Our actual climate policy
-
Andrew Desslerreplied to Andrew Dessler last edited by
Seriously, WTAF, NYT and WaPo.
Let me be clear: extreme heat kills. Do not try to tough out a heat wave. If your home or apt. is very hot, find a place with air conditioning.
https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/how-extreme-heat-kills-you
-
Andrew Desslerreplied to Andrew Dessler last edited by
What is very hot? My experience is indoor nighttime temps in mid 80s, but lower if you are very young, very old, or have other health problems.
Cities should have resources to help you find cooling centers. E.g., Houston's is here: https://www.houstontx.gov/coolingcenters.html
-
Andrew Desslerreplied to Andrew Dessler last edited by
I've written about extreme heat mortality on The Climate Brink:
https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/unraveling-the-debate-does-heat-or -
Funny thing about that. Every heat/dehydration safety poster or briefing I've ever seen in a military environment starts with "Acclimatization will NOT prevent heat injury!"
-
Katanova, the Forest Nomadreplied to Andrew Dessler last edited by
@andrewdessler I live near Death Valley, and while I agree that it's possible to acclimate to heat, the acclimation is in terms of the body more readily activating sweat glands and *possibly* slowing the metabolism to produce less heat.
However, there are fundamental limits of the human body that cannot be ignored.
Earlier this summer I needed to do some work outside in 115 degree heat. I had to drink 2 gallons of water over the course of an hour
(cont)
-
Katanova, the Forest Nomadreplied to Katanova last edited by
@andrewdessler And I could tell that my body was on the very limits of my heat tolerance, even while drinking all that water.
Heat tolerance isn't just a matter of body adaptation, but also body awareness.
That kind of heat will fry your brain even if it doesn't outright kill you. Excess heat causes irritability, aggression.
-
Katanova, the Forest Nomadreplied to Katanova last edited by
@andrewdessler To clarify my position: I've intentionally acclimated myself to the heat because I know it's going to get hotter.
I want to live in a world where that's not necessary.
We only have this one life, and we only have this one planet.
It's up to us to make it count.