Since their popularization in the 1950s, air conditioners have revolutionized American life. A tool that lets us control the climate – they make oppressive, humid conditions more tolerable. In their absence, it is unlikely places like Arizona and Florida would support such large populations.
Given their ability to transform the indoor environment, it should come as no surprise that air conditioners are being adopted around the word. As the middle class grows in places like China and India, so too, does the number of air conditioners peeking out of windows.
Since 1989, an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol has minimized the harmful effects that the gases used in air conditioners have on Earth’s ozone layer. This is critical, because a healthy ozone layer protects us from skin cancer, crop damage, and the loss of marine life.
But we need to do more if we want to prevent our desire for cool homes from speeding up the impacts of climate change. Because even when the gases used to run air conditioners are gentle on the ozone layer – they are potent greenhouse gases when leaked into our atmosphere.
In a paper published in the scientific journal Science, a team of internationally-recognized researchers estimated that, if we continue “business as usual” with the use of hydrofluorocarbons – the gases used in air conditioners – we can expect a 15-27% percent increase in global warming potential by 2050.
Our current trajectory is unsustainable. We need to back research and development into renewable alternatives for our cooling needs. And, whenever possible, if we can’t go without, try and go with less.
Web Link
Preserving Montreal Protocol Climate Benefits by Limiting HFCs
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6071/922
Photo, was taken on April 12, 2010, courtesy of Paul Sullivan via Flickr.