Unconditioned Surrender?

Captivating  NYT graphic 

As usual, another day, another thought (and blog) provoking article in the NYT. This article, and a very nice accompanying graphic, highlight the quandary that is presented by, on the one hand, an increasingly warming planet and on the other an increasingly affluent, tropical, and urban populace that would like nothing better than to beat the heat (thus adding to energy scarcity and global warming problems).

So forget global warming and climate change for the moment, right? Even if you are a "climate skeptic" (and it is difficult for me to give you that), one walk around office blocks or residential communities here in India will (not scientifically, but still) show you how there is more latent demand for 'AC' units in any one major Indian city than all of the continental US. The problem, as highlighted by the recent epic failure of two major grids in Northern India, is that there just isn't enough power to fuel all those ACs (which are increasingly affordable)!

The article also points out that air conditioning isn't a nice to have feature any more either - there are plenty of studies showing it helps human beings be more productive at work and have better health overall (when used 'correctly'). Anecdotal evidence suggests also that a lot of modern architecture, obsessed as it is with fitting as many people into as little space as possible in offices and in homes, actually demands air conditioning to make the buildings habitable!

So what is to be done?

Mortal Moron of Meluha

That "The Immortals of Meluha" is a #1 national bestseller should spark off an agitation where every book lover in India should fast until they are mummified.

Here's a quick summary of my quick read-through...

Page 1 - 4: Tribal leader Shiva standing near Manasarovar smokes marijuana (without any discernible effect). As he walks back to his hut the author marvels that the huts of this village are more luxurious than others in the region - a grown man can stand up inside one of them. Yeah, because no one else wants to die of the @#&^$% cold. Low roofs serve a purpose, dingbat. (In my defense, this was still page 2 or 3 - I was expecting world-building).

The tribe gets an invitation to immigrate (I kid you not) to Meluha, the "richest and most powerful empire" in the world. Apparently once there, they can pay their taxes and nothing more is asked of them. One suspects from the blurb that there is a hidden agenda. Oooh... intriguing!