Foreign Policy Blogs

How Uncool is AC?

I’ve written about the revolution in low-tech.  “Teach us delight in simple things …” are words, in my opinion, by which to live.  I wrote about a different view of freedom in which the idea of using less energy and consuming fewer resources might actually be construed as liberating.  I’ve quoted Bill McKibben in my look at his article in the “NY Review of Books” about a Tom Friedman book:  “Does it ever occur to him, in the grip of a fantasia like this, that if the sun is shining brightly, or the breeze is blowing steadily, you could dry your clothes on a $14 piece of rope strung off your back deck, or for that matter on a foldable rack in the apartment hallway? And that since most of the world already knows how to do it, we might be smarter moving in their direction instead of insisting that they buy into our entire high-technology suburban dream?”

I’ve written about green building quite a bit, including noting this terrific article by Libby Rosenthal at the “NY Times” on passive houses.  Now comes another great bit of reporting at the “NYT” – on living without AC:  The Unchilled Life.  The article looks at several folks who have been living the dream.  How?  With open doors and windows, fans, and using their patios much more often, among other methods.  See the article for the stories of how these people have prospered by saving money (lots), getting to spend more time with their kids, and even losing weight.  Practical tips are included.

 

Author

Bill Hewitt

Bill Hewitt has been an environmental activist and professional for nearly 25 years. He was deeply involved in the battle to curtail acid rain, and was also a Sierra Club leader in New York City. He spent 11 years in public affairs for the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, and worked on environmental issues for two NYC mayoral campaigns and a presidential campaign. He is a writer and editor and is the principal of Hewitt Communications. He has an M.S. in international affairs, has taught political science at Pace University, and has graduate and continuing education classes on climate change, sustainability, and energy and the environment at The Center for Global Affairs at NYU. His book, "A Newer World - Politics, Money, Technology, and What’s Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis," will be out from the University Press of New England in December.



Areas of Focus:
the policy, politics, science and economics of environmental protection, sustainability, energy and climate change

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