It Strikes Me Funny: Can we survive heat waves and our stupidity?

We may not be as durable a species as we think.

As I said in an earlier post, “nearly 700 people died per day, i.e., 50% higher than norms,” during a recent, intense heat wave in Russia

I admit, we are durable in many ways.

We often fend off viruses and recessions and wars and bounce back.

TV audiences have put up with American Idol for more years than I thought humanly possible. Gilligan’s Island reruns seem only to make us stronger.


["Is this technology more advanced than an a/c unit?": link to photo and blog]

And we’re ingenious, aren’t we? Technologically advanced even?

Why, here in North America, when the going gets hot we just turn on or crank up the old air-conditioning unit and laugh as the mercury rises.

Methinks I spot some irony in that all-too-common situation.

According to undeniable laws of physics, in the process of replacing some warm air in a room with cooler air, we create much more heat, and with the use of fans we transfer it to the outdoors.

We burn more hydro during heat waves and burn more coal in many areas of the country in order to do so.

We might survive the next heat wave, but will we survive our own stupidity?

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Is running through the sprinkler a cheaper, healthier alternative to the a/c unit?

Can we cool inside air in natural ways?

Do many of our home construction styles prevent us from doing so?

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