The greatest invention in human history is not the wheel, and it's certainly not sliced bread. As much of the nation broiled this week in temperatures in the high 90s and beyond, can there be any doubt that our most wondrous piece of technology is the air conditioner? It was way back in 1902 that Willis Carrier created the Apparatus for Treating Air for a Brooklyn printing company---a breakthrough that, as it developed and spread over decades, changed the human condition. [snip]People travel toward sunny climes, yet those who live there often can't wait to head indoors.
Air conditioning is not merely a matter of comfort; it has given us modern life. It keeps people--and computers--working when the mercury climbs past 90, thus boosting the economy. It's enabled a great migration of tens of millions of people to Sun Belt states that nature intended for lizards, not warm-blooded mammals. And as the world warms, the demand for AC grows ever greater, consuming 20 percent of all U.S. electricity--and a rapidly growing share in India and China.
In mid-20th century Hawaii one distinction between the haves and have-nots--guess which group I belonged to--was ownership of an air-conditioned car (air conditioning was nearly non-existent in homes because of the open Island architecture). The $600 price tag for being cool for 30 minutes a day in one's car was a luxury few could afford or justify.
Today the status-conscious in our neighborhood like to show that they're successful by driving expensive German cars. As for me, a working air conditioner in our clunker is status enough. © 2013 Stephen Yuen
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