Cool Education

Expect a new consciousness-raising, this time about air conditioning. A recent NPR broadcast was outraged-- in an understanding and thoughtful way--over the American use of air conditioning. As usual the Third World is the catalyst. Only two percent of Indian homes is air conditioned but it is growing at a 20% rate. If that continues with the improving Indian economy, the use will end up 50X the U.S. use. That implies all sorts of economic and global warming disruption. But it is not the Indians' fault. The consensus is that American culture is at fault; the Americans want too much, undefined comfort. And it is they who set the norms. So the poor benighted Indians are only following the standards set by the rapacious and hedonistic Yanks. Thus experts, i.e. the enlightened ones, must help by reeducating us. With luck, the reeducated American norms will become the international norms.
I'm not sure what the next step would be if reeducation fails. Maybe ninjas.