The Case against Air Conditioning by Stan Cox

                         The Case against Air Conditioning

                                                                                                                                -          Stan Cox

Background on Air Conditioning:

·       The first modern air conditioner was built in 1903 by Willis Carrier, an engineer.

·         For the first decades of 20th century, air conditioning mostly served industrial purposes, cooling factories, textile mills, and printing plants and gradually spread to hospitals, hotels, and movie theatres.

·         After the World War II, it developed in smaller units and used in residential areas.

·         This invention had enormous demographic effect on the United States: the spread of the air conditioning in the 1960s and 1970s made possible the large shifts in people - and business to the American "Sun Belt."

 

Summary

In this article, Cox states that the air conditioner (AC) is the main cause of global warming. He characterizes it as humidity-reducing, electricity-bill-busting, fluorocarbon-filled appliance, and green house gas emitter and worst power guzzler (=consumer) in this world. The writer is against the use of air conditioners in everyday life. He suggests the people of USA not to use air conditioning machine in home except in hospitals, archives and cooling centers. He mentions the disadvantages of air conditioning machines. People in Washington did not have to experience the extreme heat. Their houses were well equipped with air conditioner. Although it reduces heat, it increases electricity bill and helps increase green house effect.

According to writer, using AC is not good activity, it ruins our own natural environment. Refrigerators and burning fossils fuels that creates greenhouse gases and greenhouse gases increase global temperature. Due to global warming, we again need more air conditioning machines. America has become one of the highest green-house gas producing countries in the world, that doubles the use of electricity. The writers implies that air conditions have impacted on Washington economy, which include massive losses in terms of power, increased air pollution from burned energy fuels contributing to more global warming effects. The essay is broken up into three different sections: At Work, At Home and Around Town, that help support the author's point.

At Work

We can experience very different situation in work places if we do not use air conditioners. Offices will be closed during summer and the workers will have a little working hour. They can do their work in flexible manner. All offices will be equipped with large open windows, ceiling fans, window fans, and desk fans which reduces the consumption of high amount of electricity. The nation will have less economic burden by reducing the cost of running government by providing more holidays to its workers to avoid hot temperature. The parliament sessions will be running at the cool shade of trees in the open lawns during warm season. In hot summer days the parliament sessions will not run which reduces the cost of electricity for the government.

At Home

People will construct high ceiling with better cross-ventilation and windows. Due to large open windows their home will be cool and comfortable even in hot summer days. The electricity bill will also be reduced. They start planting greenery on their rooftops to cool it. It seems beautiful and natural. They get natural air through the wide open windows. They will not use washing machines and dryer to dry their clothes. Instead, they dry their clothes in the sun.

Around Town

In the absence of air conditioning, people gather outside and interact with each other in the summer afternoon and evening. It increases socialization among the neighbors. Gathering of people outside their homes reduces crime in high crime areas and people feel safer. Elderly people will not die alone inside the rooms. As they are outside, they can get immediate help from others. Children will enjoy the nature with their parents outside their homes. Their schools will be closed during summer days. They enjoy the shady playgrounds and water sprinklers outside. All houses will have green roofs with grass and vegetables. The flat tops of government and commercial buildings including the White House, around the city will be covered with vegetation. There will be more trees in both private and public spaces.

 

'The Case Against Air Conditioning'  by Stan Cox

Questions and Answers

Comprehension

1. What does Cox think is wrong with air conditioning?

Ans: Stan Cox says that air conditioning uses a lot of energy; running air conditioners burns fossil fuels, which emits greenhouse gases that raise global temperatures, which in turn increases the need for air conditioning. He believes that air conditioning should be used more sparingly.

2. 2. According to Cox, what would be the results of a largely “A.C.-free Washington” (3)? Does the scenario he outlines apply only to Washington, DC? Only to urban areas? Does it apply to other parts of the countries as well?

Ans: Stan Cox says that reduced air conditioning use in Washington would result in more flexible work schedules (business, including governmental ones, closing and adjusting for heat), renovation for buildings to better accommodate heat, decreased use of heat-generating appliances, and increased socialization resulting from time outside. These changes could apply to other towns and cities across the country as well.

3. 3.  Beginning in paragraph 4, Cox discusses the positive effects of reducing the use of air conditioning. What negative effects does he ignore?

Ans: Reducing air conditioning use could be difficult for people who do not tolerate heat well; they may feel as if they are confined to spaces that have air conditioning and have difficulty functioning during the summer. This could also pose problems for pets that are intolerant to heat.

4. 4. Aside from "hospitals, archives, and cooling centers for those who are vulnerable to heat” (3), what other facilities and groups do you think need air conditioning?

Ans: Grocery stores, pet stores, animal shelters, care facilities, factories, and gyms would all need air conditioning. People who are sensitive to heat, such as the elderly, those with disabilities, and young children should be able to use air conditioning freely as well.

5.  5. What does Cox mean in paragraph 5 when he says that the end of air-conditioning will bring paperweights back to of American offices?

Ans: Without air conditioning, people would make use of alternative cooling devices, like fans. Since fans create an air current, people would need to begin using paperweights to keep their papers from blowing off their desks.

 

Purpose and Audience

1. 6. When Cox's article was published, during a record-breaking national heat wave, he received more than sixty pages of angry emails, including at least one death threat. Why do you suppose his essay generated such strong reactions?

Ans: Many people have grown quite used to air-conditioning and cannot imagine life without it; it has helped make summers much more comfortable and it is hard to deny these benefits. For Cox to suggest that this comfort should be taken away is a challenging idea for many people, especially since his tone is very idealistic and treats this decrease as a very simple task. This, combined with how difficult it is to fully grasp the impacts of air conditioning on global warming, explains the outrage this article generated.

2.  7. What specific event or situation prompted Cox to write this essay? What other, less immediate causes might have inspired him?

Ans: Cox's essay was published during an intense heat wave; there was probably an enormous amount of air conditioning use around him during this time that prompted him to write this essay.

Cox was born just in time to watch air conditioning rise in popularity; he has been able to see first-hand how its use has evolved over time as it spread from hospitals and businesses to individual homes. Judging by the way he speaks about energy usage contributing to global warming in his first few paragraphs, climate change is likely an issue that was already on the author's mind.

3.  8.  Cox states his thesis in the first sentence of paragraph 3: “A.C.'s obvious public-health benefits during severe heat waves do not justify its lavish use in everyday life for months on end." Do you agree? How does his use of the word lavish reveal his bias? Does this word weaken his thesis?

Ans: I agree with Cox's statement here. Even though I certainly am guilty of the lavish use he describes, I do believe I could get by if I reserved A.C. use for only the hottest days. His use of the word "lavish" shows that he sees excessive air conditioning as selfish and those who overuse it as spoiled; this is his bias. This word, in my opinion, does not weaken his thesis. It is a good word to describe what he means. He is not suggesting that air conditioning should be done away with altogether, but he does think that we have reached a point where we are using it more than we need to.

4. 9.  In paragraph 6, Cox quotes Russell Baker. What does this quotation add to his essay?

Ans: In his quote, Baker cites the relief felt by both the nation and lobbyists when Congress was forced to adjourn during the summer heat. He also raises a point about how costly it maintains congress with the air-conditioning running at full blast.

5. 10. Do you think Cox is really trying to persuade readers to live in a world without air conditioning, or do you think he has some other, less extreme purpose in mind?

Ans: Cox likely is thinking about a less-extreme version of what he is describing. His tone is extremely optimistic; it would be foolish for someone to genuinely believe that a world like the one he describes is possible. Cox's choice to exaggerate like he did was a way to list as many benefits of reducing A.C. as possible in attempt to persuade the reader.

 

Style and Structure

1. 1.  Does this essay focus on causes or on effects? What specific words does Cox use to indicate this focus?

Ans: This essay focuses on the effects of reducing air conditioning usage. The focus on effects is indicated by phrases like "In a world without air conditioning,", "with the right to open a window,", "With more people spending more time outdoors," and "because of the cooling effect".

2.  2.   In his discussion - of a future air-conditioning-free environment, Cox uses present tense (for example, “Three-digit temperatures prompt siestas,” paragraph 4). Why? What other tense could he have used? Do you think he made the right choice?

Ans: The scenario Cox is describing is a very optimistic one, almost excessively so. It can be difficult to imagine a world in which all of the things Cox discusses actually happen. His use of the present tense makes the effects he discusses feel more immediate and vivid; they seem more plausible in this tense. He could have used the future tense, but his choice to use the present tense was more unexpected, which helps make his writing more interesting.

3.  3.  Paragraph 12 describes a causal chain. Diagram this causal chain. What other causal chains can you identify in this essay?

Ans: Without air conditioning,  being outside is more comfortable than being inside

👉  Neighbors get to know one another outside

👉      High-crime areas become safer

👉 People look out for their neighbors

               👉  Deaths from heat decline             

Causal chains can also be found in paragraph 4, when Cox talks about the workplace becoming more relaxed; in paragraph 9, when Cox talks about renovations leading to decreased home utility bills; and in paragraph 14, when he talks about the environment becoming lusher.

4.  4. Evaluate the effectiveness of Cox's one-sentence conclusion. Does it make sense to close the essay this way? Is it consistent in tone and content with the discussion that precedes it?

Ans: Cox's closing statement was intended to reinforce his idea that reducing air conditioning use would lead to more time outside as well as a more environmentally-friendly world; he is imagining the very consumerist-oriented environment of the mall being replaced by a nature reserve.

This statement is consistent with the rest of his essay, which imagines an alternate reality where such changes His use of this statement as a conclusion is an effective choice because it serves as a symbol for the rest of his ideas.