use AC...it's actually kind of frightening.
I only use AC for company. I grew up without it - most of us over 50 did - and I don't find it particularly necessary. And believe me, it's hot and humid hear in NJ right now! But it's enjoyable. I hate being cold! Storms are moving in and it's fun to observe them. I dress to keep cool. I am drinking some ice water right now. I like the slower rhythms of summer. I have a wall unit at work, and I try not to use that as well, although it's more difficult, since the wall unit negates the possibility of air circulation from the other window. It's summer, it's hot - but it's Friday night, people, here in the US. Pour yourselves a cool beverage. Go outside in the shade on a comfy chair, if you have access. Do some reading while sipping the beverage.
Last edited by Waterthrush on Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 2897 Location: East Texas
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: AC, probably just as addictive as motor vehicles
Heineken wrote:
Ho! Live and learn, chum. Many parts of the US are among the hottest, most miserable places in the world.
...
AC is essential to life (as we know it) in vast swaths of the US, especially the Southeast, where it's not just the heat, it's the humidity.
One hasn't truly lived until you've spent all summer at 95F+ and 85%+ humidity. Thats when you'll know what your made of.
Those who talk fast, walk fast, and get hyper, die of heat stroke quickly enough. Leaving the rest of us to quietly amble our way along and spend a few moments thinking about the words we might choose to say, if we were motivated enough to say them. I wonder if thats why we like guns more down here; fist fights are to exhausting.
All times are GMT - 6 Hours Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Next
Page 1 of 5
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
News
Discussions
Resources
Members
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap 
where A/C is still not common in homes.
