So lets get right into it. This part of the Urban Grind website is for things like this.
It’s HOT. I can feel it too. And like everyone else it feels hotter than last year. We were warned, the globe is warming. Now why it is warming is what we are not so quick to acknowledge. It is how we live. It is how we use energy. It is the fact that most of our electricity comes from fossil fuels.
Energy production and use contributed 68 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2002, and is expected to be 72 per cent by 2020. Source
Air Conditioners are known to draw a lot of energy in order to operate effectively. But heaps of things use energy. I am not removed from this. I use lots of electricity. I am using it right now to write this. So why am I picking on air conditioning? Einstein! He said it 2 ways:
“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.”
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Air Conditioners help warm the planet. Using them to try and cool a building only means that next year it will be harder to cool that same building. It will take more energy which will contribute to more heat.
Now I am not saying that I have an easy solution, but either we start thinking out of the box or we will be forever condemned to our little boxes trying to escape the heat. There are alternative solutions. Long before air conditioners were even conceived of people have been able to cool the air in a room using natural methods. Sure methods like the one in the link are not easy, but neither has this summer been easy.
I would love to cool down Urban Grind when it is hot. Lets face it, I am closer to the coffee machine than you are. But before I plug in an almighty, megawatt air conditioner, I will be trying every other alternative I can find - even if it means digging a 200 foot trench. I will of course dig it in winter. So before you run out and buy an air conditioner, consider that alternatives. Some methods at least use less energy, like the Cardiffair system.
Morgs,
Have you heard of the Koolgardie Safe ? Perhaps you could utilise this principle for U.G.
I’m with you re airconditioners - we have neighbours who have their new ducted AC running 24/7. Over the holidays we rarely saw the young children who were inside. We were amazed as most days were really pleasant outdoors.
Enough of my musings… and procrastinations, I should be studying for an exam.
I remember long hot summers from my childhood living on a farm - no AC.. no FANS, no AC in cars, no swimming pools and in the drought times no water in the creeks and every drop in the raintanks too precious to waste. Our only respite was a swim at the beach on Sundays and homemade frozen ice blocks.
However I really don’t think our summers are that much hotter… I think we have the opportunities to gain respite from the heat and we look for every opportunity to do so.
With all the talk on global warming and the effects of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions, I find it disappointing that AC units have become relatively cheap which has led to the huge influx in home installations. Now our peak energy demands are in summer.
AS for your sweltering at the controls of the coffee machine… just take longer with your head in the frige looking for the milk!
See you soon… for a cup of the best coffee in town!
Hey Morgan,
Thought I’d send a reply to your little ‘Air Conditioning’ monologue as I couldn’t agree with you more!! It worries me that I (as a person who refuses to get airconditioning in my house because of very similar reasons to yours detailed above) am a minority amongst my friends and the wider community. It seems so many people have convinced themselves that a/c is not a luxury item anymore - it’s a necessity in their minds. I think it’s crazy! No one seems to think about the impact of their lifestyle choices on the world. And this is coming from someone that is by no means a earth-worshipping hippy, I just think that as a society we need to be more aware of our impact on our world. So I’m with you: stand fast on the no a/c at UG. The coffee is superb, the service friendly and personal and in my mind that makes up in leaps and bounds for no a/c. I would choose an un-air conditioned UG over any number of the other Brisbane cafes that are airconditioned but serve uninspiring coffee and have no soul! Keep up the great work Morgan - we love UG!!
Cheers
kendall
Karen,
I had not heard of the Koolgardie Safe. Did some research. I have thought of the water wist thing, not sure how the use of water like this sites with me. Also wondered if setting up something similar to the Koolgardie Safe on our back deck might work. If it did work, it would only work in the afternoons. All suggestions are under consideration. On Rachel’s side Cherry Blossom, we are going to create insulation on the side of building using vines to shield her wall from the direct sunlight. We will also be tinting the glass on the front and side of her shop. This should help heaps, and I think I need to look at ways to simply remove some of the heat that gets trapped under her ceiling. Already plenty of options for her shop. Thanks for the compliments.
Kendall,
Tried to respond directly to your email but it kept bouncing back.
Thank you for your kind words.
To both of you,
You both bring up excellent points that I had not thought of. I am even more convinced now that we need to be not only looking for alternatives but trying them. And it can be amazing how people can consider an alternative once they see it working. So fingers crossed we have some of them up and running by next summer.
Please, if anyone is reading this, keep the cooling suggestions coming. And if it is something you are interested in (alternatives, that is) you will be welcome to get involved. Installing air conditioning requires a phone number, often alternatives require a community.
Thanks again. Morgs.
I think I saw someone on one the news programs in 2005 a story where a school in I think one of the rural areas of Queensland didn’t use air conditioning to cool down they use such things as tints on the windows, high ceiling with exhaust fans that take the heat out, large wooden shades over the windows etc etc
And I am wondering with many people saying schools in Queensland should have air conditioning have they and Queensland Education even looked at the other school mentioned above?
Morgs,
I must say i am pleased to read the comments on No A/C at UG. We have had many good conversations on this particular topic over a long period of time. so rather then stand on my soap box again i’ll say ‘keep up the good work’. As you know from my experience in the A/C and Ventilation industry everything has a cause and effect. Unfortunatly everybody is looking for a SHORT TERM FIX for a LONG TERM PROBLEM. If they investigated the potential for passive heating and cooling they themselves would not only live more comfortably but could potentially save themselves thousands of dollars in electricity bills.
Cheers Bud.
Hi Morgan,
In one of Callum Coats’ books about the work of Viktor Schauberger there is mention of a device that supposedly could cool living environments without the use of fossil fuel energy. I don’t remember the details but I thought it may be of interest to enquiring minds out there. Schauberger was certaily a fascinating character and had some very unconventional ideas regarding energy usage.
Thanks Kane,
Did some googling on Schauberger, but couldn’t quite workout what his machine was or how it worked. Did seem to have something to do with water, but mostly relating to free energy. Maybe with free energy we could all have air conditioning.
Kenneth,
Probably not, but I don’t know for sure. The air conditioning mentality probably pervades. I am sure there would be some examples somewhere.
Personally, I wondered how this all came about. I am in the air conditioning industry and maybe just dont get it. I enjoyed visiting though!! Have a great weekend!
Oldsmar,
I am not sure how to respond to your post, but glad that you enjoyed our site. Thanks.