Paris, AC, and Climate Control
Something I haven’t mentioned previously is how cold Paris gets at night. During the day, temperatures are hot and people walk around all sweaty. At night, the temperature drops and it feels like winter. The wind blows and it’s just freezing. Since the rooms aren’t air-conditioned, one is supposed to leave the windows open in the evening. Then, you close them in the morning and cover them to block the sunlight. This traps the cold air in the room. It’s kind of like a refrigerator. But not that cold. The room slowly heats throughout the day, of course. But, during the hottest hours, the room is still much cooler than outside. A small fan is really all one might need to stay cool in this situation. This is why I love city planning so much. Many Parisian homes are built with windows facing the direction of the wind. So, by opening a window and a door, you get cross ventilation. This cools the room.
Basic cross ventilation. My room has two openings.
Image from Eco-Home Essentials
If everyone on my dorm floor opened their window and their door, the entire hallway would be a wind tunnel! There are so many places like this in Paris and it feels amazing! Especially so after walking in the heat all day. Strategic window placement which takes into consideration nature’s natural cycle can help us live more sustainable lives. In this way, you protect the earth by not using enormous amounts of AC. This is known to have hugely negative impacts on people, the local environment, and the overall earth. Lots of older countries practiced the same building techniques. The US, being a younger country, didn’t quite catch on. Though some areas in the US take into consideration window placement and heating/cooling impacts. And, this practice of cross-ventilation was used during the early years of skyscrapers before AC was a real thing.
If you want help cooling your home without using AC, here is a simple video to explain easy techniques.
For those interested, I included some articles that discuss the AC/climate change connection and discuss ways to help the earth. I find it all fascinating.
The air conditioning trap: how cold air is heating the world
By Stephan Buranyi
The Guardian
“The warmer it gets, the more we use air conditioning. The more we use air conditioning, the warmer it gets. Is there any way out of this trap?”
How Air-Conditioning Creates a Climate Conundrum
By Spoorthy Raman
Audubon Magazine
“ACs will increasingly be needed for people to survive summer heat waves, but they also accelerate warming. Here's how we can break the cycle.”
How to Prevent Air Conditioners from Heating the Planet
By Emily Underwood
Anthropocene Magazine on June 23, 2021
Repost on Scientific American
“Manufacturers are competing to minimize power consumption and refrigerants as the machines multiply”
We must also consider the impacts of AC use on minority communities. Using ACs creates a dangerous cycle, since using ACs drive global temperature rise and people employ ACs to cool themselves as temperatures continually soar. This is a dangerous cycle with no end.
Now, take into account those minority neighborhoods in the USA that have less access to public parks and green spaces. In the National Geographic article, How ‘nature deprived’ neighborhoods impact the health of people of color by Alejandra Borunda, presents a chart showing the racial disparities when considering access to public parks:
Most people aren’t aware that public parks make spaces much cooler and more bearable in summer. “Trees also happen to be nature’s cooling centers. Surfaces not in direct sunlight can be 45 degrees cooler, while air can be between 2 and 9 degrees cooler in areas with canopy cover, according to an accompanying report from the Trust that cited Environmental Protection Agency data.” You can read more about that here.
Also, check out my blog post, Green Spaces and Minority Communities, which briefly discusses impacts for low income, Black, and minority communities who lack access to public parks and green spaces.
And this is why I’m minoring in urban studies. It’s so important to learn how these small changes can make a huge impact on humans and the planet. It can make our lives better. It’s also important to understand how these valuable city-building techniques are misused to negatively impact minority communities. Knowledge is the beginning of power!
