How to keep cool while the world gets hotter

The warmer it gets, the more people use air conditioning-but the more people use air conditioning, the warmer it gets. Is there any way out of this trap?
00:00: What’s the cooling conundrum?
01:05: The pros and cons of AC
03:28: How to reinvent air conditioning
05:02: Can buildings be redesigned to keep cool?
07:30: Scalable, affordable cooling solutions
10:24: Policy interventions for cooling
How does new, green air conditioning manage to cool without releasing nasty gases?: econ.st/3mXNyT9
Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter to keep up to date with our latest stories: econ.st/3gJBH8D
Read our latest climate coverage: econ.st/3D1PgIG
Demand for air conditioning is set to surge by 2050: econ.st/3D4lSSb
A new approach to heating and cooling: econ.st/3CZvWfn
Keep up with the latest developments at COP26: econ.st/3D2pHHp
Read our latest special report on stabilizing the climate: econ.st/3n0tCze

[@susanfarley1332]

After higher and higher electric bills, years ago I planted strategically placed deciduous trees to shade my house. Now the trees are shading my house so much in the summer it his knocked off at least $100 off my electric bill. I did google earth to look at my property and even though I could see all my neighbors houses around me, you could not see my house at all. I have ridden a bike for years. I don't even own a car. That saves a lot of money and it's a non polluting

[@SGNedtiz]

Big brain move mate👍

[@Crashed131963]

And trees look nice.

[@kimweaver1252]

Have you considered wildfires and what they do to your house?

[@iceberg9248]

@@kimweaver1252 I live on a wooded lot. There is no risk of forest fires where I live - too wet. There are definitely plusses and minuses though. Our house is wonderfully shaded by old growth oaks, beeches and poplars. In the winter, the leaves are down, so we have bright sunshine. From an energy and co2 perspective, it definitely makes a difference.our bills are really low. From just a money perspective, I don’t know that I would say it is better. If one of the trees starts to die, you are talking $$ to cut it down.

[@XXcal.]

Thanks so much for doing your part mate, I'm doing what I can to change my lifestyle too.

[@mackie5004]

My university had a great cooling system. The had a little leak/pond next to the building. Air was circulated through tubes under the lake directly into the building. The vents were powered with solar panels. Side effect: Was a excellent air quality in the university and no noise.

[@elainekerslake6865]

The panels ..voltaic cells...feed small fans with low voltage. You can stick some on your roof for a low source of DC. Need decent sun though.

[@taomaggie7529]

Ii雨uuuuuu局哈哈嘎嘎嘎嘎嘎嘎嘎嘎巩固巩固

[@taomaggie7529]

滚滚滚滚滚圆滚滚过一个月有一个刚刚

[@taomaggie7529]

很尴尬共和国哥哥哥好久

[@josephviernes8500]

What university is this??

[@jarjarbinks6018]

In a lot of old southern neighborhoods you might sometimes find shotgun houses. They’re long and narrow houses designed in such a way that if you opened up the front windows, doors, and back windows you could theoretically shoot a bullet through the front of the house and it would fly out the back without hitting any obstacles. This design helped airflow pass through the house and was often used before the air conditioner became widespread

[@andreas2949]

Amazing. We should learn from the old buildning techniques instead.

[@danabradley1803]

thats all they have in new orleans

[@LeemeSeeYaJAZZhands]

Our house is 168 years old, about 100 years before residential AC became common. Our front porch is south facing with tall windows. This design allows light/heat in during the winter and keeps the windows shaded in the summer then the mid day sun is at a higher angle in the sky. The ceilings are tall, which allows for the hottest air to stay above sitting/standing height. Attic fans draw cool air from the basement through the house and purge hot air. We can keep the entire house cool with 3 window AC units on the 2nd floor. It’s really shocking how little air conditioning is needed when a house is designed to stay cool.

[@ricktd6891]

The Earth is cooling anyway.

[@loganmancini8759]

@@ricktd6891 really because it seams to be getting hotter in other nations plus the antacids are melting. I don’t think so pal

[@ricktd6891]

@@loganmancini8759 No. Go check the satellite feeds. The Earth has been cooling since 2016 lower tropical global mean. It also cooled from 1945 to 1979 and 1998 to 2015, all the while atmospheric CO2 was on the rise. Care to tell me how CO2 controls the temperature of Earth when the 2 go in opposite directions all the time?

[@suf6716]

it is the developing world which is in fact suffering...Why would the richer nations pay anything to mitigate this disaster brought upon humanity by them? their people can afford anything, but it is us who are suffocating...

[@btrading4996]

fatima if we don t invest into cutting the carbon footprin into the rich nations you me and all others will probably die , global warming will not be solved with europe and us shippin hundreds of bilions to africa or middle east wich btw was always hot! 80 percent of the global carbon footprint is from eu usa an china so here we must invest first then comes the poor nations

[@frankreynolds9930]

Many developed countries became rich by using those fossil fuels and degrading environment decade ago. Now how are developing countries suppose to develop without those.

[@chazl9531]

Stop having so many babies then

[@omvegan]

@@frankreynolds9930 Nuclear power

[@watchit387]

we all have contributed to this problem when we ride a car, use fridge, watch tv, charge our phones, fly on airplane, billions of people contributed in little ways and that’s how we can solve it, billions of people in little ways

[@iceberg9248]

Wow. The energy spent on ac in the US equals the total energy used by Africa?!

[@camelopardalis84]

Which has to do, in part, with people in Africa not having air conditioning, even if they live in places as hot and humid (or even hotter and/or more humid) as the places in the US where "of course everybody has air conditioning".

[@jenBaker707]

we knew all this 30 years ago. Nothing is gonna change.

[@glennsode2153]

Learning from this video is that simply we needed more plants/ trees around. Thank you for sharing.

[@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923]

Support TeamTrees cause they're working only exactly that :)

[@nenmaster5218]

@@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923 Amazon and Capitalism overall is f-cking-us-over so-hard, you wouldnt belief it, but: EARTH is RUNNING OUTTA WATER: The KZbinr Some More News made videos about it, just like Second Thought. I recommend it to literally all.

[@ricktd6891]

@@nenmaster5218 Maybe you didn't notice the planet is covered with water.

[@EcoHouseThailand]

The cheapest form of energy is the type you don't have to pay for! So insulation before installation. I designed my house from the ground up to run off-grid from solar. The first job was to ensure that the house was as energy efficient as possible and used the smallest amount of energy possible. If you want to run air-con from batteries you have to design a house that requires only the smallest most efficient air con units. A tightly sealed thermal envelop means that you are not having to constantly cool warm air leaking into the house. When aircon is not used the house is cooled passively via stack effect ventilation: hot air is drawn up and vented at the top of the building.

[@jimbeam4111]

You have the smartest comment on this thread. Your approach is exactly how to fix this climate issue. Well done

[@EcoHouseThailand]

@@jimbeam4111 Thanks Jim my EcoHouseThailand channel has a link to my Blog where I document my build.

[@narad8165]

What about fresh air

[@EcoHouseThailand]

@@narad8165 when the house is locked down a whole house Energy Recovery Ventilation system filters, cools and dehumidifies incoming air.

[@camelopardalis84]

Tl; dr down below. Frankly, a lot of people (I would say mainly in the US, but could be wrong) must also just learn to live with no-so-comfortable temperatures. I've repeatedly heard people say that they live in places where everybody has air conditioning, despite these places not being particularly hot and/or humid. Places with the same worst temperature/humidity level combinations as I know from where I live. And where I live, no-one has air conditioning. There's air conditioning in stores, but not in residential buildings of any kind or places like schools or workplaces. People here only experience air conditioning if it is hot enough in summer while shopping. And I get that building materials in the US and where I live are not the same. We don't have any walls you can kick through, for example. I've never lived anywhere with walls as thin as in the flat I live in right now. They're freakishly thin, but I would still break my foot if I tried to kick through one, even with steel toe cap shoes. But I'm simply not buying that these differences in building materials in *a huge amount* of residential buildings in the US are this much worse for keeping the inside of homes cool enough to be able to deal with. And when I say "residential buildings" I also mean single-family houses. I've lived in an attic flat (they are prone to heating up) for two Summers in a place where *up to* 38 degrees Celsius (measured in the shadow) are a thing. With the advantage that the air here is never particularly humid, that much I'll admit. But oh boy, was I never actually tempted to even just buy a fan. Tl;dr: There seem to be a lot of people in the US who have air conditioning who don't need it. People who just don't like it when it is somewhat warm in their home in Summer. People who would in no way endanger themselves if they stopped using their air conditioner.

[@GergelyKosztolanyi]

There are also some more subtle cultural shifts that could be done. Like changing the standards for "professional clothing". If office workers - especially men - weren't forced to wear 2-3 layers of long clothing during the summer, temperatures in the office (and also in vehicles) could be allowed to go up to 26-27 °C which would cut down on AC usage quite a bit. (And as a bonus, the offices wouldn't be too cold for women whose standards for professional clothing is already a lot lighter.)

[@cristinacaceres8531]

Tt

[@RicciWork]

Yes . I remember an article several years ago saying that if men are allowed to loosen their tie and un-do their top shirt button, that would reduce the need for aircondition cooling because body heat escapes.

[@tlhamp0]

plus people would be more productive if they're in clothes that are more comfortable on them

[@robertwilson2007]

There is not enough human intervention to stop any of this from slowing down. Accept the fact that we and all the other life forms on Earth will either adapt or die !! Like life has been doing since the dawn of time. Just enjoy your life because its is short and you won't remember any of this when you are dead and gone. Like every other life form that has came before us and has gone extinct. Extiction is inevitable. No being gets out of life alive. Eventually our planet will be comsumed by our Sun. We once again will be STAR DUST.

[@ricktd6891]

The planet is cooling.

[@sumansengupta3795]

We Indians had this old habit of using earthen pots to store water. Almost certainly earthen pots cooled water to the extent that you don't catch cold drinking it. We need to fuse traditional ways of cooling with more modern means on huge scales of economies.

[@kaptenhiu5623]

Well we can do that or... We can engineer human DNA to tolerate higher air temperature. We evolve during the ice age so that's why we hate hot temperature. We sweat and our brain cannot think anything else when it's 30 - 35 celcius.

[@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253]

@@kaptenhiu5623 are you sure? It's regularly 37 Celsius in my country, and I can think just fine

[@kaptenhiu5623]

@@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253 are you sure that your thermometer fine? also try to work outside for couple of hours. Normal Human body temp is 36 Celcius, How can you cool your body all day ?

[@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253]

@@kaptenhiu5623 that's the point, I don't, I just get used to it

[@petrichor259]

@@kaptenhiu5623we sweat to get rid of heat in our body. Sad that people like dumb enough to not know that.

[@votemonty1815]

"The planet isn't going anywhere...WE ARE!" ~George Carlin, Philosopher

[@myofficetop]

Best comment!!!

[@terminalimpact2771]

@HunterBidensCrackPipe true, I not doomsday but doesn’t mean we should do nothing…

[@mateblack4722]

👏👏👏👏Tell Them!!! Earth will just reset itself to factory settings while giving zero Fks then sit and wait for the next self destructive species.

[@etodemerzel2627]

It might actually be our doomsday, just in a hundred years. Check out "why everything will collapse" video.

[@astridmackaay1192]

Using sunshades on the window and a few trees did it for the livingroom. Bedroom was harder, so I still have something like a fan in there.

[@DerDudelino]

I always wondered why we don't outfit literally every larger building with a ton of solar panels that generate enough energy for air conditioning - that should be doable. When you think about a city like LA where you have about 250 sun days a year, solar should power major parts of the entire city.

[@thorbrennergostasson8556]

You over estimate solar and underestimate AC. Its a CRAZY amount of power to cool even a small apartment. Say 1800W per hour. I would need 18 100w solar panels for that100w panel is 3x2 feet. 18 of those is huge. Just for one apartment. Not apartment building. One single apartment.

[@gs-nq6mw]

Life is not that simple lol, solar panels are expensice

[@marinaclarasanchezsuarez2905]

China is leader in solar, but petrodólares hate It. Thats the reason.

[@ricktd6891]

It's a scam, the planet is cooling.

[@loganmancini8759]

Solar power is becoming more cheaper now

[@kendelion]

I live in an apartment building facing south. Summer sun is just a few inches inside my window while winter it’s inside half the house. Makes summer cooler and winter warmer

[@mattnorton95]

Highly recommend watching Kiss the ground on Netflix. Grassland is one of the best carbon sinks for removing CO2 out of the atmosphere. By utilising ruminants and grassland we can reverse the effects of desertification and create huge carbon sinks.

[@ideatorx]

Last summer in Vancouver Canada it registered on my car 48*C I had to move from my house into my basement with three fans going full speed because my air conditioner literally failed in that kind of heat. I've never experienced anything like it, ever.

[@T1tusCr0w]

Yeah but unfortunately you will again.

[@gusfalk]

thanks for specifying Vancouver, Canada, I thought you meant Vancouver in Burkina Faso at first.

[@NeonNion]

Must have been a nightmare for you. Hope such won't happen there anytime soon.

[@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923]

It will get FAR worse kinda fast. That’s why climate change needs to be taken seriously.

[@harishg1554]

Best known ways to cool ourselves is 1. Take bath twice a day 2. Plant more trees near your home 3. Eat fruits and veggies with high water content, 4. Drink more water throughout the day, 5. Use of wet curtains on the windows when hot air blows from outside. These are some of the ways to keep us cool without harming the environment.

[@nate3315]

Not sure about the bath. That uses a lot of water and in a hotter future we'll have to conserve water more.

[@starsoffyre]

Yeah nah, I live in an apartment in a country where temperatures are over 30 deg C and humidity above 80% year round...I'll stick to the air conditioning

[@bobbylopez3581]

Everyone watering their trees and taking 2 showers a day is not a solution

[@NurArafatShomik]

@@nate3315 I think it is meant for people living in high surface water areas like some of the tropics where it is very hot but enjoys a lot of rainfall.

[@AliciaMahamud]

@@nate3315 Taking a cold shower for just a few seconds refreshes your body. No need to use soap. Finally, you can collect that water if you take a shower in a basin and reuse it to water the plants.

[@anshumanbarik6144]

Best part of white washing the roof top has been in work since 2000s in many parts of India, now here its mandatory to wash roofs with white paints and paint companies are also innovating, bringing new solutions and proper products for roof paints.

[@Omniversal_Numen]

Am I not living in India that you are in?? Maybe parallel universe, that's why there is no mandatory whitewashing of roof...

[@T1tusCr0w]

@@Omniversal_Numen was gonna say it I’ve never heard of this one and I have family there on my cousins side.

[@santyanavaya5163]

If you can’t plant trees near your home, bring it inside the house, plant it on your balcony or hallway.

[@marcotkfowl1305]

Extreme white paint made not long ago is a great way too. It literally cools because it reflects 99% of light

[@8lucci8]

This is Albedo effect. At least every roof should be painted white.

[@ricktd6891]

The Earth is cooling. Do some research.

[@vandemataram202]

More open spaces definitely helps to keep environment cooler. Reduce vehicular usage. Plant more trees. Remote work must be a policy world wide. Reduce / ban environmental unfriendly products.

[@nenmaster5218]

Amazon and Capitalism overall is f-cking-us-over so-hard, you wouldnt belief it, but: EARTH is RUNNING OUTTA WATER: The KZbinr Some More News made videos about it, just like Second Thought. I recommend it to literally all.

[@lloydjones3371]

1. Many years ago, people in the Middle East slept on their rooves to stay cool. Sounds like fun to me unless you are a sleep walker. 2. Yes, trees are great for cooling cities. Nothing like a walk down a tree-lined street.

[@jake_camilleri1]

I try to create a convection current in my house during the summer to cool my house down. It works really well. I keep thinking about buying AC every year, but I think I'll stick to my usual routine after having watched this. Might paint my roof though

[@nenmaster5218]

Amazon and Capitalism overall is f-cking-us-over so-hard, you wouldnt belief it, but: EARTH is RUNNING OUTTA WATER: The KZbinr Some More News made videos about it, just like Second Thought. I recommend it to literally all.

[@ricktd6891]

The Earth has been cooling since 2016.

[@aam7670]

@@nenmaster5218 why is capitalism bad look at China biggest polluter in the world...

[@topquarkbln]

Thanks for sharing this very detailed and comprehensive overview 👍

[@ideatorx]

The argument that buildings also can be made without AC, is pretty insanely inhumane as well. When its 50* outside, the wet bulb temperature is nearly deadly and your stuck in an apartment with no AC but it has a green roof and some trees around it, your still going to feel like your going to die and if your elderly you will. We can't build out way out of this either which you conveniently ignore the massive carbon impact of, its 50% of all emissions.

[@MrKIMBO345]

Depends on the condition and places. If they are living in the rural area with a lot of the tree like the forest, they are living without the AC like mountain provinces of the Philippines. However, if they are living in the urban settings or desert, they need to change the policy.

[@T1tusCr0w]

Just remember, everything we make build or consume. Starts with a fire. A passive building might take so much materials it’s 30 years before it breaks even in ecological terms. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@politickery9412]

There's two types of geothermal power systems. Deep geothermal can provide the heat necessary to power steam generators for electricity. Shallow geothermal can provide a year-round temperature of 55 degrees F to provide cooling in summer or take the edge off a few of the most bitterly cold days in winter. I can't believe that a single building being built in Austin, Texas nowadays isn't required by code to take advantage of the shallow geothermal.

[@supernovastern1658]

Plaster the roof and facade with solar panels and the energy for cooling is no issue at all

[@ghostrider369]

Tell that to the residents of Siberia where it hits -72C in winter and stays cold for so long that in summer the ground is still rock solid frozen two feet deep. People who die here can't be buried in the ground. They have no water pipes as they'd just freeze and explode. Toilets are outside, yup outside. The only pipes are for wiring and heating.

[@euroschmau]

I'm so glad not to have to deal with summer for the next six months!

[@candacestuifbergen3219]

Im glad she pointed out that it was not specifically A/C units but refrigeration in general. I've had concerns about Free-on for quite some time as the technology was developed post-war and hasn't changed much since. Not to mention that most modern appliances are built to become obsolete within a 5 year time frame if not less.

[@nenmaster5218]

Amazon and Capitalism overall is f-cking-us-over so-hard, you wouldnt belief it, but: EARTH is RUNNING OUTTA WATER: The KZbinr Some More News made videos about it, just like Second Thought. I recommend it to literally all.

[@ricktd6891]

It's all lies. CO2 isn't causing catastrophic global warming and freon isn't destroying the ozone layer.

[@ricktd6891]

@@nenmaster5218 No, the Earth isn't running out of water. Go jump in the ocean.

[@Trixie91]

Our houses in the Netherlands aren’t made for warm weather, especially old rental buildings are designed to keep get a lot of light and warmth in during the winters. My apartment has these huge windows like an aquarium and flat roofs which are indeed great during winter but as soon as it’s over 20 degrees Celsius it warms up like a green houses. I just had to get an AC after my cat passed out from them heath in my apartment.

[@jamiearnott9669]

I've never had an air conditioning before, but living in UK you don't need it.. Ironically I have central heating in my home in London. I've never needed to use it in the winter ever!

[@camelopardalis84]

Whether you need to heat or not also has to do with the story your flat is in. I've repeatedly profited from people living in the flat below mine heating their place. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you've experienced temperatures that are sufficiently high for at least some people living in the US to turn on their air conditioning. And I just looked it up, apparently London can get humid. Which makes heat less bearable. But I don't know if it ever gets hot and humid at the same time in London.

[@tubecated_development]

That story is changing. 0% VAT for the Installation of Domestic Air Conditioning in 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak, has announced that from April 1st 2022, 0% VAT on Aircon would be introduced to the Installation of Residential Air Conditioning Installations.

[@appleciderhorror12]

Call me crazy, but somehow I still have this backwards idea that instead of launching multi-billion dollar penises at Mars we could just maybe reorganize our industries in a way that would solve poverty, starvation and at least alleviate the global impacts of climate change

[@iceberg9248]

Say more. How would you do that?

[@kirstinstrand6292]

There seems to be another Agenda - have you not noticed??

[@skagraw2]

There is no poverty and starvation. It is only west propaganda to force people to buy what they want to sell. You dont become well fed or rich by buying gold, house, cars and ac.

[@cringyhuman3210]

@@skagraw2 wow there is no poverty and starvation! Of course there is this is sarcasm

[@T1tusCr0w]

We have always accomplished what we want to. The reason the world is as it is, is because it’s exactly what the people in power want it to be. Someone should tell them that there is no ark here to survive the eventual destruction of everything. But if they were equipped to understand that message, they would not be where they are.

[@sudarshans1159]

Very informative on green tech innovation. Thanks!

[@kayzar293]

Green tech is magic beans it's a pipe dream and a distraction

[@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923]

@@kayzar293 is it?

[@lawerancelanham]

With seeing the number of flat rooftops in this video and how close together they are, I guarantee that if you could put a few trees on every other building top, you'd drop the Temps a lot more than the 2-3° they're speaking of.

[@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923]

Yea

[@supernovastern1658]

Painting all buildings white might be the easiest way to start

[@isab.2162]

@@supernovastern1658 Tarred roads and pavements are also problematic. What solutions are there?

[@pastaferian5798]

Cariló city model does a lot of things right: No concrete, even for pavement No cutting trees, even for housing No unnecessary construction, like fences Natural shading from trees, reduces air conditioning Carbon capture by growing trees Preserving ecosystems inside the city

[@akoponen]

Insulation reduces energy needs from cooling as well as from heating.

[@mariealv4888]

I was in Paris Las week, I was amazed how french people are focused into saving our planet, they will ride anything with wheels, bikes unicicle, skate board and all modern types of small wheels, few cars in the streets. Try to eat your lunch with a wooden! Spoon and fork, recycling is big no waste, thin plastic bags, no bags given in groceries stores.. The subject is in every French person's mind.

[@TheFlagUnit]

Here’s an idea. Don’t fight a war. Wars are bad for the environment.

[@gusfalk]

@@TheFlagUnit wow sick tip dude, u should become the president of the UN

[@monicagarcia3601]

@@gusfalk 😑

[@amardeepnaiknaware1858]

Great.. I learned a lot from it.. thank you team The Economist

[@mykolakulpa2598]

I got a great inspiration paiting white color to cool the house. I'll broadcast this tips to my neighbors too. Thanks for your video. :)

[@mdb4michele]

tar all road with a white concrete mixture. Roof tiles to be made white by law. Half of urban space would thus reflect rather than absorb heat

[@SV-mc1jq]

White roads can also pose a safety issue, with headlights being reflected way too much. There has to be studies done before the roads are made gray/white. Rest, I agree

[@eclipsenow5431]

I agree with everything here BUT when 'Wet-bulb' heatwaves hit - AC will be a matter of life and death. You can have ALL the AC you want if you have a clean grid. Build all the nukes and renewables you need, and you can run all the AC you need. Some built up cities might even have to dome over to aircon all the buildings inside as it's going to get DEADLY in the tropics.

[@ivobrick7401]

Last 10 years in the summer temperature here in central EU is getting warmer and warmer. But in winter here is cold, but no snow now, but still need to heat. I decided to look at this. I spot one weird fact in my work. There is a grass field when i see out of the window, usually green. But in an intense heat (35*C) that one grassfield has some white tint to it or white haze. Then it taught me.. what if i can steal this trick from nature to my house. I have pained all my house to white, all constructions to white. We even have swapped windows for a new - white, doors aswell, acessories aswell. But here is still winter and we need heat, we simply dont want to be cold. I source the trajectory of the sun in summer and winter and build the biggest windows on the south-west and added small white roof above that side of house to minimise sun shining into house in summer, but maximize shining into windows in winter - by its trajectory. This way sun is blocked in summer, but is invited in winter and it works, it can warm up our house fast in winter. In summer here is 10*C colder than outside, without AC. I also remove old electric devices to new one, they do not heat our rooms so much - they eat alot power less. If the temperature continues to rise, i will paint the roof with white, and i give white sheet of fabric infront of the house to block the sun more, because its not possible to do it perfectly with roof. Maybe i can add a tree or one to and late sunset side, just to increase our 370 million years old carbon capture technology capacity. I refuse pay or use new technology (solar panels) when we already have old and proven one during millions of years.

[@oliviachipperfield6029]

Mirrors will help, also.

[@jacquelynallen488]

We use precious water to mix concrete. We pour concrete everywhere and tape it together with metal. Together with asphalt, we use ac to avoid baking ourselves in out proverbial oven homes. Just one perspective.

[@sumosprojects]

It’s the little things we can do that count 👌🙏

[@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923]

We also need to tackle the big things like industry/energy crisis but yes, little things make big difference :)

[@Aahan_gupta]

I am glad this came up that air conditioning is heating up earth like anything. We need to be more vigilant and use more earth friendly mediums to stay cool.

[@ricktd6891]

Nope, it's a scam and the planet is cooling.

[@nusrat_rahman19]

Loved the way the concerts are explained. Literally, PERFECT

[@nenmaster5218]

Amazon and Capitalism overall is f-cking-us-over so-hard, you wouldnt belief it, but: EARTH is RUNNING OUTTA WATER: The KZbinr Some More News made videos about it, just like Second Thought. I recommend it to literally all.

[@duyguavc5848]

adjusting the heaters’ or coolers’ degree would do. in US, during winter heating is so high people wear t-shirts and during summer the cooling is o high you need to wear a cardigan to survive. this simple.

[@totallynotaminecraftchanne1923]

Small solution, but I feel like we’ll need to take more drastic measures to stop climate change.

[@kayzar293]

As if the Economist was ever going to diagnose the real cause. Unsustainable economic model.

[@kimweaver1252]

Even more fundamental........... overpopulation. No environmental problem is made better by having more people.

[@sgh94644]

For real this video is just schilling for the capitalists that caused this ugh 🤮

[@SV-mc1jq]

@@kimweaver1252 Overpopulation is a problem which is being solved. The global population growth is slowing down by the year. I'd say the problem is consumption.

[@kimweaver1252]

@@SV-mc1jq The carrying capacity of the Earth was about 2 billion humans for a very long time, the pre-industrial era. Industrial civilization allowed the dramatic rise in population to nearly 8 billion. That number depends on the existence of an industrial base, which can't be sustained indefinitely by growth. That is just a ponzi scheme. The rate of population increase about 20 years ago was 1.7% when we had a population of 6 billion or so. This resulted in an increase in population of about 85 million per year. The current rate of increase is about 1.1% of a population approaching 8 billion. But this also results in an annual population increase of 85 million. So, you tweak reality by citing the percent decrease and ignore the reality that we are STILL adding enough people every year to populate 4 Tokyos or Shanghais. Over ten NYCs. Over 108 N. Dakotas EVERY YEAR. If we intend to get back to a sustainable economy, we will need to restart at three or so billion, apply the smartest tech to rebuilding the world to operate with about a third of the population in a low carbon flux world.

[@rafapascual5037]

@@kimweaver1252 aha. And how do you propose that reduction be done in the little window we got left. Let me guess. ..

[@tomek1867]

When I was in Yazd, in Iran I was greatly suprised by Windcatches (baad gir), they have been used by Iranians living in the desert for centuries. They look like towers, which catch wind and take it down and cool down houses. Great inventions by Persians.

[@lamir1791]

I was thinking the same thing! Very advanced and green technology

[@yesjoeri1]

I think most people will still just get an AC when then can afford it

[@bigsmerdo]

1:44 that's insane!

[@BobBapo]

we will continue to use more energy, this is unstoppable, only thing we can do is embrace nuclear energy

[@eriklobo7622]

Sorry buddy but that is not true. We can stop subsidizing fossil fuels, nuclear power also gets a government subsidy and doesn't come online for decades and let's not forget the waste that we have not figured out how to deal with. I mean no disrespect but I feel it's incumbent upon me to point out that your statement is incredibly myopic. We can invest in solar panels, that technology is already getting better. We can invest in kinetic batteries which are water towers. We can invest in title power putting generators not only in Arctic currents but also harnessing the power of the tides moving up and down to activate Pistons which sends water to run a turbine on land. There's geothermal! Check out Iceland they're doing amazing things with that. And using a captured water system rather than natural groundwater would make the maintenance on a geothermal plant incredibly low. AND we can relocate steam turbines that are already being used in gas and coal to a geothermal plant. The reason for that, and I'm sorry I have to spell this out, is that we get our power by boiling water anyway. From gas, cole, nuclear, to geothermal it is all boiling water and turning a steam turbine. As for you. You can turn off your lights and change the bulbs out for LEDs, you can put on a sweater when you're cold, open a window when you're hot, trade your gas guzzling car for something electric and a bicycle, You can donate money to companies that plant trees, you can invest in companies that promote green technology, and that's just off the top of my head. To say nothing about technologies to actively pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They do exist and they do need money. To say that there's only one thing we can do is exactly the wrong thing to say. Again I mean no disrespect. I just would like it if people thought more than one step ahead. Or thought that monoculture and the pill mentality would solve all their problems. I mean this with utmost politeness and I honestly hope you have a wonderful day

[@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253]

We should use nuclear energy and renewable energy, since renewables currently can't satisfy humanity's electrical needs, maybe in the future we would phase out nuclear

[@xchopp]

Not the only thing at all -- but it is one thing we can do, for sure.

[@xchopp]

@@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253 Agreed Yeti.

[@balanvladut3696]

Plant every single tree that was cut in the last 100 years, all around the world, plus double, if possible...

[@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253]

Nice. First, please find an area more than 2x the size of India, then we'll talk

[@ACTHdan]

@@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253 nothing wrong with planting more trees. Unless water is ABSOLUTELY scarce.

[@T1tusCr0w]

We need less people.. about 6 billion less tbh. If we don’t do it the world will do it for us round about 2040-50. Managed decline through natural wastage & child policy + education of woman & contraception is now a existential problem.

[@balanvladut3696]

@@T1tusCr0w i wouldn't want anyone to die, though... there are posibilities for everything, but in the same time, it goes against the wellness of so many people...

[@someyetiwithinternetaccess1253]

@@T1tusCr0w we could farm algae, insects as food, and maybe increase use of hydroponics and aeroponics for planting

[@jeremysmith4044]

I live in Kenya near Lake Victoria and I have an agricultural development project. To help get potential crops to market I need a cold storage room. My idea is to use an air conditioning unit with a clever controller that will trick the air conditioner so that it will get down to 2 degrees centigrade. I have come to this conclusion after experimenting with a charcoal walled building that didn't work. Also I have seen other ideas of a cool chamber with a double brick wall with sand infill and this needs water drip to keep the sand wet and if water is scarce this design presents a problem. Also, it isn't clear how cool this method of cooling will achieve. Comments and suggestions please.

[@bentcn8511]

There are people that cut trees because they block the view.

[@T1tusCr0w]

My neighbour cut down 100-year-old hedge that unfortunately, was lawfully 70% on his property. I was depressed for months after it. He just left it there too. Was almost 6 months before he got rid of it. In 3 massive fires. I swear I wanted to go over to his property and throw him in. 🥺 I built a massive 8 foot fence with no gaps but cleverly done so wind can pass. I will never have to deal with this character again. I still think about that beautiful hedge.

[@humanonearth1]

I don't think passive cooling and lowering your standard for comfort are going to do jack when you reach unbearable wet bulb temps. I'm going to imagine those methods are also useless in dealing with wildfires or flooding. Most of these are bandaid solutions that would of helped, possibly, if implemented decades ago. The ball is too far down the hill, none of these startup ideas will do anything without massive global drops in emissions and that's likely not going to happen.

[@Xenomorph-hb4zf]

The majority of people are not going to agree with "lowering their standards for comfort" If this is their message than they already failed because why would people willingly lower their standards of comfort?

[@yummymommy2275]

Isn’t it crazy how man made material are cheaper and more affordable than natural resources ?

[@ilhandurmus]

In building isolation we can increase al2o3 and reduce sio2 will help to self cooling in summer but will need heating in winter so isolation must be two layers out is al2o3 and inside sio2

[@god_bika]

to cool down home they used to build so called Badgir in the past. The air stream passes narrow channel under home where there is water . Then passes house rooms and gets out through a tower

[@Ahmad-lc1ln]

Use fans instead of air conditioners.

[@camelopardalis84]

Fans get counter-productive and dangerous at or above a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. At least in humid air, maybe even in general. And at least in not so humid places, you're lying to yourself if you need air conditioning or a fan at lower temperatures if you're in a somewhat normally insulated object. Doesn't even need to be some kind of house or other real building.

[@alexd9656]

americans need to understand that cooling rooms to 60°F in the summer is crazy -- dangerous for the environment and your health

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

who says we cool to 60 deg F in summer? Thats too cold to be comfortable.

[@TheSuperedogg]

@@anthonyhitchings1051 69. No lower, 73 not higher

[@camelopardalis84]

@@TheSuperedogg You can deal with more than 73 degrees Fahrenheit. How much more depends on humidity levels.

[@oliviachipperfield6029]

We need to implement the MEERreflection project!! Mirrors for albedo!

[@vladniculae6114]

In 2016, green gas emissions attributed to energy used in commercial and residential buildings accounted for ONLY 17.5% of global pollution. That includes heating, cooling and others. Efficiency standards and alternative cooling methods that are not only greener, but more affordable too, are nice and all... But it's a fraction of the problem, and IMO the wrong angle. Green energy production in general is the bottleneck here, not consumption. In fact, we want to consume more, to produce more, to develop more. We thus have to push governments to fund lavish R&D projects like the Fusion Plant in France, safer nuclear fission plants, concentrated solar plants and massive storage capacity. Once proof-of-concept is established, we can hope that private capital will flow into this sector, but not without sufficient carrots and sticks from policy makers. (EDIT: I see many complaining about household electricity prices - by increasing sustainable electricity supply, price goes down. Basic ASAD economics.)

[@maxd3028]

A mega reforestation project across the world should have been done 20 years ago..next best time is now ..

[@Jack-fw4mw]

The US is more forested now than it was in the year 1910.

[@prince-tm7om]

We have to change our mindset to survive long...

[@nathantv8674]

Thanks for taking care of the earth ! ❣️

[@sanidhyasingh2040]

Thnx for this info.

[@DanValentineFilms]

The conversation needs to include animal agriculture, which is one of our main GHG emitters. We need to shift toward a plant-forward diet in the first world.

[@katarn848]

and stop the export of meat to the second world, because they are getting pretty obese.

[@cringyhuman3210]

@@katarn848 ..... you can’t just force people to stop using air conditioners because they are causing carbon emissions can you?

[@jimbeam4111]

😂 yeah….ok. Lady there’s not enough farm ground to have a world population on a plant diet.

[@davidramsay6142]

Jim Beam actually there is Jim. Plant food is grown to feed animals. For 1 kg of pork you have to feed the wee blighter 10kgs of grain or pulses which are high in protein. By skipping the pork that gives 10kgs of tofu or pulses for us humans to forego that nice pork dinner. Just so you know I have no intention of reducing my meat intake though I already eat a red meat light diet by choice though defo not a vegetarian. I do think the number of people on the planet is too high. The real answer is to positively reduce numbers to 5 billion.

[@demoniack81]

No. FIRST you agree to do what is REALLY going to make a difference (read: shifting the entire power grid to nuclear power and switching to electric heating for buildings), THEN maybe you can complain about my diet. Stop drinking big oil's kool aid and believing that climate change is an individual responsibility when it's something that needs to be tackled on an industrial scale. Whether I eat a steak or not is completely irrelevant when compared to the scale of emissions generated by a carbon-intensive power grid and gas/oil heating. Even the fuel you use in your car is largely overshadowed by it. I use _maybe_ 40l of LPG a month for driving. An LPG furnace capable of heating a medium-sized apartment would easily blow through that in _a day_ and there is nothing you can do about it unless you want to freeze. British Petroleum is the one who popularized the concept of a personal "carbon footprint" precisely for this reason. They want us to blame ourselves for what THEY did.

[@Ashallmusica]

I'd watched these type of catastrophe in movies when I was a kid ( 2004, 2005 ) , now it's in real happening. And it's really scary.

[@lexicat6177]

I think it will take all of these solutions and more to change things around. Greats starts keep them coming.

[@jlshoem]

We have a mini-series AC/Heating system, and solar panels. We don't use utility provided electricity for more than half the year. And a reasonably low amount during the rest of the year.

[@kirstinstrand6292]

I wish there were more like you people committed to climate stories. Most seem to pretend it's not of concern...as you well know!

[@mandymandy7225]

Earth is resilient to change. It’s just us that need to adapt!

[@simeneilevstjonn]

Many places have a network of centralised heating, would it not be possible to do something similar for cooling in costal areas? You could pump water from the seabed, which should be about 4° C. This could then be distributed around the city and used to cool down buildings.

[@xchopp]

Murrica: "That sounds like communism!"

[@frankreynolds9930]

Because its easy to transfer heat. Also how is it different than plumbing?

[@flameout12345]

The world needs a large umbrella to shield off the sun

[@blartversenwaldiii]

there are actually a few serious long-term ideas like this, like putting massive mirrors between earth and the sun.

[@oliviachipperfield6029]

MEERreflection!!

[@rapskaujama5178]

Here's an idea, I think we should all turn on our air conditioners & open our windows. 😂😂😂😎 Let's cool this planet people.

[@sgh94644]

What a way to victim blame the proletariat, economist. Sincerely an actual economist

[@leaningright4534]

Its summer in Australia right now, but it has been raining for weeks now, and parts of Sydney and the east coast are flooding, this is all during summer when Australia is supposed to be one of the sunniest places.

[@michaelyun2407]

Yea when you live in an apartment and strata only allows portavle AC nothing you can do

[@eljefe3993]

Humanity doesn’t care about the earth… it’s all about consuming and having the best materials

[@isaachunt5799]

yep too many of us. plus most of us want everything now.

[@sarthakjoshi9824]

Air conditioner is like debt borrowing cool air from environment in return on heated air outside. XD - I live in ahmedabad city of india where temperatures reach 44 - 46° in summers still we live without ac. ofcourse low income is one reason but we will still not buy ac in future. We just soak a thin cloth in water at night and cover myself . Believe me the fans air become very cool .

[@dhoakohime]

I live in Madrid, Spain and do the same but I use a towel. I won't deny that AC is becoming more and more temptimg.... 33,5 C inside home at 2am in the morning... Very difficult to sleep

[@robertobennett2900]

Un excelente informe

[@marchhare1980]

Just throwing it out there my sister went to Florida for a holiday and she found out the have no re cycling polices at all !!

[@wilsonjudson1650]

The wisest thing that should be on every wise individual's list is to invest in different stream of income and don't depend on the government to bring in money especially now the pandemic is hitting the economy

[@dorissteve912]

you are definitely right , waiting on the government is a big waste

[@wilsonjudson1650]

Investments are the stepping Stones to success especially if you been guided by a professional

[@fredrickconte6270]

who is your pro ? i would like to work with her

[@wilsonjudson1650]

That was exactly what I did, I trade with a professional stock expert "Tamara Diane Hagan " who i met in one of the seminars..

[@williamjohn1374]

wow, have you made any profit whatsoever working with this pro ?

[@benchippy8039]

Best way to cure most of the bs being belt fed to us is to stop listening to old media, support independent business, ignore the parasite class

[@saitamad.anarchist9527]

Agreed

[@MZ99698]

What?

[@johngeier8692]

It is a popular delusion that mans effects on the earth’s climate are significant and dangerous (Climate Delusion). The main effect of carbon dioxide emissions is to green the planet and increase agricultural yields.

[@benchippy8039]

@@johngeier8692 it’s so entrenched in our culture now that they’ll send our quality of life back to the dark ages and the majority will stand by.

[@flip1980ful]

Thank for the better news! Im looking for the helpers.

[@mrwang420]

AC's also pump a tremendous amount of hot air outside on top of it. Car engines heat up the air. Car ac's also adding to the hot air being pumped outside. Then we heat our houses in the winter thus also heating up the ground and air around them. It's not Just cows. Cows probably barely even a problem when compared to what we contribute to the heating with our own activities.

[@waqasahmed9241]

All talk, no action. We have been hearing this for decades now but still a long way from finding a solution to environmental issues. People with authority and finances owe a moral responsibility to invest in green technologies which they are not fulfilling well enough.

[@saitamad.anarchist9527]

That’s why the entrepreneur is needed not the government because let’s face it they will do nothing.

[@zhayengshiu2031]

Let's do our best to save our mother earth 🌍

[@karmakarl6673]

"Mother Earth" doesnt need "saving". Its existed for hundreds of millions of years.

[@isab.2162]

Thicker walls, white painted roofs, shutters or blinds to windows, Canadian wells, more greenery in cities, etc. Why don't real estate developers and urban planners or local governments include these criteria in their new projects? Should we believe their alleged excuse "it's too expensive"?

[@nenmaster5218]

Please explain 'Canadian Wells'.

[@isab.2162]

@@nenmaster5218 A sort of geothermal cooling / heating system. Wikipedia calls that a "Ground-coupled heat exchanger".

[@angelaholic7679]

For the floating office - they are effectively heating up the water? Should we not use the old the philosophy of concrete building with higher ceiling and bigger window that oriented along where the breeze flow? Have the building apart from others to eliminate the island effort?

[@FrankReif]

You can start by putting most of the economic theory we've been following for the bast 40 years right in the bin.

[@T1tusCr0w]

40? Try 140.

[@tibsyy895]

Very simple: Stop subsidies on fossil fuels! That's it! Thank you, thank you! ✌️✌️

[@tomato3347]

Great video great topics

[@TerryYang88]

1:05 the Earth spins counterclockwise, not clockwise FYI

[@TheIgdrasil1]

What about stop making air coinditioniers?

[@camelopardalis84]

How about you get one if you need one for health reasons? That's the only legitimate reason to turn one on or buying one in the first place.

[@Goalmadness01]

Dear friend who is reading this , we may not know each other but i wish you all the best in life✨. Stop blaming yourself accept the things and move forward. Your smile is precious🤗 all the keys of happiness are in your hands so open it up🔓 Love from a small KZbinr💖💗💖

[@gipashuaryan9023]

I told you guys mud huts were better than cement. At least we did not need AC to cool the house.

[@DayinTech]

2nd~! Great now to enjoy the video