100th Anniversary of Air Conditioning

RealPerseus writes "The Buffalo News reports today in this article that the 100th annivsary of air conditioning is upon us. Who would have thought that air conditioning was invented in Buffalo?"

Comments

Air conditioning has destroyed architecture

[Bastian]

8' (as opposed to 10') ceilings, poor placement of windows leading to no cross-ventilation, cutting down all the trees around a lot to ease construction but destroying the shade, the death of the porch.

I love air conditioning, but I want to hate it. . .

Thanks?

[Comrade Brightski]

This is probably a pretty unpopular comment to make to a crowd of geeks in the heat of summer, but I'll say it anyways. While air conditioning is a great scientific and engineering achievement, I'm not sure that it's been a great advantage to society. It's done very little to improve the quality of life for humans and quite a bit to degrade it. I am by no means an avid environmentalist, yet anyone can recognize all the damage caused by freon and the tremendous strain that condensors place on the power grid.

What amazes me most is how Americans have begun to view air conditioning as a "necessity". Are we insane? The necessities in life are food, oxygen, and heat in climates with extreme cold. Nevertheless, the petroleum supplies are depleted at an increasing rate so that people can be more comfortable as they sit in traffic with the A/C on full blast.

Yes, it's a nice invention. Hospitals can benefit tremendously from it. But it's nowhere near a necessity and if humans would tolerate a little discomfort, the Earth might be in much better shape.

Re:Thanks?

[guran]

Unpopular, a bit oversimplyfying, but nonetheless interesting.

Compare housing in america to housing in, say italy or greece. (or mexico for that matter.)
My feeling is that the widespread use of AC has made architects forget how you build a house for a hot climate. You don't have large south-facing windows. You have wooden or even stone floors and not a carpet. (Carpets are germ infested discusting things anyway) You have proper insulation and ventilation. You make sure that you get some freaking shade.

Or,... you just put in some AC, and hope that power will never be a problem.