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Victoria is in the midst of the longest heat wave since 1908. We are due 4 days in a row over 40 degrees. I am going to avoid the temptation to comment about global warming.It has got me thinking however about an issue that would usually not even be noticed.
Air-conditioning.
Lots of people have it and lots of people use it. We have one and I have to admit that we do use it every so often. Now I also know lots of people who don't have air-conditioners. People on low incomes can't afford to have an air-conditioner. Air-conditioners, like it or lump it, are to some extents a class distinction.
The second issue is of course that air-conditioners use a lot of electrical power. Talk to anyone in the power industry and they will tell you that hot days are when we get to peak electrical load. Of course we all know where Victoria's electricity comes from, and that isn't good for the environment.
I think the problem of air-conditioning is bigger than just the individual units. We build skyscrapers with all this glass on the outside then spend huge amounts of money cooling them down on hot days. We build inefficient, unsustainable housing that requires us to cool it down. Friends of mine have bought canvas awnings to go on the outside of their windows, because that cuts down the amount of heat entering the house by upwards of 80%. We need to do more to think about our lifestyle and not just take the easy option of flicking a switch to make us cool. In the long run that switch is precisely what is heating us up. Whoops, it seems I did mention global warming.
tell me more about global warming. you see, we watched 'the violent truth' i think it was called...in yits, but i have also heard some opinions that think 'global warming' is a bunch of codswallop...in the sense that it's happening that way...because that's how it was supposed to happen in the 'end times'...i am very interested in your opinion. science does not grab me, i don't understand it...so i tend not to be involved.
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming, where to start?
ReplyDeleteThe vast majority of scientists agree that the globe is warming. This means that there is an average temperature rise across the globe, with associated weather related problems (big hurricanes in the US and Caribbean for example). The disagreement comes over what is causing the warming.
Most scientists believe that this global warming is a result of human activity. Specifically the release of carbon into the atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution humans have pumped carbon, in the form of pollution and smoke, into the atmosphere at alarming rates.
The minority of scientists who don't believe it is caused by human activity suggest that the warming is a natural cycle.
The fact that the United Nations highlights global warming as a significant threat to the planet suggest we should probably listen. Development agencies are also able to show how it is the poor that are already being the most affected by global warming.
Also the fact that the Australian government will be instituting a Carbon Trading scheme suggests that there is now enough political capital to tackle the issue, even in the face of stiff opposition from business groups.
So that is the science problem, the first part of your question.
Perhaps I will answer the second part of your question, the 'end times' argument in today's blog post, when I get around to it this evening.
We were discussing yesterday how we can make our students aware of their environment and being good citizens etc etc. and one thing that came up was air conditioning! One teacher mentioned how her students would come in after lunch on a warm day with jumpers still on and turn the air conditioner on its coldest setting. She mentioned how we need to work on changing this mentality of "I'm hot, I'll turn on the air conditioner" to "I'm hot, why don't I take my jumper off?" The best way to do this (in my opinion) - lead by example... however in our staff meeting this morning some of us were getting quite cold and when one teacher moved to change the setting from 18 degrees to 23 degrees she was told that it was set to 18 so that later in the day the room would still be cool... ?! We've got our work cut out for us!
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