Hot, hot, hot!
Clearly, there is no global warming. At least that's what George Bush's government has been telling us for the last 6 years. I guess that means that all of us who are suffering through what may come to be known as "The Summer of 2006," when people their grandchildren about it in the future, are just whingers.
It has been hot here in the Possum Kingdom, although yesterday and today are much cooler and we have actually been able to keep our shutters and windows open to trap a bit of breeze even during the day.
But, I just read that yesterday was the hottest day on record in Woodland Hills, just a mile or two away from our old home in Reseda, Calilfornia. Temps yesterday afternoon hit 48 C (119 F), the kind of temperature that is usually only seen in Death Valley. Even with A/C that's pretty damned hot! I know people in the city who do not have A/C, so I imagine that they were pretty much melting yesterday. No thick stone walls and shutters to try to keep things at a reasonable level during the day.
Transformers were exploding, power outages were occuring, people were being asked to conserve, but making your house hot on purpose is a pretty foreign concept in a place where everyone is used to being comfortable at all costs.
Our one concession here is a small floor fan that we use to circulatea the air in the stairwell. We've just purchased a solar laquer that painter extraordinaire, Joel Brochet will paint onto our skylight later this week. It is supposed to keep out 80% of the heat, and if that works, will make a big difference to the general comfort level. We're also contemplating extra insulation on the bedroom wall, the thinnest, and therefore least energy efficient, wall in the house.
We're all going to need to make these kinds of changes in our lives as the extreme temperatures we've been seeing continue. It's not fun, but if we all do it, perhaps we'll be able to save enough energy as a global community to make a difference.
Ciao for now.
Randy
It has been hot here in the Possum Kingdom, although yesterday and today are much cooler and we have actually been able to keep our shutters and windows open to trap a bit of breeze even during the day.
But, I just read that yesterday was the hottest day on record in Woodland Hills, just a mile or two away from our old home in Reseda, Calilfornia. Temps yesterday afternoon hit 48 C (119 F), the kind of temperature that is usually only seen in Death Valley. Even with A/C that's pretty damned hot! I know people in the city who do not have A/C, so I imagine that they were pretty much melting yesterday. No thick stone walls and shutters to try to keep things at a reasonable level during the day.
Transformers were exploding, power outages were occuring, people were being asked to conserve, but making your house hot on purpose is a pretty foreign concept in a place where everyone is used to being comfortable at all costs.
Our one concession here is a small floor fan that we use to circulatea the air in the stairwell. We've just purchased a solar laquer that painter extraordinaire, Joel Brochet will paint onto our skylight later this week. It is supposed to keep out 80% of the heat, and if that works, will make a big difference to the general comfort level. We're also contemplating extra insulation on the bedroom wall, the thinnest, and therefore least energy efficient, wall in the house.
We're all going to need to make these kinds of changes in our lives as the extreme temperatures we've been seeing continue. It's not fun, but if we all do it, perhaps we'll be able to save enough energy as a global community to make a difference.
Ciao for now.
Randy
