Post #3450315

2026-06-28 14:00 UTC

@royaards@newsie.social Over the last week, there have been debates on X about why Europeans haven’t installed air conditioning (AC) in their homes. Americans, in particular, have been mocking this with derisive comments. Of course, we increasingly need AC, esp. in public buildings, hospitals etc. But to present this as a sufficient response to the heatwaves is strange. AC cannot save crops, animals, rivers & lakes, forests, transport & energy infrastructure. That requires far more action on #ClimateChange.

Replies (6)

@lumiukko@metalhead.club 2026-06-28 14:16

@stekopf@mstdn.social @royaards@newsie.social Yup, I have also read about this. I think this also popped up on hacker news with a very weird take using an LLM for argumentative help ... Regardless, ACs will become a health thing... it is not sustainable to bake in homes or other buildings, especially hospitals and offices where we spend most of our time or try to recover. It will become a necessity. But we have to be smart about this. As you said, this can't cover everything and the energy needs need to be fulfilled using renewable sources. PV panels providing shades could be one small piece of that puzzle, but we need some grand plan to come out of this :/

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@ElBeeToots@mastodon.nl 2026-06-28 14:16

@stekopf@mstdn.social @royaards@newsie.social Ah yes, 'Shit Americans Say' 😁 edit: The A/C thing has been a trope on social media for a while, even before the heatwave, as have 'Yuropoors don't tip restaurant staff' and 'US food is much tastier!'

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@VE2UWY@mastodon.radio 2026-06-28 15:25

@stekopf@mstdn.social @royaards@newsie.social Speaking as a US Citizen, I can assure you that they are not as smart as you may think.

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@darwinwoodka@mastodon.social 2026-06-28 16:19

@stekopf@mstdn.social @royaards@newsie.social I think AC will simply be a necessary evil, while heating becomes less so. Unfortunately leading to more European places becoming like America where you need a jacket to go anywhere in the summer because it's cold inside everywhere.

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@gooba42@mastodon.social 2026-06-28 17:47

@stekopf@mstdn.social @royaards@newsie.social Generally Americans don't think of themselves as fellow Earthlings with the rest of the planet. We only consider our human peers and even that is very much class-based. For the most part, we assume anybody without money (human or otherwise) is irrelevant to all discussions of importance.

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@Pamela1960@kolektiva.social 2026-06-28 17:57

@stekopf@mstdn.social @royaards@newsie.social Heat pumps might be better as the act as coolers if too hot. Otherwise, for the few days a year of heat, just not worth Air-con.

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