The Earth is running a fever. So with summers growing hotter
(and with affluence rising) year by year, our world is becoming
more and more dependent on air-conditioning. The possibility
that air-conditioning could go universal has, in turn, raised
ecological alarms, prompting a scramble for more eco-friendly
cooling. The United States military, for instance, is being
praised for aggressively pursuing alternative energy development
and energy conservation. The latter has included spraying foam
onto soldiers' tents in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to reduce
expenditures on air-conditioning. The foam is credited with
saving $1bn worth of the diesel fuel that runs the generators
that power the air-conditioners. But how much energy has really
been saved by insulating tents in Iraq, when, for at least six
years, a solid majority of those in the US have believed that
the war there was all a big waste from the very beginning
anyway? And what purpose does energy efficiency serve when it
supports the war in Afghanistan