4 ms·

In South Florida, the 3 days since Irma have been hell. Without power, homes have become saunas.

by equalunique 9y ago

amigoingtodie 9y ago
The majority of Florida's population growth coincided w the widespread introduction of air conditioning.
- 0xfeba 9y ago
  The majority of population growth in the entire south coincided with AC.
  - BoiledCabbage 9y ago
    > The majority of population growth in the entire south coincided with AC. That's pretty hard for me to believe. People had been living in the South since before the formation of this country... Do you have any stats to back that up?
    - 0xfeba 9y ago
      Google provided these: https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/06/cities-might-not-exist-without-air-conditioning/2399/ https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/06/cities-might-not-exist-... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/keepin-it-cool-how-the-air-conditioner-made-modern-america/241892/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/keepi... https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/024/ https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/024/
- equalunique 9y ago
  This I would agree with. Actually, having grown up in Florida, it really irks me when I go up north and stay in households during the summer. It seems like Floridians take air conditioning seriously, whereas northerners don't see it as a priority. Growing up in a hot place and always wanting to be in a cool place, sometimes it's just odd living with people who grew up in colder places that yearn for warmth.
dsfyu404ed 9y ago
So they've become a normal day at work for anyone who works outside?
- alethiophile 9y ago
  The same temperature is far less tolerable indoors than out. Particularly in modern buildings, which are designed for total reliance on central air systems and so don't have organic airflow. (Which also has advantages, mostly better use of space; but it introduces a pretty hard dependency on operating in those buildings for long.)
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    People installing utilities in residential buildings (e.g HVAC technician), people in non-air conditioned kitchens (and especially dish-washing rooms), automotive/equipment techs and many others often deal with similar environments. Working outside in the sun sucks just as much, arguably more if you have to wear a lot of PPE.
    - equalunique 9y ago
      The difference is, people in those situations get breaks (by law), and they also get to leave when their shift is over.
autokad 9y ago
old architecture was built to allow room to flow through the homes and be more livable. new architecture is often like sealed boxes
- GlenTheMachine 9y ago
  Correct. Antebellum houses are surprisingly comfortable. The ceilings are twelve feet high, and the houses are one room wide with massive windows on both sides. And the walls are often brick, stone, and/or plaster, which gets cool at night and stays cool for much of the day. The old plantation house on my family's farm is 120 feet long and only 20 feet wide. It's situated on the top of the highest hill for a mile in any direction, and oriented precisely to the prevailing winds. Brick foundation, horsehair plaster walls, and a detached summer kitchen.
  - equalunique 9y ago
    Appreciate the architectural discussion. Reminds me of an architectural feature of ceilings in ancient buildings. I cannot recall the name of it, but it did allow for cooling of the buildings. The design would consist of a lower ceiling with the middle gone. An upper ceiling would extend over this. The section between the ceilings would have openings to allow for light and ventilation. Wish I could remember the name of this design.
defined 9y ago
Hell indeed. In the days leading up to Irma, it was already like the apocalypse. You couldn't get gasoline, water, plywood, or non-perishable goods for love or money. You couldn't drive away because the roads were jammed. Closer to the storm, you couldn't get to a shelter because they were full. Airports shut down. There was nowhere to run (or hide, really). During the storm, once the winds got to 40 mph, you were on your own - no 911, no police, no fire department. If someone decided to brave the storm and break into your house, it was up to you to defend yourself. After the storm, there was no power, many roads were impassable, no gasoline, no food, no water, no sanitation, no way to flush toilets without using precious water. It was a relatively short, but terrifying preview of what a prolonged loss of electricity would do. I think Scientific American compared the power output of a major hurricane to one 10 megaton nuclear bomb explosion every 20 minutes. If anyone wants to know what a post-apocalyptic world looks like, take an area hit by a major hurricane, remove FEMA, medical support, and law enforcement, and multiply that by a couple of orders of magnitude. It's a lot more real when you've been an unwilling participant.

In South Florida, the 3 days since Irma have been hell. Without power, homes have become saunas.

amigoingtodie 9y ago

The majority of Florida's population growth coincided w the widespread introduction of air conditioning.

0xfeba 9y ago
The majority of population growth in the entire south coincided with AC.
- BoiledCabbage 9y ago
  > The majority of population growth in the entire south coincided with AC. That's pretty hard for me to believe. People had been living in the South since before the formation of this country... Do you have any stats to back that up?
  - 0xfeba 9y ago
    Google provided these: https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/06/cities-might-not-exist-without-air-conditioning/2399/ https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/06/cities-might-not-exist-... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/keepin-it-cool-how-the-air-conditioner-made-modern-america/241892/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/keepi... https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/024/ https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/024/
equalunique 9y ago
This I would agree with. Actually, having grown up in Florida, it really irks me when I go up north and stay in households during the summer. It seems like Floridians take air conditioning seriously, whereas northerners don't see it as a priority. Growing up in a hot place and always wanting to be in a cool place, sometimes it's just odd living with people who grew up in colder places that yearn for warmth.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago

So they've become a normal day at work for anyone who works outside?

alethiophile 9y ago
The same temperature is far less tolerable indoors than out. Particularly in modern buildings, which are designed for total reliance on central air systems and so don't have organic airflow. (Which also has advantages, mostly better use of space; but it introduces a pretty hard dependency on operating in those buildings for long.)
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  People installing utilities in residential buildings (e.g HVAC technician), people in non-air conditioned kitchens (and especially dish-washing rooms), automotive/equipment techs and many others often deal with similar environments. Working outside in the sun sucks just as much, arguably more if you have to wear a lot of PPE.
  - equalunique 9y ago
    The difference is, people in those situations get breaks (by law), and they also get to leave when their shift is over.

autokad 9y ago

old architecture was built to allow room to flow through the homes and be more livable. new architecture is often like sealed boxes

GlenTheMachine 9y ago
Correct. Antebellum houses are surprisingly comfortable. The ceilings are twelve feet high, and the houses are one room wide with massive windows on both sides. And the walls are often brick, stone, and/or plaster, which gets cool at night and stays cool for much of the day. The old plantation house on my family's farm is 120 feet long and only 20 feet wide. It's situated on the top of the highest hill for a mile in any direction, and oriented precisely to the prevailing winds. Brick foundation, horsehair plaster walls, and a detached summer kitchen.
- equalunique 9y ago
  Appreciate the architectural discussion. Reminds me of an architectural feature of ceilings in ancient buildings. I cannot recall the name of it, but it did allow for cooling of the buildings. The design would consist of a lower ceiling with the middle gone. An upper ceiling would extend over this. The section between the ceilings would have openings to allow for light and ventilation. Wish I could remember the name of this design.

defined 9y ago

Hell indeed. In the days leading up to Irma, it was already like the apocalypse. You couldn't get gasoline, water, plywood, or non-perishable goods for love or money. You couldn't drive away because the roads were jammed. Closer to the storm, you couldn't get to a shelter because they were full. Airports shut down. There was nowhere to run (or hide, really). During the storm, once the winds got to 40 mph, you were on your own - no 911, no police, no fire department. If someone decided to brave the storm and break into your house, it was up to you to defend yourself. After the storm, there was no power, many roads were impassable, no gasoline, no food, no water, no sanitation, no way to flush toilets without using precious water. It was a relatively short, but terrifying preview of what a prolonged loss of electricity would do. I think Scientific American compared the power output of a major hurricane to one 10 megaton nuclear bomb explosion every 20 minutes. If anyone wants to know what a post-apocalyptic world looks like, take an area hit by a major hurricane, remove FEMA, medical support, and law enforcement, and multiply that by a couple of orders of magnitude. It's a lot more real when you've been an unwilling participant.