NYT: Sure, it's ridiculously hot--but don't you worry about it!

[Maven]

This editorial is unbelieveable.

The news? It’s hot. In related news, it’s mid-July. The heat of summer usually trails a couple of weeks behind the sun, which reached its peak in the northern sky on June 21. In other words, this heat wave is right on time.

The sound of today’s weather is the universal hum of air-conditioners, coast to coast, and one way to measure the heat is to measure the megawatts being used to beat it. The Los Angeles region is likely to break its old record for peak power usage, which was set almost exactly a year ago.

...

To some people, a heat wave like this is simply July as it should be. We all know someone like that, someone who isn’t happy till the subways are an inferno and the asphalt is soft and everyone in the city is as sticky as a melting ice-cream cone. They have their wish today. The good news is that cooler air is drifting south from Canada, and the rest of the week will see milder temperatures in the Northeast. We have our wish tomorrow.

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In other words, sure this has been the hottest year on record, and sure, we're running out of energy, but just turn your air conditioning on full-blast and wear some light colors. It's summer! Nothing to see here.

As I was riding the subway to work today, standing in a 100-degree underground tunnel, watching trains thunder by, using power to propel themselves, and yet more power to cool the wilting passengers within, I thought about the serious energy crisis ahead. I thought, also, about temperatures continuing to rise as more and more fuel was burned, and more fuel was depleted, completing the disastrous, escalating cycle. It's moments like that where you really FEEL: This way of life is NOT sustainable.

And yet here we have an editorial from the "paper of record" telling people to calm down and get on with business as usual. What will it take?

[geomon666]

1. And those dying from the heat just hate America any way.

Literally dropping dead from the sun. Yay America!

[Bake]

2. You want HEAT? Come to Mississippi.

Those wusses in NY wouldn't last a day down here. It'll be over 100 today, with humidity in 75% neighborhood. When I saw the news over the weekend about "heat alerts" in Chicago (ooh, temps in the 90's!) I almost had to laugh. It's been in the 90's here for over a month. Welcome to Hell.

So yes, I am running my air conditioner.

Bake

[Lindacooks]

3. How about you come to Minnesota?

The heat index in this state was 121 degrees F over the weekend. That's insane for our region of the country. The dewpoint was almost 80 degrees, which is tropical, and temps were well over 100 degrees. It feels like Dallas in August up here.

[Maven]

5. What do you think the weather is like in NY?

Not to mention that much of the heat gets absorbed by the asphalt, with most wind blocked by the street walls. It's like walking around in a teflon frying pan.

Anyway, the point of posting the article wasn't to compare war stories. It was just an observation of how far in lalaland the country must be about our climate and energy situation if the Times is posting this.

[Bake]

8. I've been to NY in August and you're right : frying pan.

I don't mean to insult other parts of the country, and I apologize. I know it's hot all over (except for that place - wherever - that's a cool 62 right now - see below). We're a little more used to it down here but we're all griping about it too.

Stay cool and stay safe if you can. And check on your neighbors.

Bake

[Lorien]

4. So many people simply don't grasp what the effects of global warming

will be. It's won't just be "a little bit hotter"; the heat will kill; not just the elderly who can't afford air conditioning (if that weren't bad enough), but the crops that feed the world and the forests and ocean flora that provide the oxygen we breathe. It will create more horrible storms, rising sea levels, explosions in insect popluations....even here on DU when asked "what is the greatest crisis facing humanity" more people answered "poverty" and "hunger" than "climate change"' few made the connection that climate change will CAUSE massive suffering from poverty and hunger.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Maven]

7. Where are you? What's the real estate market like there?

:P

[maxsolomon]

9. probably Wash State

high of 72 today.

and i don't think i have to tell you what real estate is like here.

[karlrschneider]

11. Basements are like that.

...

[Maven]

12. well played. LOL

[wicket]

13. LOL!

:rofl:

[uppityperson]

14. is here

[RebelOne]

10. It's hot here in North Georgia, but not as hot

as the weather prediction for today. Radio said it was to be 97 degrees. My outside thermometer is reading 88 at 2:30 p.m. But it's in the shade, so it is probably 90 degrees. Hope it does not go any higher. I can deal with it when I'm inside because I have two A/Cs blasting, one in the bedroom and the other in the living room. But my dogs want to go for a walk in the afternoon and the sun can be brutal then.