Yes, you can live without air conditioning

In today's New & Observer, Ideas columnist J. Peder Zane writes about what happened when his air conditioner broke. Considering the history of this energy-intensive technology and its impact on our culture and planet, he makes a critically important point:

"The technological advances that allowed us to escape the weather may be making it go haywire. The breakthroughs that keep us cool, may be making the world hotter. This raises the question: If we don't feel the heat, will we be inspired to do something about it?

"I fear that our disconnection from the natural world is crippling our efforts to recognize and confront our environmental changes."

So true. Unfortunately, Zane follows this wise observation with complete nonsense, writing that now "there's no going back."

Ridiculous! Of course there's "going back" to life before air conditioning. It wasn't so long ago that most Americans lived without artificially chilled air, and we survived -- even thrived.

Like many Americans, I grew up without air conditioning. I continue to live without it here in North Carolina, in a home that's also my workplace during the week. My life is certainly not the "hell on earth" that Zane claims he experienced when his cooler broke.

Do I get hot? Sticky? Sure. But it's summertime in the South -- it's supposed to be hot and sticky.

For most of us except perhaps the very sick, air conditioning is a choice, not a necessity. Knowing the environmental perils associated with the technology, we could choose to live without it -- or at least cut back on its use.

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For more about the environmental impact of air conditioning, check out this William Saletan piece from the Slate archives. For tips on living comfortably in a warm climate without air conditioning, click here.