I have spent almost two months in Bangkok completing my exchange and I am appalled by the excessive use of air conditioning. I decided to investigate the environmental repercussions of air conditioning and search for viable alternatives.
Nearly one-sixth of all electricity generated in the United States is used to cool buildings. What’s more, most air conditioning in the United States is produced by burning coal which contributes to dirty air, acid rain, and green house gas emissions. Using government data, Stan Cox—a scientist at the Land Institute, Kansas—calculated that more than 1,500 kilograms of carbon dioxide is emitted each year from cooling the average American home.
A far better alternative to using air conditioning is geothermal systems. I have a limited knowledge of these systems but this article by The Independent discusses how geothermal systems use the ground as a natural cooling mechanism. Geothermal systems generate heat from the ground in winter months to warm up buildings, and discharge heat in the summer to the ground.
I also came across this article, written by Doctor Robert Phillips from the University of Alabama (UAB), which explores how air conditioning has adverse health effects. Specifically, Doctor Phillips explores how air conditioning contributes to obesity (ties in nicely with Yan's latest post). The basic premise is that air conditioning has caused homes and offices to be kept a constant temperature year round. According to UAB biostatistician Dr. David Allison and his research team, "this causes the body to expend less energy, because it does not have to work to warm up or cool down, potentially leading to increased fat stores". Read the article for more details!
From Trevor S.
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