Extreme heat waves are already here, and they are killing tens of thousands of people. Blasting through 2 degrees Celsius of warming means they’ll happen many times more frequently.
As the article notes, AC units can overcome that, but not everyone can afford that around the world. If they’re poor, are they even people, though? /s
It also makes an interesting point about non-mechanised farming. It’s still a big industry, but you can’t really do it if it’s too hot. I wonder if we might actually see an increase in mechanisation in the tropics as traditional farmers are forced to sell and move elsewhere. Man, spices are going to get so expensive :(
Not only that, but AC units need power and grids can’t handle such surges in most places. We already saw how the grid in Texas failed to cope with peak demand last year.
Yeah. In theory that’s a short-term issue, as you can build more power plants and infrastructure to burn more fossil fuels to provide power, although there’s an obvious vicious cycle there. If we can figure out grid storage, renewables would also work, and I think it’s hopeful that we will.
Of course, if you’re in Texas, the government might just not feel like implementing new stuff to combat what they consider woke weather.
As the article notes, AC units can overcome that, but not everyone can afford that around the world. If they’re poor, are they even people, though? /s
It also makes an interesting point about non-mechanised farming. It’s still a big industry, but you can’t really do it if it’s too hot. I wonder if we might actually see an increase in mechanisation in the tropics as traditional farmers are forced to sell and move elsewhere. Man, spices are going to get so expensive :(
Not only that, but AC units need power and grids can’t handle such surges in most places. We already saw how the grid in Texas failed to cope with peak demand last year.
Yeah. In theory that’s a short-term issue, as you can build more power plants and infrastructure to burn more fossil fuels to provide power, although there’s an obvious vicious cycle there. If we can figure out grid storage, renewables would also work, and I think it’s hopeful that we will.
Of course, if you’re in Texas, the government might just not feel like implementing new stuff to combat what they consider woke weather.