Let’s take a look back at how people in the past dealt with surviving the intense summer heat.
In an episode of The Twilight Zone from 1961, they showed Earth heating up to 130°F as it got closer to the Sun. Fast forward to July 5, 2024, and Palm Springs hit 124°F, while Death Valley reached 128°F the next day, breaking temperature records across the American West.
Back in 1961, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was 318 parts per million by volume (ppmv). Last year, in 2023, it had risen to 421 ppmv. This increase in CO2 traps heat in the atmosphere, making things hotter. It’s like we’re stuck in a greenhouse, trying to cool down by burning fossil fuels, which in turn produces more CO2.
People have always found ways to stay cool in hot climates, like avoiding the sun, living underground, or covering up completely. These strategies were once criticized, even in racist ways, by those from cooler regions. But now, more parts of the world are learning from these age-old techniques.
Imagine life without air conditioning! In 1858, an article suggested eating certain foods to keep cool. Back then, the CO2 levels were much lower at 286 ppmv. Dr. John Gorrie even invented the first ice-making machine in 1851 to help his patients in Florida, where CO2 levels were at 285 ppmv.In 1902, Willis Carrier invented the first modern electrical air conditioning system to cool and dehumidify a publishing company in Brooklyn, New York. The company was worried about humidity damaging their paper supplies. Carrier’s invention is still in use today.
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Imagine a world without air conditioning – no A/C in cars, theaters, restaurants, suburbs, office buildings, apartments, or malls.
In 1961, The Science News-Letter provided tips on staying cool in the summer heat, not much different from advice given over a century ago by Scientific American.
If you struggle with the heat when temperatures soar, understanding how your body reacts to summer heat can help you stay comfortable, according to the editors.
Air conditioning was a game-changer in the twentieth century, essential for places like the Sun Belt where rapid population growth wouldn’t have been possible without it.
While some people, like a woman from Florida in 1982, disliked air conditioning and saw it as a Yankee invention, most embraced it enthusiastically.
Historians were initially hesitant to acknowledge the impact of air conditioning on the South, fearing it would reinforce old stereotypes about climate dictating destiny. However, attitudes shifted as air conditioning became more widespread, transforming the region into the “New South.”
In a story called The Midnight Sun, a character wakes up relieved to find herself in the cold darkness of night, unaware that the Earth is moving away from the Sun and freezing.We have no problem picturing climate disasters. Robert Frost wrote a well-known poem about it over 100 years ago (1920: 303 ppmv). We can discuss climate change, but the future of the Earth’s atmosphere is unpredictable.