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Some Americans willing to ditch air conditioning to reduce carbon footprint

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/some-americans-willing-to-ditch-air-conditioning-to-reduce-carbon-footprint?intcmp=tw_fnc

Tourists in the Big Apple shared whether they would give up air conditioning to reduce their carbon footprint amid a worldwide heat wave.

“You would never sleep again,” one man from Chicago told Fox News. “It’s just too hot.”

He said there are methods to reduce carbon emissions, but air conditioners are essential.

“I’m sure there are other ways, just don’t take away the AC,” the man said. “Especially when it’s 95 or 97 [degrees] and high humidity.”

A New York tourist said it’s too hot to give up air conditioning units in order to conserve energy. (Megan Myers/Fox News Digital)

But one woman said she would give up her air conditioner.

“I have the windows down,” Blake, from North Carolina, said. “No AC needed.”

More than 85 million Americans, from the Pacific Northwest to the southern Great Plains to the East Coast’s heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor, were under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories issued by the National Weather Service this week.

A Berlin-based writer, Paul Hockenos, highlighted in a CNN op-ed how Americans rely on air conditioning despite high energy usage and environmental implications. He suggested that Americans ditch the air conditioner units for renewable energy options.

“I’m from Austin, and it’s a lot hotter there,” one woman, Kris, said. “It’s worth it because you need it almost for survival.”

More than three-quarters of U.S. homes have air conditioners, releasing roughly 117 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, according to the Department of Energy.

“I can see how that would probably be making a big impact on the environment,” Allison, from New Jersey, said. “I know that it’s very detrimental.”

“I’d be fine with no AC,” Allison added. “I could survive.”

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