Air Conditioning: A Troubling Reality

Air conditioning is something that most Americans take for granted. I grew up living in air conditioned houses, riding in air conditioned cars, and going to school in air conditioned buildings. When the air conditioning is off, we notice, but when it’s on, we say nothing.

Today, many Americans could not “live” without air conditioning, and I see this as a problem. In a recent article in Slate, entitled The Deluded World of Air Conditioning, three main problems were discussed in regard to AC use. For one, using air conditioning at our current rate takes a lot of energy, both in houses and in cars, and doing so produces greenhouse gasses. Secondly, the more we use air conditioning, the hotter we make it outside, which we respond to by using even more AC. Finally, due to air conditioning, we don’t immediately have to face the consequences of our actions because we can stay in our enclosed, artificially cooled environments.

In regard to that third point, I can see why so many people don’t care about the environment and/or global warming. They don’t have to deal with it. Looking at my own life, I can go to and from my house and my workplace and only be outside for five minutes. The rest of the time I’m riding in an air conditioned car, bus, or train. My total walking time is five minutes, if that. The temperature outside could be 110 degrees and I could get to and from work without suffering hardly at all from an increase in temperature. So why should I worry about an increase in global temperatures?

[Note: Of course, it would be silly to point to individual heat waves and/or hot days and blame them on global warming, however, as we continue to flood the atmosphere with greenhouse gasses, the average temperature of Earth has increased noticeably. Thus, on average, we're going to be using more energy for our AC, and thus the penalties for our global warming will increase in an exponential fashion.]

So, if we can always remain in an air conditioned environment, we shouldn’t worry about the environment, right? Wrong. In our current, fossil fuel burning economy, we can “not worry” about the environment only if we have infinite resources and we decide to disregard all of the people out there who don’t have air conditioning.

I’m not saying that we rid the world of air conditioning. It’s a great invention that helps us feel more comfortable, makes us more productive, and helps those who are elderly or ill live a better and longer life. However, we can’t fool ourselves and take it for granted. I just hope people that read this remember that air conditioning isn’t something that we’ll always have, or deserve. It’s a convenience that we are lucky to have, and we should conserve whenever possible.

I think it would be a good idea if you, the reader, if able, would turn off your air conditioning, just for one day per year, to become more aware. See what it’s like to be without this convenience, and realize that some people live without it all the time. On a regular basis, you could also explore alternative ways to cool yourself, such as spritzing yourself with a bottle of water, or staying under a shady tree. Maybe turn your thermostat a few degrees warmer when your AC is on. But above all, realize that when your AC is on, the people you’re hurting most are those who don’t have AC at all.