Wednesday 24 November 2010

I think I am going to have to become

a "climate change refugee". Is there anyone out there who loves heat so much they would be prepared to swap places with me? Please? I really do not know what to think about "global warming". There appears to be evidence both for and against. It may be a blip in thousands of years - or something more. All I know is that I do not like hot weather.
We have just had two days of 36'C temperatures in our little hollow under the hills and I feel flat. My father is feeling flat too. Today is supposed to be a mere 30'C but the humidity will be high so I doubt it will be any more pleasant.
I am sorry to moan but I really do hate the heat. My mother claimed that, even as a baby, I did not like the heat. I was born in the middle of summer. I should be able to tolerate it. The older I get the less I can tolerate it.
Many Australian houses are not designed for long hot summers. Modern houses tend not to have eaves or verandahs. It is foolish to have them surrounded by highly combustible material, especially in a bushfire prone country.
Our own house has eaves, although they could be wider. It is placed on our little plot in such a way as to make maximum use of environmental factors. Just before the summer growth explodes our friend Stephen places long poles against the northern side of the house so that the vines will grow up and provide shade for the worst of the summer. It does help - up to a point.
We do have some air-conditioning. We try not to use it. Apart from the expense it is not environmentally friendly to use it or particularly efficient.
There are other people around us who appear to use their air conditioning constantly. The houses across the street have no eaves at all. They get the full "benefit" of the afternoon sun. The front bedrooms must be incredibly hot - or they would be without air conditioning.
Why are people allowed to build houses like this? Why would anyone want to buy a house like this?
Perhaps what the scientists need to be working on is a way to distribute the temperatures a little more evenly - or would this upset the way the world revolves around the sun?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will trade places. It is looking like snow here.

Anonymous said...

Cat,
I just do the opposite of what bears do ... I hibernate in summer, and in our current house I need the airconditioner. Some eaves, but not all the way round, flat roof!

Today the pwoer was off from 8.30 am until lunch time and the job was an outside job .... perfectly timed between yesterday's heat and this afternoon's rain. I don't know who would have suffered most if it had been twenty four hours earlier, me or the electricians working in a corner surrounded by brick walls, shed doors cement and bitumen.

Judy B

catdownunder said...

Where do you live Anonymous?
I wish I could hibernate Judy! The humidity is not helping! Okay I know I should not grumble. It IS better than Siberia!

Unknown said...

I thought I wasn't a fan of heat... and then I spent a year in Canada. I'll take sun over snow anyday!

catdownunder said...

Mmm not sure about the Canadian winter - but I would tolerate some snow for a cool summer!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
catdownunder said...

Just you wait Donna!

Unknown said...

The problem is, its not "some" snow... its a horridly large amount of the stuff.

Anonymous said...

For most of my life I have been interested in economical and (therefore) ecological housing, etc. It's taking so long to come!

I recently read that people are realizing that paving over a garden is less comfortable and ecological (and leads to the use of air conditioning) than using as much of it as possible to grow shade, vegetables, even flowers. And this provides a better living space and a profitable hobby too.

LMcC