I've lived in South Texas my entire life, so my winter experience is pretty limited (though I got quite the crash course in February 2021 along with most of the

I've lived in South Texas my entire life, so my winter experience is pretty limited (though I got quite the crash course in February 2021 along with most of the state), but I see lots of talk about modern heating systems the world over preparing for the coming winter in a time of energy shortage, and I just think about how these places have been inhabited since before industrialization and I wonder how? I suppose the question that I have is what has modernity done to us? Are people just used to a comfort standard that is getting less achievable (I'd be pretty miserable in summer without HVAC myself), or is this a life and death issue that people are no longer able live in warm enough shelter to survive?