To the editor: The opinion piece on making ready for rising, harmful temperatures brought on by local weather change rightly factors out that air con saves lives, however it’s not, alone, the software that’s going to save lots of us (“Air-con alone received’t save us from killer warmth,” July 19). Many would not have air con or can not afford to run it. And what’s extra, conventional air con provides pressure to the grid and releases carbon.
Contemplate this: Rising tree cover close to properties is a crucial technique that reduces warmth whereas growing co-benefits like stress discount and, if the tree is native, enhanced biodiversity. One analysis paper that ran within the journal Nature notes {that a} dense tree cover cuts city warmth island results almost in half.
Moreover, bushes cut back the necessity for air con by round 60%. Planting bushes round properties, together with condo buildings, is a wonderful technique to cut back warmth.
And slightly than utilizing conventional air con, switching to environment friendly warmth pumps lowers annual power emissions on common by 36% to 64%.
So, let’s plant extra native bushes and add power effectivity to our properties and companies. These interventions will assist us deal with the specter of a modified local weather.
Tessa Charnofsky, West Hills
This author works for L.A. County’s Inside Companies Division, specializing in increasing power effectivity measures in Southern California.
