Lose Your Cool and Go Green

Agricultural scientist and author Stan Cox says that one of the most important things we can do to conserve energy and combat global warming is also one of the simplest: Turn off your air conditioner.

It may not be welcome news—particularly in the middle of a record-breaking hot summer across much of North America and Europe—but according to agricultural scientist Stan Cox, every time we use air conditioning to cool down, we’re contributing to the rapid warming of the planet, and ultimately its demise.

Cox took his message to the world at large with the publication of “Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths about Our Air-Conditioned World,” and warned of the dire consequences of our addiction to cool air.

“We’re using much more air conditioning now than we did even in the mid ‘90s, and that’s producing green house emissions which will accelerate the warming of the atmosphere, which means we’ll become even more dependent on air conditioning in the future, unless we do something about it,” Cox recently explained to Boston Public Radio host Tom Ashbrook on his program On Point.

According to Cox, our energy expenditure on air conditioning now far exceeds the energy we use to heat our homes. “Almost all air conditioning is done with electricity, and almost three quarters of electric generation comes from fossil fuels. So the emissions from our use of air conditioning is almost the equivalent of every household in the United States acquiring another vehicle and driving it 7,000 miles a year.”

Or put another way, our electricity consumption for air conditioning is approaching half a trillion kilowatts a year, which is more power than is consumed by the entire African continent over the same year.

Globally Chilling Out

Essentially, we’re trying to air condition our way out of the discomfort of global warming, he warns. About 92 percent of new homes being built include air conditioning, Cox says, with the most rapid increase in use of air conditioning happening in the Western and North Eastern states. But it’s not just Americans who are chilling out.

“A recent survey showed the city of Mumbai, India—one of the largest cities in the world—that 40 percent of their electricity consumption is going to air conditioning, whereas a decade ago it would have been almost none. And they’re predicting that there will be a 12-fold increase in the use of air conditioning in the next ten years.”

All of this requires increased generation of power, and with that comes environmental consequences, he says. Thanks to global warming, heat waves will get worse and more frequent, he says. “The amount of heat people are experiencing on average will increase about two-thirds by the end of the century.”

And although he does acknowledge that there are health benefits to reducing our exposure to extreme heat, he believes we’re over using what should be a luxury.

That said, Cox didn’t figure a book that simply scolded us into getting over our addiction to cool air would prove very popular. So along with his admonitions, he offers some potentially powerful benefits of eschewing artificially chilled environments.

Positive Incentives

Air conditioners not only suck up electricity, their reliance on recycled air can spread contagions, and the mold and mildew that can build up inside an air conditioning unit can also have a negative impact on our well being.

“There are a number of positive incentives for withdrawing from air conditioning a bit as well,” he says. “Those include restoring our connection to our neighbors and the natural world, improved health, and a more resilient economy.”

Turning off the AC will even make our work lives more pleasant, Cox suggests.

In a recent Op-Ed for the Washington Post, Cox described what a summertime work day without air conditioning might feel like:

“In a world without air conditioning, a warmer, more flexible, more relaxed workplace helps make summer a time to slow down again. Three-digit temperatures prompt siestas. Code-orange days mean offices are closed. Shorter summer business hours and month-long closings -- common in pre-air-conditioned America -- return.”

Imagine that!

Cox says alternatives to AC are relatively simple: Open a window, dress lightly, use curtains to block out warming sunlight during the day, or take a cool shower if you’re really uncomfortable.

Eventually, your body will readjust to summer warmth and your discomfort will diminish.

And as you begin to enjoy the warmth of a true, natural summer, you can also bask in the knowledge that you’ve done something significant to limit your impact on the planet.

Now where’s that glass of iced tea?