Monday, June 27, 2011

The Cost

You might have noticed that I was out for a bit. I wonder if something happened over here? I don't remember. In any case, here is an interesting piece about how much it costs to provide air-conditioning in Afghanistan. Reading this, a lot of things seem absurd to me. I feel bad telling a poor soldier serving in Afghanistan to just deal with the heat, but..... I tell hundreds of teenagers to deal with unheated, unair-conditioned schools every day. It isn't Afghanistan though.

One thing that always strikes me about going back to America is the absurd use of air-conditioning. It might just be my mother's house. It probably has a lot to do with the way we build our houses. But it all seems like a bit much to me. My house now in Kyoto, which is notoriously hot in the summer, has two air-conditioners which I never use. Their filters are still sitting out from when I cleaned them. I use a fan and carry a towel around with me. That is about it. When you think about all of the things our world has to go through for power, air-conditioning and dryers and the like start to seem a bit frivolous. Especially when we are cutting the social safety net to threads at home so people can have air-conditioning somewhere where most of the country doesn't think we still need to be.

10 comments:

Caitlin said...

Glad to have you back.


This reminds me of Stephen Colbert saying the coldest winter he's ever spent was in a trailer in Baghdad.

Somewhere in this interview
http://www.hulu.com/watch/254792/the-colbert-report-gary-sinise#s-p3-sr-i1

Bob said...

Yes I would definitely agree and cost is such a big factor!!

I'm from Ireland and were in a recession and money couldn't be scarcer!!!!

Ross Gibson said...

Great site :)

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zoranx said...

yes i agree with you is one of those things

carl can said...

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Anonymous said...

Hi there,

I don't know if you are still checking up on this blog. I also live in Japan and I feel that the Japanese waste more power than just about anyone. In summer, the shops run their AC with doors open. In winter, every office building thermostat is set to tropical levels. However, since the earthquake and subsequent problems at the power station, it is now a sin to to use either. I love teaching English at 3oC, however, it's difficult to talk when your teeth are chattering.

Bloomsburys said...

I love Stephen Colbert too Caitlin, great site and keep up the good work!
Kind regards
Ann (Cheshire)

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Your blog slightly confuses me, but I like it! I tried following it to no success; there is no follow button? I like making lists too, it's how I keep my sanity.

Jai
http://beentheredonethatwhatnext.blogspot.ca/

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