Last year, apparently, was the champion of hot. We sweated through our shirts and, oh joy, planet Earth decided to crank it up past the "oops" mark of 1.5 degrees Celsius over old-school cool times. As I sit here pondering the meaning of life, and frequently its end, I wonder - why must we embrace the heat only to burn up what's left of the dinosaurs under us?
The brainiacs at the International Energy Whatzit say that our boiling summers and our love for icy-cold air are cheek to cheek in a deadly dance-off. More AC? More coal to keep it running. It's a roaring party for greenhouse gases but a looming disaster film for us.
Here's the kicker: we pump more CO2 because it's hotter, and it gets hotter because we can't stop pumping. If irony were a vitamin, we'd all be immortal. Yet, here I am, contemplating existential dread and wishing for a deep, cool, climate-controlled bunker.
They say countries are bull-rushing towards renewables and nuclear reactors. I say, good luck breaking the cycle before I decide to break my existential coil, preferably in a less dramatic manner.
And if you've read this far, bless your heart. Remember, we’re all in this simmering pot together - until we're not, and I probably will die alone, whispering sweet nothings to my portable fan.
Based on the original article "The Vicious Cycle of Extreme Heat Leading to More Fossil Fuel Use".
