Comments on: 78 Degrees?

By: Lina-EPA

Lina-EPA — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:46:43 +0000

I’ve been to Phoenix and the low humidity issue really doesn’t work for me. You feel it. Now on the 81 degrees versus 105, I think that it goes to show that everything is relative. These last couple of days when we’ve been in the triple digits, the house thermostat actually read 80 and it felt “quite cool” at the beginning.

By: Lina-EPA

Lina-EPA — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:43:45 +0000

That’s an interesting question. How about using a fan?
Personally, I’ve actually been using hand-fans quite a lot lately.

By: Larry Teller

Larry Teller — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:08:15 +0000

Martin, As a Phoenix person, perhaps you can answer a question I’ve wondered about for years: When someone out your way says “It’s 112 degrees, but you don’t feel it,” is he being honest? Thanks. Larry

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:37:49 +0000

I wish that it did. Here in the South there are still a lot of non-believers in climate change despite the supporting evidence. Alot of the deep South is still stuck in old ways and old beliefs. I personally think it’s funny (in a non-comical way) that people trust in science to treat illnesses, fly planes, and make smart phones work, but when it comes to climate change people are still very skeptical. I have a bachelors degree in environmental science and am working on my masters in environmental management so I have studied this subject in depth. People have to look closely at where they are getting information! Politicians, the news, the family know it all, scientists, researchers, etc….. What are the agendas behind the information? I believe that it is important to research an issue by creditable, non-biased sources before discrediting a concept or idea.

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:09:24 +0000

I keep mine at 81 degrees. Consider that I live in the Phoenix area with average temperatures of 105 degrees this time of year, and low Relative Humidity – always. As long as you don’t physically exert yourself, it’s a comfortable. I do keep the ceiling fans on, especially for sleeping.

By: Larry Teller

Larry Teller — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:07:43 +0000

Lina, how do we get people who don’t pay the utility bills (e.g., kids, who should know better) to keep the thermostat where it belongs? Is there a summer equivalent to putting on a sweater during the winter?

By: Larry Teller

Larry Teller — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:05:45 +0000

Hello, Amber, Thanks for sharing your experience. The nightly news tells the country what people in Texas and many southern states are suffering these past many weeks. It’s hard to picture how extreme weather for so long makes a person feel about facing the morning or, hours later, trying to get a good night’s sleep. Do you think this severe summer and several in recent years makes it easier for people to accept, as real, global climate change? As an northeasterner, I’m curious about how Texans’ beliefs may be affected by the past years’ weather.

By: Larry Teller

Larry Teller — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:57:20 +0000

Ronald, Yes, give it a try, I hope with some agreement and support from your family. Paying the utility bills, at least for most of us who aren’t rich, makes a higher thermostat setting seem more reasonable. I forgot to mention in my original piece that we have ceiling fans in most rooms, and that makes a noticeable difference. Good luck.

By: Ronald

Ronald — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:45:05 +0000

I will try it. I feel sure I can do 78 when I am up and about, but sleeping might be another matter. Might have to calibrate between what the thermostat and the thermometors read.

By: Lina-EPA

Lina-EPA — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:08:36 +0000

Loved your post. It’s true. 78 feels fine—especially when you get slammed with the high electric bills!