On the surface, sweating a little more during the summer or using the refrigerator less seems like a small price to pay to save coastal denizens from rising seas.CFCs were replaced by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), compounds that may not harm the ozone layer, but have proven to be powerful greenhouse gases with remarkable heat-trapping capability. Since 1990, according to the EPA, there has a 258 percent increase in HFC emissions.
Window air conditioners in Brooklyn (CNBC)
"For perspective, 16 ounces of HFC 404a [a type of HFC that doesn’t deplete the ozone] equates to burning approximately 4.5 barrels of oil from a climate perspective.”
Before we start junking our Frigidaires, however, we should understand that refrigeration is an under-appreciated aspect of the Industrial Revolution. It is not an exaggeration to say that refrigeration changed the landscape of America. Wikipedia: [bold added]
Refrigerated transportation is not only essential to the survival of large inland cities like Houston, Las Vegas, or Phoenix but also to the deliveries of sushi and fresh organic produce to the coasts.The introduction of refrigerated rail cars contributed to the westward expansion of the United States, allowing settlement in areas that were not on main transport channels such as rivers, harbors, or valley trails. Settlements were also developing in infertile parts of the country, filled with newly discovered natural resources.
BNSF refrigerated boxcar
These new settlement patterns sparked the building of large cities which are able to thrive in areas that were otherwise thought to be inhospitable, such as Houston, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada. In most developed countries, cities are heavily dependent upon refrigeration in supermarkets, in order to obtain their food for daily consumption.
When New Yorkers and Californians quit shopping at Whole Foods and start eating out of cans--all to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, of course--then we'll know they're serious.
