Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
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I like my evap cooler quite a bit, but I do have a normal AC unit as well. I use the cooler for about half the year. The other half it's either too cold or too humid to use. I'll switch to the AC when it's too humid.
Another benefit of evap coolers is that you can run it without water, so if you wish the temperature outside was the temperature inside your house, you can have the cooler blow in uncooled air.
Growing up in the desert, swamp coolers can only do so much and only if the air is dry. When it hits 128 in the summer, the 20 degree drop isn’t refreshing. If the humidity is high, it can’t do squat.
You should probably move out of death valley.
Lived in AZ. Fuck swamp coolers.
Heat pumps are a much more energy efficient alternative.
Heat pumps used for cooling aren't any more efficient than an air conditioner, as they are exactly the same technology. The only difference between an air conditioner and a heat pump, is that the heat pump has a valve that lets it work in either direction (to heat or cool), while an air conditioner lacks that valve, and thus only ever cools on one side, and heats on the other.
A window air conditioner turned around so that the exhaust is facing inside the room acts as a heat pump.
While air conditioners/heat pumps are efficient, they still use a lot of electricity. A heat pump is usually considered efficient in comparison to a resistive heater, which is 100% efficient compared to a heat pump's 300%.
In general ac units are heatpumps. Efficency gains would be had from building insulation.
Are they more efficient than an evap cooler?