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> Air conditioning has saved countless human lives.[0] Not necessarily wrong, but it may have also encouraged more people 'than necessary' to live where they "

> Air conditioning has saved countless human lives.[0] Not necessarily wrong, but it may have also encouraged more people 'than necessary' to live where they "shouldn't". It brings to mind the "Phoenix (Arizona) scene" from the show King of the Hill: > [looks at car-reported temperature] Bobby: 111F? Phoenix can't really be that hot, can it? > Bobby: Oh my God, it's like standing on the sun! > Peggy: This city should not exist. It is a monument to man's arrogance. * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYt0SDnrBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYt0SDnrBE

balfirevic 4y ago
Isn't that better than living in colder areas, as heating usually takes more energy (and solar energy is more plentiful in hot/sunny periods)?
- porknubbins 4y ago
  I think you’re basically right but there is a distinction in living somewhere hot and building cities in the desert in the American west which require redirecting or fighting over limited water resources.
  - balfirevic 4y ago
    Yeah, good point about water.
jinto36 4y ago
I'm in the northeast US and grew up without A/C. My house now has central A/C, but I still think of it as unnecessarily opulent and I feel bad about using it. I keep the setpoint pretty high most of the time, unless someone else comes over to visit and complains. The number of people who just leave their A/C at 70 F and leave it is just staggering to me.
- the_only_law 4y ago
  I live in Florida and AC and if I leave the AC off or too high, I'm sweating in my own home. I'd ofc be thrilled to find an alternative cooling method that works quickly and well in humid climates, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to exist yet (dry heat people apparently have other options tho)
  - yencabulator 4y ago
    An evap cooler in a dry climate can cool indoors to maybe 20 F lower than outdoors, but when outdoors goes to 100 F, there's not much that can be done by adding water vapor.
yencabulator 4y ago
Pretty much all Arizona cities are continuations of mining towns. It's a combination of gold rush, capitalism and path dependence.

balfirevic 4y ago

Isn't that better than living in colder areas, as heating usually takes more energy (and solar energy is more plentiful in hot/sunny periods)?

porknubbins 4y ago
I think you’re basically right but there is a distinction in living somewhere hot and building cities in the desert in the American west which require redirecting or fighting over limited water resources.
- balfirevic 4y ago
  Yeah, good point about water.

jinto36 4y ago

I'm in the northeast US and grew up without A/C. My house now has central A/C, but I still think of it as unnecessarily opulent and I feel bad about using it. I keep the setpoint pretty high most of the time, unless someone else comes over to visit and complains. The number of people who just leave their A/C at 70 F and leave it is just staggering to me.

the_only_law 4y ago
I live in Florida and AC and if I leave the AC off or too high, I'm sweating in my own home. I'd ofc be thrilled to find an alternative cooling method that works quickly and well in humid climates, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to exist yet (dry heat people apparently have other options tho)
- yencabulator 4y ago
  An evap cooler in a dry climate can cool indoors to maybe 20 F lower than outdoors, but when outdoors goes to 100 F, there's not much that can be done by adding water vapor.

yencabulator 4y ago

Pretty much all Arizona cities are continuations of mining towns. It's a combination of gold rush, capitalism and path dependence.