Air-conditioning
It is said that de-segregation created a "New South." (That is correct. And there always seems to be a "New South" being created. ) But the role of air-conditioning is underplayed. The combination of the two was unstoppable. There is a lesson there for the people who live in tropical countries. Who can work when it gets so hot? Air-conditioning --- preferably powered by nuclear plants --- can change the world, much for the better. Nuclear can also be used to de-salinize sea-water --- and that could really make the deserts bloom --- if they just stopped killing each other for a while.
posted by Ben Wattenberg at 2:37 PM
1 Comments:
I think you're correct on the huge influence AC has had on the south. And access to inexpensive electricity will change the landscape anywhere. I suspect the "inexpensive" requirement is one of the things that holds its development back in other countries.
Fun fact: Air-conditioning is also the bane of power grid designers, as it typically accounts for the "peaks" in power use that must be accounted for when deciding how much power to have. If the East Coast uses 1000 units of electricity on average, but has 20 very hot days a year where it needs 1500 units, there have to be power plants available to provide those 1500 units. This is because, unlike most other commodities, electricity is very difficult to store effectively. If you need it now, you have to make it now.
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