Hot in Spain
I've written about a lot of different things on this blog, ranging from the coarse to the convoluted, but today I thought I'd remark on something closer to home—lack of air conditioning.
While I've been in Madrid experiencing the wonder that is Europe and exploring history far removed from the baseball and apple pie of my home country, I've found it common everywhere outside the United States to read, write, eat, and sleep without air conditioning. Posting temperatures of 95° Fahrenheit at midday almost everyday at my apartment abroad, even the most well-meaning of fans do not suffice.
But it begs the question, to pull on a phrase equal in triteness to my real desire for frigid afternoons in the summertime, how is it possible that those in the United States can maintain the status quo despite the costs to the environment and, of obviously greater importance, the pocketbook? While there are physical solutions to this problem, including systematic installation of building insulation, the use of roof solar panels to power behemoth air coolers, or the increasing efficiency of air cooling systems, among this short list of common practice conclusions is unlikely to appear a change in expectations.
Americans are blessed with many conveniences, especially the 72° thermostat, but in the near future such afterthoughts could be stripped from the quotidian standard. While it may remain feasible and economical for some parts of the developed world, I know upon my return to the US of A that I will treat and respect temperature control as a luxury. To escape the shivers and the sweats of seasonal variation is something I will never stop appreciating.
While I've been in Madrid experiencing the wonder that is Europe and exploring history far removed from the baseball and apple pie of my home country, I've found it common everywhere outside the United States to read, write, eat, and sleep without air conditioning. Posting temperatures of 95° Fahrenheit at midday almost everyday at my apartment abroad, even the most well-meaning of fans do not suffice.
But it begs the question, to pull on a phrase equal in triteness to my real desire for frigid afternoons in the summertime, how is it possible that those in the United States can maintain the status quo despite the costs to the environment and, of obviously greater importance, the pocketbook? While there are physical solutions to this problem, including systematic installation of building insulation, the use of roof solar panels to power behemoth air coolers, or the increasing efficiency of air cooling systems, among this short list of common practice conclusions is unlikely to appear a change in expectations.
Americans are blessed with many conveniences, especially the 72° thermostat, but in the near future such afterthoughts could be stripped from the quotidian standard. While it may remain feasible and economical for some parts of the developed world, I know upon my return to the US of A that I will treat and respect temperature control as a luxury. To escape the shivers and the sweats of seasonal variation is something I will never stop appreciating.